When to lime: season, rate and frequency
A short practical guide — when to apply, how much, and how not to waste nitrogen.
Best time: autumn after harvest
Lime needs moisture and time. Applied in autumn before ploughing, it reacts with soil acids over winter, so spring crops are sown into corrected soil. The second window is early spring, once the field is trafficable but before sowing.
What to avoid
Do not apply lime at the same time as manure, slurry or ammonium fertilisers. Higher pH increases ammonia loss, so nitrogen literally escapes into the air. Keep at least 2–3 weeks between them.
Do not spread on waterlogged fields — machinery leaves ruts and distribution becomes uneven, leaving part of the field over-limed and part still acidic.
How often
Crushed limestone: a long cycle, up to a decade depending on rainfall. Agricultural lime: every 2–3 years, or an annual correction on intensive farms. In high-rainfall coastal areas the cycle should be shorter.
How to find the exact rate
The only reliable method is a soil analysis. On sloping fields take several samples: pH at the top and bottom of a slope can differ by a full unit. With an analysis in hand, we calculate the rate free of charge.
How much lime does your field need?
Enter the area and your soil pH to get the rate in tonnes, the number of big bags and truckloads, and an estimate of the fertiliser value you recover.
Rates follow standard liming practice. Fertiliser value is estimated from a typical NPK spend of about €150/ha per year and the improvement in nutrient uptake once acidity is neutralised. The exact rate should come from your own soil analysis.
Need advice?
Send us your soil analysis and we will help you read it.