powdered dolomite lime woes

[MMJcali]

I'm trying to make LC's soil mix #1. I have everything I need EXCEPT the powdered lime. I can't find powdered dolomite lime ANYWHERE. not home schmeepo, not lows, not a-strongs or any hydro shop in my area.

All the garden centers/hydro shops are telling me just to substitute the pelletized dolomite lime instead of pulverized...

then I thought, maybe if i dissolved it in water it would be the same difference, right? So i boiled some water, let it cool a minute then put in some pelletized lime. stirred for about 10 minutes and the shit wont dissolve.

Then I threw some in a coffee grinder. (hey im getting desperate.) I broke the damn thing. now I wasted 10 bucks on pelletized lime and broke my coffee grinder.

Whats a guy to do im so close I can almost smell the buds...

 

[forty]

i'm guessing you're using peat and not coco... but... if using coco don't use the lime.

 

[MMJcali]

thanks 40...yea im using peat. i might have to use coco now though

 

[tr1ck_]

Lowes sells the lime. Its called "Pulverized Lime" at lowe's though. It comes in a 40 or 50 pound bag for like $4 lol. Its enough to last 10 lifetimes as a hobby grower

 

[laughingmoon]

Go to a feed store or co-op (for horses) and they tend to have what you need. Also consider going to the website for garden products, and look up distributors. For instance, find Pro-Mix's website and go from there.

 

[IE2KS_KUSH]

Re: powdered dolomite lime woes

I found some in a tractor supply store. Bought a hundred freakin pounds 2 50# ere lol. The guy there said he has never seen it their before and no one had bought it...good for me should last the rest of my life. I need to stop being lazy and get it in a rubbermaid any time I move the bags clouds of dl form even with a trash bag over it. Its like flower.
I have probably used 4 cups lol.

 

[intotheunknown]

go to your local stores again and look for a product called "soil sweetener" by sunleaves.= 100% powdered dolomite lime. if they sell the sunleaves guanos etc. theyre most likely going to have it. ive been to a lot of stores and a lot of employees have no clue its dolomite lime... it only says that in very small letters on the back. so take that into account as well that a lot of employees are uneducated about what theyre really selling.

 

[rives]

I was in the same boat as you and used the Espoma pelletized garden lime. Everything was great for about the first month, then the pH went up like crazy. This is in a peat-based mix. All that I can figure is that the pellets made a balloon payment! I just ordered a mortar & pestle because this is all that I can still find, and I thought that this might be the best way of grinding it up.

 

[habeeb]

just buy a 5 pound bag online, shipping will be cheap then

or get your pellets, and use like bowl and something to grind it, forgot what there called, or get a hammer and get inventive.. coffee grinder should have worked though.. still have mine from way back when

 

[Nitrain]

I also couldnt find any powdered lime either however i just bought the pelletized lime from a local armstrongs nursery and threw it into my mix...its been watered and turned, has been sitting for 3 weeks now and the pellets have disentigrated into my soil. I hope all goes well. I actually like that i didnt have to deal with it in the powder form.

 

[redneck shogun]

found my dolo powder at Ace hardware

 

[echo_chamber]

Dont bother with pelletized or granular dolomite lime, it takes forever to break down and wont benefit your soil.. Powderized is better but pulverized is the way to go... best bet is to order it online, there are dozens of retailers that carry it and will ship anywhere. Speedi-Grow is what we get around here. Sweet Kentucky limestone, woo hoo...

 

[mad librettist]

powdered dolomite lime woes

has the stuff you were soaking broken up yet?

all the pelletized lime I have used was made to break up fast. could you tell is which brand you have?

(slow release lime does not make much sense to me.)

 

[D.S. Toker. MD]

ha! Mad Liberalist, Im with you on the reasoning for "slow release lime". All lime is slow release isnt it?...but youre absolutely right about the pellet breakdown. He doesnt need to crush them or do anything except mix them thouroughly through the soil. Lime isnt water soluble so you cant disolve it in water. Lime also takes 3 years to break down so if you apply it tommorow it will continue to raise ph for the next 36 months. One other point, unlike fertilizer which can be applied to the surface to leach into the soil, lime doenst distribute itself through out the soil , so mix it up good in the soil.

the very best lime products are sold at lowes and others. Epsoma's garden lime is the highest quality lime product on the market, followed closely by Penningtons Fast acting garden lime. These 2 highly processed lime products are far far superior to any other agrucultural lime available from any source, including pellitized or pulverized.

 

[MMJcali]

madlibrettist, the soaking stuff hasnt broken up...I just went to lowes, all they had was pelletized dolomite and powdered hydrated lime (which is a no-no for soil i take it).

called upwards of 15 other garden centers and they all said they had the same, pelletized dolomite and powdered hydrated.

Now, my lime isnt exactly pelletized...its like tiny chunks of rock. does that mean its pulverized? the brand is "grow more research shops" and i got it at my local hydro store. same brand they sell at my armstrongs.

I expected pellets to be round, or perfectly shaped...these are just like tiny pop-rock sized bits. ::remaining hopeful::

I can't find it anywhere around here, so either I buy anther grinder and grind up a bit myself or I just throw in what I have and see what happens. Ordering online will take too long, at least for this grow.

Thanks for all the responses!

 

[mad librettist]

sounds like chunks of lime?!?

never seen that before but it explains why your coffee grinder can't crush rock lol

 

[intotheunknown]

yeah its going to take you so damn long to grind rocks. let alone replacing grinders etc. been there done that. get what i told you to get and be done with it.

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

Check out something called Agricultural Limestone. I got mine at a local nursery and the brand is called Hi-Yield. It's about $6 for a little 5 lb bag but the stuff lasts forever. Lowes and Home Depot sometimes have it on hand but they have no clue so you will have to do a computer search with them to see if it is in stock. DON'T use quick lime or hydrated lime as it will burn the plants. My bag is powdered and has both CaCo3 and MgCo3. Don't use too much as a little will do. Their website is www.hi-yield.com

 

[inquest]

I use hydrated lime/pickling lime/calcium hydroxide. And yeah, it's got a kick to it! A little dab will do ya. Plus it has no Magneseum in it. You can find it in the canning section at the grocer. As with anything substituted in your recipe you should go slow and test your soil till ya work out the new ratios.
Btw, I've brought a low ph back to 7 mid-flower with kalkwasser (hydrated lime and water). Lol, I had a stoned moment and potted into compost that I forgot to ph adjust.

Lot of good ideas up above, too!

 

[MMJcali]

i just measured one of my 'rocks', its 2mm by 1mm by 1mm...theyre all about that size with slight variation.

called some dro shops for the sunleaves sweetener, so far no luck, will keep trying tomorrow when they re open.

finding the hi-yield online pretty easily...havent found a garden center that carries it yet...

really appreciating the help, guys/girls. will keep you all posted with what happens next.