# Ph - When is Enough Enough for Timothy?????



## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

Got my soil samples back today on various hay fields around the place, ph ranged from 6.0 to 6.8. Per the soil sample, none of them recommend any new lime.

Timothy hay - is a ph of 6.0 enough? Not sure at that level I'm getting full yield potential.

For those that grow Timothy, what is your high number on ph to stop putting down lime?

Thanks!
Bill


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I think it depends what else is in your soil, we have high aluminum here, the recommendations seemed to target 6.5 or something like that so the aluminum stayed tied up in the soil.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

I try to keep my ground above 6.5. When it gets below that I add amendments.

Regards, Mike


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## reede (May 17, 2010)

Just remember pH will change a bit through the year. This time of year it will often be a little on the low side, 0.5 to 1 pH unit. In the spring it will often test higher. You can use this in your ammendment strategy.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

If your sample comes back saying you don't need lime, simple answer is you don't need lime. They're accounting for your soil type and crop when they give you your recommendations. Now if you want to rotate to a more ph sensitive crop later, you may want to add some anyway so as not to get further away from 7.0.


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## RuttedField (Apr 24, 2016)

For me it has to do with the last application. I use Mill Lime so it loses effectiveness after about 3 years. If its been awhile since it has been applied, and the level is 6.0 it probably will only diminish in the future so it is time to starting thinking about it again. If it has only been a year or two since application, I might invest my money elsewhere.

It is only a guess unless you test is true. But at the same time testing only tells you what is occurring at the moment of the test. It has no idea of the previous history, that is where farming skills come into play.


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## shortrow2 (Sep 25, 2017)

RuttedField said:


> For me it has to do with the last application. I use Mill Lime so it loses effectiveness after about 3 years. If its been awhile since it has been applied, and the level is 6.0 it probably will only diminish in the future so it is time to starting thinking about it again. If it has only been a year or two since application, I might invest my money elsewhere.
> 
> It is only a guess unless you test is true. But at the same time testing only tells you what is occurring at the moment of the test. It has no idea of the previous history, that is where farming skills come into play.


What do you mean by Mill Lime? May be different terminology than my area.


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