Christmas is right around the corner here in Sampson County. It is the time of year for spending time with family and friends and let’s not forget the good food. For the majority of farmers in Sampson County, it’s time to relax, harvest has wrapped up and wheat and other small grains are already in the ground. Take this opportunity to take a breath, reflect on this past season and look toward the next with optimism.

The next thing that most farmers will turn their attention to is soil amendments. These can include lime and fertilizers. After farmers receive their soil test report it’s time to make decisions on what and how much to apply. NCDA will give you lime and fertilizer recommendations on your report, but it depends on your farming operation as to whether you follow these recommendations. These reports can give you a good starting point. NCDA lime recommendations will tell you the minimum needed to reach your target pH, I would suggest applying a little more to compensate for acidic fertilizers and pesticides you will apply over the next season and the timing of your next liming application. For example, if you don’t plan to lime for three years, adding a little more can help to ensure your soil doesn’t become too acidic before then.

Liming is necessary in most, if not all, soils in North Carolina and it can be hard to get it just right. I have talked about applying enough to last for a few years and compensating for acidifying agents but another thing to consider is the chemical makeup and fineness of the material. Lime is made up of calcium carbonate and the carbonate is what neutralizes the acidity in your soil. There are many products out there such as quick lime (calcium oxide) that are great calcium fertilizers but will do nothing to reduce soil acidity. Just because lime is in the name doesn’t always mean that it will do the job so be careful selecting your products. Fineness is something else to consider when selecting a liming product. The finer the material, the faster it reacts in the soil, but it generally becomes more expensive as well. There could also be problems with applying very fine materials. It’s hard for a spreader truck to accurately apply something like dust or powder. I would suggest opting for a fineness that your spreader can handle and accurately apply. When applying lime during the winter, slower reaction isn’t necessarily a bad thing because there is time before planting in the spring for the lime to work.

Fertilizer applications can also be made this time of year. Not all fertilizers can be applied now but nutrients such as calcium and phosphorus will hang around in the soil until the growing season. Some plant nutrients are mobile in the soil, nitrogen is a good example. Nitrogen, especially in sandy soils, can leach rapidly and be washed out of the plant root zone. As mentioned, calcium and phosphorus are immobile in the soil and cling to soil particles. When you look at your soil test report, if you need nutrients that won’t move in the soil, you can go ahead and apply them to save yourself some time when planting season comes around. A good rule of thumb to determine if a plant nutrient is mobile or immobile is whether it is listed on the NCDA soil test report. NCDA doesn’t list nutrients that are mobile in the soil.

If you have any questions about this article, please contact the Sampson County Extension office at 910-592-7161.