# Pennington lime question



## marcjw (Aug 28, 2020)

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Pennington-30-lb-Fast-Acting-Lime-Plus-AST-100519383/205876384

I was just wondering what they mean by this product being equivalent to 5 bags of regular lime? Is this calcitic lime? I need to put down 100lbs/1,000 square foot to raise my soil pH.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

marcjw said:


> https://www.homedepot.com/p/Pennington-30-lb-Fast-Acting-Lime-Plus-AST-100519383/205876384
> 
> I was just wondering what they mean by this product being equivalent to 5 bags of regular lime? Is this calcitic lime? I need to put down 100lbs/1,000 square foot to raise my soil pH.


They mean that it works ~5 times faster, so you can only apply a fraction of the amount at a time, compared to slow/traditional Limes. The percentage of Calcium may be the same in both, but the speed is the factor at play. There may be some estimation/marketing speak in that "5x" statement. I'm not sure what the actual difference in speed is, but that sounds roughly correct. Usually you'd apply 6-12 lbs per thousand of fast-acting lime per application, and space out the apps at least 3 months. With slow-acting Lime, you would apply much more at a time (50 lbs???), but you would only do it once per year. Go by the bag for how much to apply at a time, and your soil testing results/interpretation for the total amount to apply over time.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

In the back of the bag, they should have a lime equivalent table. That tells you the real value.


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## marcjw (Aug 28, 2020)

I'll see if I can find the table online or pick up a bag soon. All in all if my soil needs 100lbs/1,000, do I still put down that amount of the pennington?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

Yes at the rate the bag says.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

marcjw said:


> I'll see if I can find the table online or pick up a bag soon. All in all if my soil needs 100lbs/1,000, do I still put down that amount of the pennington?


Ignore the total listed in your soil test...you will be retesting long before you reach that. All that really matters is that the correct amount of your product goes down per application, and your applications are spaced properly within a single year. The goal is to mimic what regular slow Lime does over time, but the fast stuff will change the nutrient and pH levels at a more rapid rate because it's fast acting.


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## marcjw (Aug 28, 2020)

Thank y'all for explaining!


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