Well, you could apply the lime and it wouldn't cause any direct problems or get lost to the air, but personally? I'd hold off. If it ends up not raining sufficiently before ground freeze, it can erode off during winter precipitation events.

Worst case, you apply it in spring when the weather is hopefully a bit more normal. No real harm done as it's not like the grass is growing very much right now anyway, so calcium demands are also very low.

As far as seeding without irrigation, that seems unlikely to work across most of the northeast this year. I can't speak for everybody, but I don't have a drop of rain in the forecast until at least the middle of September. At least.

I wouldnt. Atleast water it i'd guess.

If I skip the lime, how late can I overseed?

I can't upload the report, but I think this is the relevant information:

pH 5.27

lime requirement index 7.35

phosphorus 55 (below optimum)

potassium 165 (optimum)

magnesium 354 (above optimum)

calcium (below optimum)

zinc, copper & manganese all adequate; boron low; iron high

In past two years I overseeded with Dutch White clover. This year I am trying micro-clover. The lawn is still predominantly fescue, I believe. I leave all grass clippings on the lawn and mow the leaves in place, and prefer to fertilize with milorganite if that's recommended. I also have composted chicken and llama manure available. Thanks!

Your pH is quite low, I wouldn't add manure. Who did your test and what is the stated CEC and calcium levels and are the numbers lbs/acre or ppm?

Yardtractor, The test was done by Rutgers in NJ (the lab for Westchester County Cooperative Extension). The Lime Requirement Index (LRI) was 7.35, Macronutrients were pounds per acre (phosphorus 55, potassium 165, magnesium 354, calcium 1341). Micronutrients were ppmil: zinc 5.39, copper 6.18, manganese 19.05, boron 0.40, and iron 247.70.

What does CEC refer to? I don't find it anywhere in the report.

Thank you for your help.

CEC is Cation Exchange Capacity, sometimes they identify it as TEC, Total Exchange Capacity. The reason I asked is 250lbs per one thousand square feet (or are you saying that is the total for your whole yard?) is a lot of lime. When a buffer index is given that falls between 7 and 8 rather than <7, it indicates that the Adams-Evans test is used and it was developed for soils with a CEC <8. Blah, blah, Yadda, Yadda... Point is that's a lotta lime depending on the CEC. Morpheuspa would be the best person to advise how to divide that up as you normally wouldn't want to apply that much at one time.

The test seems to be Mehlich 3 extraction. I see nothing about TEC either. Their recommendation was to break the lime application up in two: one application of 50 lb per 1000 sq feet and one of 35 lb per 1000 sq ft using calcitic limestone, six months apart then retest.

Melich was likely used for the other extractions but I doubt it was used for the Buffer Index. No big deal, the rec is the rec. Hopefully morpheuspa will drop back in to advise you how to integrate the lime with seeding. BTW, where did the 250# come from in your prior post?

5.2 isn't that bad. I mean, yeah, it's bad, but... :-)

Personally, I'd drop 9 pounds per thousand square feet when you can (assuming you don't end up seeding, which is quite likely to fail this year without supplementary irrigation). Use Encap or Mag-I-Cal in this particular instance--for other lime types, let me know what brand and we'll adjust if necessary. I very much doubt it'll take 250# to do the job, actually, not if 1340 pounds of Ca and 350 pounds of Mg are creating a pH of 5.3.

Why? Because more than 9 pounds of fast acting at any one time will end up yellowing out the lawn a little bit (very much more can render it a cheerful chartreuse). It also bollixes the soil biology if you go overboard and creates zones of high/low pH.

Then, in spring, hit it with 9 more pounds per thousand square feet.

Late next summer, test the soil again (via Logan or UMass by preference).

The 250 lb was my calculation of the total I would need based on the sq footage of the turf on my property. Because of the drought, I picked an area that was was the worst and applied the rest of an open bag I had of Mag-i-cal, using a broadcast spreader set at 5.5 and then watered with a hose. Do I have permission to overseed in two weeks with the nice microclover I already bought? While much of your post goes over my head, morph, I did have to chuckle at the prospect of a chartreuse lawn. It just so happens that the area of greensward I chose to experiment on is next to my chartresuse garden - chamaecyparis, a moonrise maple, little lime hydrangeas, alchemilla, moss and sedum... and now a lawn to match!

I can't say whether the lime app. will have a detrimental affect on clover establishment, but I can tell you clover does best in soils with a pH > 6 (pH 6-8) and the more alkali, the better. In the 50's, clover lawns were the epitome of perfection. We limed annually (probably why people still think lime should be part of regular lawn care today) and the clover seemed to love it. As expensive as clover seed is, I'd say that's your call.

Does your soil test give organic matter and Mechanical Analysis? Just interested in what they might be.

BTW, FYI, it appears those lime recs are aimed at raising your pH to 6/0.

No test of organic matter, so I should do the jar test myself, right? Why would the lime have a detrimental effect on clover? Is two weeks not long enough to wait? When you said I should forego manure, is that because it is acidic? Would that also apply to milorganite? Is there a better way to fertilize or do I not need it? How do you measure that?

Animal manure is acidic, the better finished, the less acid, but also the less N value. As far as acidity levels, Milo is probably your best bet of those you listed (cue dchall and grains), so yes, the acidity factor. It's very hard to supply N without some acidity increase. Lime will effect the soil from the surface down. So the surface will be very alkaline (where the seed is germinating). This can effect some nutrient availability to the young plant. I can't tell you at what level it would be so detrimental that it would cause a failure to seeding. The jar test wont tell much about OM. Thanks anyway, just wondering.

I'm always a little hesitant to apply anything and then seed...but in the case of calcium, that's really harmless. What grows in might be a little pale at first, but as the calcium works down and the roots also work down, that will change. It won't impact sprout percentages in the slightest.

In your case, you'll probably like a chartreuse lawn, so a little lime discoloration won't bother you. :-) It also doesn't hurt the lawn unless it's really extreme, it's just not a color most people want. The color change is because the lime is alkaline enough to block iron uptake to the plants, but as it dilutes into the soil, that stops happening.