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Calcimator

Soil pH Amendment

Calculate how much lime or elemental sulfur is needed per acre to adjust soil pH. Accounts for soil texture and buffer capacity.

Inputs

acres

Results

Amendment Needed

Agricultural Lime

Lime Rate

2,222 lbs/acre

Soil TextureLoam
pH Change1 units
Sulfur Rate0 lbs/acre
Total Lime5.56 tons
Total Sulfur0 tons
Estimated Cost$278.00
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter your current soil pH and your target pH.
  2. Input soil texture class (sandy, loam, clay) which determines buffering capacity.
  3. Set the amendment type: agricultural limestone, dolomitic lime, elemental sulfur, or aluminum sulfate.
  4. Review the Pounds of Amendment per Acre and the Estimated pH Change per Ton Applied.
  5. Apply in split applications and retest pH in 6 months to verify the response.

What each input means

Current Soil pH
Current soil pH from your soil test report. Most crops prefer 6.0–7.0.
Target Soil pH
Desired pH level. For most field crops, 6.2–6.8 is ideal; blueberries prefer 4.5–5.5.
Soil Texture
General soil texture class: 1 = Sandy, 2 = Loam, 3 = Clay. Affects buffering capacity.
Area
Total area to be treated in acres.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Current Soil pH = 5.5, Target Soil pH = 6.5, Soil Texture = 2, Area = 5 = 4 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Amendment Needed
    Amendment Needed
    Agricultural Lime = Agricultural Lime
  3. Calculate Lime Rate
    2222 = 2222
  4. Calculate Soil Texture
    Loam = Loam
  5. Calculate pH Change
    1 = 1

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