[chrissie B]

i have a question you know when you sprinkle lime on the garden well we just emptied our water tank and it was chocka with lime scale now then the question is can you dry this out grind it down and put it on the garden , would it be like the stuff you buy or should i just chuck it .
all answers below please .
Chrissie b

[richyrich7]

No idea Chrissie, sorry.

[Trillium]

Seeing as it's come from water and not a cement source (which would be very caustic) I'd go for it on a small test area first.

[Bernard]

Being some kind of chemist (retired) I should be able to answer this, but I can't be certain.
The thing that matters is that it should be capable of neutralising any acid in the soil. Crush a bit, mix it with water, leave it for a day and test the pH with a soil test kit. If it shows as alkaline (high pH) it will do the job. However, you need to test plain water alongside it becasue it seems to me that if you have such hard water you might not need lime! This is beyond my experience since we have soft water here.

[Space_Cowby]

I dont think they are the same...

on the garden you would use hydrated lime aka calcium hydroxide.

In the tank or kettle etc its limescale which is mainly calcium carbonate.

just my thoughts and im no mean a chemist.

[lincspoacher]

Theres 3 sorts of Garden Lime, effectively:

1. Agricultural Lime or Garden Lime

Agricultural Lime or Garden Lime is made from pulverized limestone or chalk. As well as raising the pH it will provide calcium for the crops and trace nutrients. Some recent experiments are indicating our soils may well benefit from the addition of rock dust, adding trace nutrients to the soil.

2. Dolomite lime is similar to garden lime but contains a higher percentage of magnesium.

3. Quicklime is produced by burning rock limestone in kilns. It is highly caustic and cannot be applied directly to the soil. Quicklime reacts with water to produce slaked, or hydrated, lime, thus quicklime is spread around the land in heaps to absorb rain and form slaked lime, which is then spread on the soil. Their use is prohibited by the organic standards and while fast acting, the effect is short lived in comparison to garden lime.

The stuff out the kettle is Calcium Carbonate, which will react with the acid in the soil to produce various salts, buts it ability to reduce soil acidity is very limited and short lived. Otherwise we'd all be using it.

[chrissie B]

OK guys thanks for the help i think i will lean on the side of caution and dump it got enough soil problems with out causing more .
Chrissie b

[Bernard]

Lincspoacher, you are largely right but you can't finish by dismissing calcium carbonate, since the limestone and chalk that you mention earlier are both calcium carbonate. This is the naturally occurring basic calcium compound. ('Basic' in this context means capable of reacting with an acid to produce a salt)
The one that we commonly use, slaked or hydrated lime, is calcium hydroxide , also basic, and is the more unnatural one.
Both calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate, no matter what their source, will react with acids in the soil to produce the same salts. The main difference in their reaction is that the carbonate releases carbon dioxide.

[lincspoacher]

Lincspoacher, you are largely right but you can't finish by dismissing calcium carbonate, since the limestone and chalk that you mention earlier are both calcium carbonate. This is the naturally occurring basic calcium compound. ('Basic' in this context means capable of reacting with an acid to produce a salt)
The one that we commonly use, slaked or hydrated lime, is calcium hydroxide , also basic, and is the more unnatural one.
Both calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate, no matter what their source, will react with acids in the soil to produce the same salts. The main difference in their reaction is that the carbonate releases carbon dioxide.

Well not wanting to split hairs, but Calcium Hydroxide is Ca(OH)2 and Calcium Carbonate is CaCO3, and whereas they both have the same metal cation(Ca++), the anion is totally different ( -OH ) and ( --CO3  ), so they wont produce the same salts............

[chrissie B]

now then lets not get heated over a bit of lime , aunty may get upset.
thanks for all the help but i got lost when the big words started to come out .
chrissie b

[Bernard]

now then lets not get heated over a bit of lime chrissie b

Ok, my last word -
choosing a hypothetical acid HAc which ionises as H+ and Ac-
('Ac' is any 'acid radical')

then
Ca(OH)2 +2.HAc = CaAc2 +2.H2O
and
CaCO3 + 2.HAc = CaAc2 + CO2 + H2O

CaAc2 is the salt and is the same in each case.
I did say that I am, or was, a chemist. This is basic stuff. As I said, the difference is that the carbonate releases carbon dioxide.

Back to school folks! :bounce:

[chrissie B]

oh Bernard you are an allotrope of carbon (diamond )
thanks for the help x
Chrissie b

[SnooziSuzi]

:shock: I wish I'd paid more attention to my chemistry teacher at school now  

[Bernard]

you are an allotrope of carbon (diamond )

Well, thank you chrissieB. This is of course the result of being hard pressed, and there is no guarantee of becoming a girl's best friend.

[Raycrete]

Chrissie, whatever you do - don't put any lime on your garden. Greece is a country made largely of limestone. The lime in your tank and at the bottom of your kettle must surely tell you that. Your water is alkaline as is your soil. If you have already put lime on your garden you have made a serious mistake. If you can remove it do so. If not dump any manure you can find on it, particularly chicken manure which has an acid base.

You seem to have the idea that you have the club foot disease. Why? Your cabbages and other brassicas seem OK, you live in an alkaline environment so you should not have such a thing, your cabbages will surely tell you that.

You must look very closely at your soil and see if you can see anything strange, like large white roots or any other kind of infestation. I can't help more than this but you need advice. Do you speak Greek, you or your husband? If so, ask neighbors for help.

Ray