Planting after Pines

[Raider Bill]

I was told today that in order to plant most anything after I clear some pines that I need to put down 2 ton per acre of lime to sweeten the ground due to the acididy of the pine trees.
Is this correct? I skinned up a good spot today and wanted to plant some kind of grass for the errosion factor.

[Pilot]

Conifers do tend to make the soil more acid, but I would get the soil pH checked before I bought any lime.

[Ron Scott]

Yes, decide what you are going to plant and get a soil test before placing lime or fertilizer so you will know what is the correct type and amount to use to reduce the PH if necessary.

[Phorester]

A big 'ol YEP to what has been said.

[WDH]

Looks you are going to the lime store .  Take a soil test to your local county agent and they will tell you exactly how much you will need.  It takes a lot of lime to raise the pH.

[Riles]

And you're supposed to do it well in advance of planting for best effect on the seedlings.

[SwampDonkey]

That's one thing that always baffled me. We have lime in the bed rock, in the ground water and tap water, but we still need to lime these farm fields. I guess the good lime must be below to rooting depth, so the plants cant take it up. We have some outfits digging up lime from cleared off cedar stands, it don't even need to go through a crusher. They just dredge it up. I live in the NB tater belt.

Mom said, 'I don't know what it is about that soil up there on the old farm, but at least the taters never turn black when I cook them'.