Ok thanks! Sounds logical to add the pellets to continue on once the powdered had depleated. I was going to ask on here how long does the powdered lime last in the container with a plant in it before the ph is no longer stable and starting to drop lower .... is there a time frame window ? Im using 3 gallon containers. Im using 2 table spoons of powder lime now per 1 gallon. So a 3 gallon container gets 6 table spoons of lime, but how long is that going to be stable for? probably 2 months ?
Then the volatilization your talking about, do you mean it becomes like a vapor or a gas ? and robs the soil of the nitrogen?
Thanks alot for your response! I Love this website
PEACE
2 months sounds about right. But, I transplant into fresh containers just before 12/12, so the lime is good.
I have found though, growing tomatoes, I need to add more lime ~2 months in. Tomatoes though, really seem to suck it up and you need it to prevent BER (Blossom End Rot), which will keep fruit from forming. This is where I first started adding the pellets, because they were in containers 5 months or so.
Due to a bad computer crash, I lost all the science doo da on volatilization, but basically, the blood meal and the lime react and you lose both N and lime. Like mixing vinegar and baking soda (?). Blood meal is pretty acidic.
That's why I use the alfalfa meal in the initial mix, pretty pH neutral and once everything is stabilized, blood meal can be added without all the drama.
You might want to google it for further research.
Wet