Hydrated has been chemically altered and can burn your roots very easily. I'm not going to get into a long detailed anything, do a search if you want that. There is a very long technical post either here or in indoor growing. Short answer, avoid hydrated, slaked, burnt, or quick lime. Pellets are fine. The ones I have are powdered dolomite formed into pellets with a fast dissolving binder. The first watering dissolves the binder and releases the powdered lime. I have and use both, the powdered goes in my mixes and the pellets get broadcast in the garden or used as a top dressing. Much easier to work with than powdered, especially on a breezy day. Both work just fine. Wet
Powdered is best imo, if you're doing it for a soil mix, it will be more evenly mixed. It should also work better (balancing ph, giving cal-mag to roots) beings smaller peices will have more surface area. If you can only get pellets, at least crush them down the best you can first.
[quote name='"wetdog"']Hydrated has been chemically altered and can burn your roots very easily. I'm not going to get into a long detailed anything, do a search if you want that. There is a very long technical post either here or in indoor growing. Short answer, avoid hydrated, slaked, burnt, or quick lime. Pellets are fine. The ones I have are powdered dolomite formed into pellets with a fast dissolving binder. The first watering dissolves the binder and releases the powdered lime. I have and use both, the powdered goes in my mixes and the pellets get broadcast in the garden or used as a top dressing. Much easier to work with than powdered, especially on a breezy day. Both work just fine. Wet[/quote] The stuff I bought is dolomite lime formed into pellets. So should i mix it in?
You can mix it in.. You don't need a lot.. I put a layer on top so that with each watering it drains threw.. To me that let's me know when to add more..
That's fine.. Like I said the problem I have with soil is knowing when it's almost dissolved. With a layer on top you can see how much is left and I think it also dispurses more evenly.. But mixing it in will do the trick.. You'll end up layering the soil eventually when your mixed in dolomite dilutes..
2tbl/gallon of mix. Mixed in or top dress. Mixed in if the plants aren't in there yet and you can shovel the mix around. Top dress if the plants are already in the pots. The lime you add will be good for ~4 months. Plenty long enough for an entire grow. It might get consumed, but really won't wash out. One application and you're GTG. Add some more if you recycle the mix, along with the other amendments. Wet