Lime for your lawn? Is it margarita season? Always.
The best lime for your lawn is Espoma Lightning Lime Fertilizer. You can grab it here on Amazon or keep scrolling and read about some of the runner-ups.
When you hear the word “lime,” you probably think of the green citrus fruit that goes well with a handcrafted cocktail. Well, lime doesn’t just describe a tart fruit – it’s also a soil amendment formulated with limestone rock.
It doesn’t sound so tasty now, unless you’re Fred Flintstone. Your lawn would beg to differ – lime is full of nutrients that keep grass lush and vibrant in color. Not only that, but lime helps grass maintain an ideal pH level (5.8 – 7.0).
Why I use lime on my lawn
The great thing about lime is that you don’t have to apply it very often (unlike fertilizer). In fact, most homeowners only have to apply lime every three to five years. In contrast, some people use fertilizer a couple of times per month.
Best of all, lime is cheap and readily available on the internet and in your local brick-and-mortar gardening or big box store, like Home Depot or Lowe’s. With that said, I’m a big fan of buying lime on the internet and getting it shipped straight to my house (I’m lazy).
The Best Lime Products for Your Yard
If you’re ready to apply lime to your lawn or just want to stock up, you’ve come to the right place. Lime is not all made equally, however. While the active ingredients are generally the same, how they are made, the size of the package, and the price are all major considerations when looking to buy the BEST lime for your lawn.
Here’s a look at some of the lime products I considered for my lawn when I was doing my search. After you get a chance to review my list of the top products, be sure to keep reading to learn about the best way to apply lime.
Espoma Lightning Lime Fertilizer
Perhaps one of the most popular lime products on the planet is Espoma’s Lightning Lime Fertilizer. At first glance, I was a bit skeptical of the use of “lightning”.
I thought to myself, “will my lawn transform into a luscious green retreat in the blink of an eye?”.
Well, not so fast, the lime adjusts pH levels in six to eight weeks. Certainly not lightning fast, but still a viable option. Remember, we are in it for the long haul when it comes to lime, knowing that it is a 2-3 times per decade application for most folks. Let’s dig some more.
Espoma claims the lime is safe to use around kids and pets. The safety element of this product comes from how it is treated. The organic product is treated with natural humic acid. And given the package’s 30-lb size, you get around five bags of regular-sized lime as compared to some of the others.
So far, so good. Comparable products take up to 14 weeks to do the job, and Espoma slices that in half (pun intended).
Additionally, Espoma claims that this lime is less dusty than other products on the market, making it easier to handle and less messy when opening. One consideration here is that this thing can cover 5x what a normal bag of lime can cover, so you need to make sure you have the right setting on your broadcast spreader (instructions are on the bag).
You can grab this bad boy on Amazon for a really good price.
Earth Science Fast-Acting Lime
We all have busy lives, so I picked another “fast-acting” lime for the list. Earth Science Fast-Acting Lime covers 5,000 square feet of yard and comes in granular form.
Like traditional lime products, it raises the pH level to promote nutrient absorption. Similar to Espoma’s lime, the Earth Science formula is also safe around kids and pets. While this product dubs itself “fast-acting,” I couldn’t find an exact time frame. But on the bright side, the packaging says the lime is 100% guaranteed and keeps working all season.
Although this one is a bit more expensive per square foot of coverage than the Espoma lime, it does highlight that it is able to cover what is traditionally covered by 4 bags of lime.
Compare this claim to Espoma, which mentions that they can cover 5 bags of lime. This one is 25 lbs, Espoma is 30 lbs, so the formula is likely very similar.
At about the same price as Espoma, I have to say that this one is going to be a little costlier, but a great alternative for someone who doesn’t need as much lime. It’s also available on Amazon for just over $30.
Solu-Cal Enhanced Calcitic Lime
Don’t panic; Solu-Cal isn’t a soul catcher. Despite the rather cryptic name, Solu-Cal Enhanced Calcitic Lime is a relatively new product with a different formula.
This product’s formula is unique in that it combines pellet limestone with calcium to produce results as quickly as a few weeks. It seems a little far-fetched at first glance, doesn’t it? Imagine giving your grass some milk (this was actually my fourth grade science fair project and it rotted).
It’s a really good lime product for large yards, as it covers up to 10,000 square feet per bag. Other than the additional bio-available calcium, this is your run-of-the-mill lime. Nothing bad to say about it, nothing particularly great to say about it. It will do the job just fine, it just comes in a larger quantity.
This one is also available on Amazon in a much larger quantity for a really great price.
Hoffman Garden Lime
Last but not least is Hoffman’s Pelletized Garden Lime. I wanted to throw this product in as an option because it is designed for gardens. It’s a solid supplemental product to purchase alongside the products I’ve highlighted above. The lime comes in an 8-lb package and “sweetens” the soil while increasing nutrient availability to plant roots.
I probably would just get a larger bag and use some on my lawn and some in my garden instead of specifically buying an overpriced bag. But if you don’t have a lawn and just want to get some lime in your garden, then this is a nice alternative.
It’s available on Amazon for about $20 for an 8lb bag.
The Bottom Lime (No Pun Intended)
Lime is an important component of lawn care. And even though you only have to apply it every few years, choosing the right product can make or break your lawn. Fortunately, you shouldn’t have to spend more than $150 on lime, depending on the size of your yard. However, you need a tool to apply the lime to your yard with a tool (from my own personal experience, I don’t recommend using your hands).
Before you hit the ground running with your new bag of lime, make sure you get your hands on a spreader. My favorite is Scotts Elite Spreader, which is available on Amazon for a deal.
The spreader features dual rotor technology and holds up to 20,000 square feet of product. It also has an ergonomic handle (kiss those pesky blisters goodbye). I also recommend Scotts EdgeGuard Broadcast Spreader, which I’ve written about extensively.
Your yard will thank you no matter which lime or spreader you use. You’ll also thank yourself after your lawn transforms into lush and vibrant grass that leaves the neighbors envious.
Why we started this site
We started The Lawn Review out of frustration. We couldn’t find clarity around what type of products were actually good and reliable. All the fertilizers we tried didn’t work. We ended up with a dying lawn, wasted time, and wasted money.
So we started buying and reviewing lawn tools and figuring out which ones were the best. And now we’ve moved onto actually keeping that lawn looking nice all year around.
We’ve spent thousands of hours building this content for people just like you and me – normal people.
