how much lime to bring peat moss for potting soil to a more neutral ph?

I bought a bale of peat moss for the second time in my life.
I've been struggling with heavy potting soil and decided I needed something in my flats that's lighter weight.. they were each like moving a car battery around.

I wondered if there is a measurement of peat moss to lime in a potting soil mix to bring it to a more neutral ph?
I was sold agricultural lime a few years ago...very fine dust.
What I wanted and usually buy is dolomite mesh lime, a courser screened crushed limestone.

I'm going to use what I have though.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_lime

I don't have ph strips but might be able to borrow a ph meter although I 'm hoping there might be a standard...X amount of peat moss to X amount of lime dust.

I'm going with 1 tbs of lime to a gallon of peat.
Found at this site https://frostygarden.com/topics/how-to-make-your-own-diy-potting-mix-garden-soil/

i've mixed up a gallon peat with 1 TBS lime then added a cup of basalt rock dust and a pinch of sea 90 plus a couple quarts of a good organic potting soil someone gave me.

Carefully measured in order to duplicate in case it works...measuring does not come naturally.

Now I wonder what I can try to germinate quickly that might test this mix?

Something that might sprout in coolish weather.
We sprout lentils all winter in cool house temps so will try a few and maybe oats?
Not sure our house is warm enough to try beans?

Any ideas for something that would be ph sensitive either way?

I'm no expert regarding potting soil; we recycle and rework all the old stuff from pots. But I'm not sure peat moss makes radical pH changes in the way that a chemical additive would. I think it's gradual, and perhaps compost tea could be gently adjusted to offset any concerns. My 2c.

I have no idea but if you want to add a small percentage of soil with high organic matters, both the clay particles and organic matters will help buffering the pH and hold on to nutrients. If you can find clumps of perennial grasses you can collect such soil from the root zone. Perennial grass has a fibrous root system that dies back every year. The OM level will be the highest before new roots start to grow in spring time. You probably will find lots of earthworms living in this rootball so it naturally has worm castings in it. This soil has a fine texture yet retains the integrity very well when moisted down, unlike regular clay clots that just disintegrate in water and turn dry and hard.

Douglas,
that sounds like a good idea and would be easy to make small amounts to water my seed starting flats.
thanks!


May,
Perennial grasses like johnson grass? bermuda even?
That would be great as I am pulling and digging both as I broadfork beds.

I wonder if I could just rinse the soil off the roots into some rainwater and  use to moisten the peat moss?

not about ph but if you want to reduce weight of your potting mix try adding perlite or vermiculite up to 1 part per 1 part peat moss. it also helps a lot with having well aeration and also helps with drainage

bruce Fine wrote:not about ph but if you want to reduce weight of your potting mix try adding perlite or vermiculite up to 1 part per 1 part peat moss. it also helps a lot with having well aeration and also helps with drainage

thanks Bruce!
I've been trying to find bulk vermiculite because I don't like how the bits of perlite look like styrofoam  in my flats.
I had not bought anything like this in years and am having sticker shock 🙃