Liming and Fertilizing

Another Dear Reader question:  "Can you lime and fertilize at the same time?"

The short answer is no.  The lime will tend to deactivate most commercial fertilizers and render them inactive much faster than they otherwise would be.

The longer answer is, it depends.  Fertilizing organically, there's no problem and you can mix the two.  Even synthetically, immediately watering in the mix with at least a quarter inch of irrigation (or timing it just before rainfall) will tend to limit the problems.  Or, if you choose a fertilizer that doesn't use urea or ammonium-based products, you don't even have to water it in immediately.

Some fertilizers can even function as lime, such as calcium nitrate.  They do tend to be expensive, but it's another example of an exception to the no fertilizer and lime rule.