I got a little nervous when I read the subject line from one of my e-mails last week. It simply read “The Fight” and it was sent from our Extension Fisheries Agent Bill Maily. Many of you know Maily like I do — an easy-going kind of a guy but a bit of a jokester. It just didn’t seem likely that he’d be the sort of fellow who would have gotten into an altercation.

When I opened the e-mail, I just had to laugh. He was letting me know that his cell phone got into a fight with his riding lawn mower and I may not be able to call him for an answer to pond questions unless I called his office or his home after dark. According to Maily, he was amazed at how many parts a cell phone had and just how far they’d fly when hit by a mower blade. I suspect as soon as he can, he will get that cell phone replaced as he travels most of the state assisting farm pond owners and Extension agents like yours truly. One of the topics he and I have been discussing lately is liming farm ponds.

Fall is the time to lime farm ponds. Liming provides major benefits for individuals growing sport fish in a pond in an area with acid soils. Limestone reduces the acidity of the bottom soils and makes nutrients more available and increases the alkalinity and hardness of the water. This is especially important if one plans to fertilize next spring to increase fish production. 

Secondly, liming increases the dissolved minerals in the water, which reduces stress on the fish over the winter. Fish in acidic water with low alkalinity and hardness are more likely to get sick. It’s a good chance that if the soil on pastures or fields near your pond require lime, the pond will benefit from liming, as well.

Limestone dissolves slowly, so application is best done well before the warmer months, which is the growing season for warm-water fish. 

The best way to determine if your pond needs liming is by soil testing. In general, ponds that need lime will require at least 1 ton per acre, but could need 2 or more. 

Pond owners will sometimes ask, “Isn’t all lime the same?” No! Make sure to use only agricultural or dolomitic limestone in ponds with fish populations. Other forms of lime (hydrated, slaked, or quick) can be used to lime empty ponds before the fish are stocked, but if they are used in filled ponds, they cause the pH to increase dramatically, killing fish.

An application of agricultural limestone typically lasts for three to four years, depending upon the amount of water flow through the pond. That’s a lot longer than Maily’s cell phones will last if he doesn’t quit running over them with his lawn mower.

Reminder: First Tuesday Gardening with Extension Horticulture Agent Donna Beliech from noon until 1 p.m., Extension conference room, 1100 Grove St. Topic:  Seed Saving and Plant Swap. Bring two plants to swap.601-636-5442. E-mail him at jcoccaro@ext.msstate.edu.

John C. Coccaro is county Extension director. Write to him at 1100-C Grove St., Vicksburg, MS 39180 or call 601-636-5442. E-mail him at jcoccaro@ext.msstate.edu