This is another one of those little known tricks that I use in my lawn to keep it green and healthy and dandelion free! In fact guys, I gotta be honest with you on this one: most lawn care “pros” don’t know much about the use of calcium in the lawn and its benefits.
First off, I want you to get the right source of calcium for your lawn. BE SURE to get calcium carbonate soil amendments and NOT dolamite lime (which contains a little too much Magnesium for my liking) At the end of the article I tell you what and where to buy
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Next, I want you to think of calcium as a soil conditioner as well as support nutrient for overall grass plant health. Let’s explore these two separate but very complementary benefits (LOL does that sound hoity toity?) 
Calcium and Lawn Soil
Over the years, the dirt/soil beneath your turf has probably been subjected to all kinds of stress. High nitrogen synthetic fertilizers used year after year can basically strip the soil down to almost nothing. In addition, compaction from foot traffic, weather and mechanical factors can literally “crush” soil bacterial activity. On the flip side, you may have a new home that’s lawn soil is just construction scrape that came from who knows where?!?!
I need you to understand that healthy soil is the foundation of a healthy lawn. Everyone thinks that just “throwing down fertilizer” will do the trick, while in reality, that may be actually harming the lawn’s healthy if done in an irresponsible fashion.
Anyway, since your lawn soil is crappy, you need to do something to get it back in shape… and when I mean in shape, you want to increase natural soil activity (micro-organisms/microbes).
Calcium in the soil acts to reduce compaction which brings in air and water at all levels. This, in turn, allows microbes to survive. In addition, calcium in the soil has been show to help reduce phosphorous loss (Phos is one of the “big three” nutrients plants need).
Finally, and best of all, having adequate calcium in the soil can help reduce dandelion populations in the lawn. Something to do with Ca tells the dandelion seeds not to germinate.
Calcium And Grass Plants
Calcium can also help your grass be more healthy and vibrant. Without getting too technical here, calcium is kind of a regulator in the plant that helps and support intake and uptake of water and nutrients from the roots (Xylem). If it is not present in proper balance, plant vigor can be effected, allowing disease to take over.
I recommend you apply calcium to your lawn in the spring of the year if you find it is needed. How much you apply depends on the product you buy and the needs of your particular soil. You can see my recommendation for a calcium lawn supplement on my recommended products page, or in my lawn ebook.
Final Points – Calcium
As always, I want you to use your noggin’ a little bit before spreading lime (calcium) all over your lawn. Did you perform a soil test? Did you find that your soil pH is off? Is your lawn soil void of nutrients? Are you following my lawn program and keeping organic nutrients high in the soil to begin with?
It’s perfectly fine to add lime to your soil in the spring… just make sure you follow the label directions and don’t over-apply.
