chemical lime

While my seeds germinate for a few days, I'm getting the soil ready. It's some Scotts potting soil, with some grass/moss mulch added in and some sand so it drains well. I don't have a pH tester, nor can I afford one right now, but let's just say my soil is fairly neutral for the sake of argument. I want to get it a little bit on the basic side because that favors females. About much lime should I add to a gallon of soil? also, the stuff I have is pure chemical CaO, if that helps any. I don't know if there's a difference between that and gardening grade stuff. Anyway, Thanks in advance. Nathan

Soil, perlite, compost, sand and 1 tablespoon of lime is all you need for 5 gallon mix. Having a PH above 7 does NOT favor Females. MJ likes soil PH to be 6.5-7.0 which is acid and not base.

Go easy on the lime - 1 Tbs for 5 Gal sounds about right.

And technically lime is a buffer. Here is a great little piece that explains it all.

Soil pH and Buffer pH