Luster Leaf1612 Rapitest pH Soil Tester

The test worked fine and confirmed my fears that the native soil in my yard is generally alkaline which is not ideal for most plants. I also tested a store-bought potting soil which gave a more favorable pH reading. One caveat to consider is that people often say to "test your soil" as if all soil in your yard is the same. It's not that easy since many mulches, topsoils, composts, fertilizers, and decaying dead leaves could have been added over the years in different areas. If you want to test the "native soil" keep in mind that you might need to dig down a bit to get a proper sample. Good luck.

Kit includes10 separate PH test capsules; purchase this and can perform 10 separate tests.Easy to use nice little vial to place in sample soil, PH capsule contents, and water. shake around and wait a bit. Hold up to sunlight but not direct sun (important).PH tests are inherently somewhat difficult to interpret. Is it this shade or is it the next over shade. This kit cant fix that. But this kit is easy to use and reliable if instructions are properly followed, especially the light source.

I bought this to test the pH of my blueberry soil that I have in half wine barrels. I used 1/3 pine bark mulch, 1/3 sphagnum peat moss, and 1/3 organic potting soil. I mixed it all up well and checked the pH a few weeks later. This quick little kit gave me indication I was at around a 6. I wanted to drop it a bit further so I added some organic acid fertilizer, waited close to 2 months and rechecked. My soil is now around 4.5 to 5. The blueberry bushes love it and they are green (not red and yellow now), growing fast, and have tons of flowers!+ Water Dropper Included+ Simple Instructions+ No Mess+ Consistent Results+ Takes about 2-3 minutes to take a sample and get a reading+ Small Booklet providing details of many different plants, vegetables, and flowers and the soil pH they grow best in_Bottom Line_ Yes, I would recommend this pH kit over other products, such as a soil probe. In my experience this is the fastest, most consistent, easiest way to get an accurate idea of what the pH is. This kit really helped me get my blueberry bushes up and going and I will continue to use the test kit to monitor my soil pH.

I had never tested my own soil before and had wanted to, but the tests seemed so complicated and hard to use. After looking through the soil testers on Amazon I thought I would take the plunge and do my own testing. Well, it was a lot easier than I thought and the results are easy to read and are accurate.My neighbor has a larger, more expensive kit and he did a test right after I did mine and they were pretty close to each other with the results. I could not be happier with the kit and I found out exactly what I needed for my garden. The best part of the Luster Leaf kit is the price. So inexpensive and such a great result!

This test is quite easy to use if you prep the soil right (dry, filter, crush to fine powder). But I do not think it is as accurate as the Luster Leaf 1662/1663 Professional Soil Test kit (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W6JC2U/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1M7T0SNW2H7UE&coliid=I19DMY22GYFP75). I compared side by side (see photo). The Pro kits have much more distinct color difference where it really matters ~ 6.0-7.0 pH. This kit is somewhat beige at 6.0 vs bright yellow on the pro kit. Even more pronounced, this kit is light green at 6.5 vs bright orange on the pro kit. I also found my acidic soil potted blueberries were closer to the acidic pH I would expect according to the pro kit than the reading on this kit (6.0 vs 7.0). But this kit settles out in 1 minute, vs 5-10 minutes for the pro.

This does a decent job of testing acidity levels. I have compared it to actual soil tests and is fairly close in results. I use it every other year, as an actual soil test gives you more information and recommendations.

I grew up on a farm and I've been gardening for over 50 years. When I was a child, we took soil samples to our county agent every few years and guessed during the years between samples. That was not often enough for NKP or PH. The County Agent's report covered 6 or 8 more things such as borax, aluminum, and calcium. Those things change very slowly and only need to be tested for only every 5 to 10 years. In the fifties and sixties, we just assumed the soil would need lime each year; it was acid. However, the amount we used was calculated by rule of thumb. Others used the taste test; tasting the soil to tell if it was sweet or sour; better than nothing but very distasteful when the fertilizer of choice is manure.If you do no other tests, do this one! PH controls whether or not a plant can take up nutrients. All the fertilizer in the world will not help, if the PH is wrong. I purchased the full test set as well as this one so that I could do more frequent PH tests and in more places such as around shrubs, bushes, and trees, especially fruiting trees and bushes. I have been using these products for at least 20 years. This purchase was just to renew my supply. I can usually go 2 or3 years with a full Luster Leaf set plus an extra PH test set. Buy and use it!. It will save you money on fertilizer and you can have the best garden in the neighborhood!

I could not get a reading, I was unable to determine the color to compare against the ph colors on the vial container after soil was mixed with their product agent. It showed muddy from the soil, even after I waited a long time to let the soil sink to the bottom. It was a waste of money for me. I finally ended up purchasing some PH test strips and tested a soil sample mixed in distilled water. The PH test strip indicated perfect ph!No, I would not recommend the Luster Leaf Rapitest ph soil tester. Use PH test strips!