24
That $60 'expert' soil test kit was a complete waste of money
I spent last Saturday testing soil from my raised beds using one of those fancy kits from the garden center. Every test said my pH was perfect and nutrients were high, which sounded great until my tomatoes started looking sick. I took a sample to the county extension office for $12 and found out the kit was off by almost 2 full pH points. Has anyone else had better luck with a specific brand or should I just stick with sending samples to the lab?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
daniel_lane303d ago
Every test said my pH was perfect and nutrients were high" - see that right there is the red flag. A soil test that says everything is perfect is like a doctor saying you're 100% healthy without even looking at you, something's fishy. I wasted money on those big box store kits too, the ones with the little color chart you have to match up. They're garbage if you ask me, especially for pH which is super touchy. Did the county test tell you what was actually wrong with the soil besides the pH being off? I'm curious if it was a nutrient lockout problem or something else that the kit completely missed.
5
patricia_schmidt143d ago
Yeah I read somewhere that the cheap color match tests can be off by a whole pH point or more, which is huge for plants. The color fades over time too, so you're never really sure what you're looking at. County tests are way more reliable from what I've heard, they use actual lab equipment instead of guessing.
3