PH meters

shdw633

Senior Member
I realize that sending off soil samples is the best way to get your ph levels; however, do any of you use any type of meter to do checkups on your areas? These are the probe type meters. I got my soil samples back last year and made the changes but don't want to keep sending (paying) to have it done every year and am thinking one of these meters just to get a quick glance as to whether I am still on track or not. They have such mixed reviews on the internet.
 

elfiii

Admin
Staff member

Crakajak

Daily Driveler News Team
I have one that I have used for many years. You just have to make sure that the reading is the actual ph. of the soil. Mine is a 1/2 point heavy from actual ph via a soil test.
 

shdw633

Senior Member
I have one that I have used for many years. You just have to make sure that the reading is the actual ph. of the soil. Mine is a 1/2 point heavy from actual ph via a soil test.

What model do you have?
 

shdw633

Senior Member

Crakajak

Daily Driveler News Team
Mine is an OLD,OLD Biologic that they made when they first started. It will get you close but can't tell you about any micronutrients you may need.
 

elfiii

Admin
Staff member
I was thinking of one that was a little bit cheaper....like in the $15 to $20 range!! :bounce::bounce:

Yeah I know and I have had a couple of those and threw them in the trash. It's true - you get what you pay for.:wink:
 

280bst

Senior Member
I got one from Gurneys I think called a rapitest it will do ph fertilizer needs think it was around $40. Compared it to my pool ph tester close. Always produced good looking plots and garden. I know I know I be just poor white trash. Dang does me calling me that make me a racist :rolleyes:
 

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy
you spend how much a year in fertilizer, seed, plowing, and all the other costs of maintaining that land, but a $10 PH test is too expensive to make every couple of years???????

facepalm:
 

shdw633

Senior Member
you spend how much a year in fertilizer, seed, plowing, and all the other costs of maintaining that land, but a $10 PH test is too expensive to make every couple of years???????

facepalm:

1 foodplot, no big deal.....25 food plots, big deal. Not just the money but the time collecting, cost of shipping and the time getting back the information. Don't want to do it every couple years, more like every five years would be ideal.
 

nrh0011

Senior Member
Measuring pH isn't hard, it's all the other things that the soil test lab does outside of that like measuring the pH in a buffer solution and back calculating how much lime you need to adjust your pH with the active and reserve acidity. IMHO (for what it's worth) just let those guys conduct the test. If you want to keep tabs on what's going on you can get some litmus paper pH strips and roughly measure soil pH in a 1:1 soil to water ratio, really needs to be deionized water though.
 

shdw633

Senior Member
Measuring pH isn't hard, it's all the other things that the soil test lab does outside of that like measuring the pH in a buffer solution and back calculating how much lime you need to adjust your pH with the active and reserve acidity. IMHO (for what it's worth) just let those guys conduct the test. If you want to keep tabs on what's going on you can get some litmus paper pH strips and roughly measure soil pH in a 1:1 soil to water ratio, really needs to be deionized water though.

We did all that last season, I was just looking for something that I could do a quick check on PH to make sure things haven't slid to the point that more soil testing is required or if I just need to add a few hundred pounds of lime to a particular plot over a plot that doesn't need anything. Our plots varied so much I was kind of surprised when we had the tests done. Plots I thought for sure were going to need a lot of work needed very little while plots I thought would take a little love took a whole lot of love to get right. Now I'm just wanting to go through and just see quickly if there are any big sways in PH over the soil last season. Please keep in mind as well, that it's more about time then money. I have 400 miles to drive and basically a day and a half to do what I have to do to these areas so I was hoping something like one of these gauges would just give me a little extra information in regards to whether a plot should have a few bags of lime put on them or if I could just mow, tiller and plant due to what was done to them last season.
 

Crakajak

Daily Driveler News Team
Another way to save money on soil test if you have perennial clover is to do the initial soil test. Plant your food plot. Then test again for 2 years. Record the results and then you know how much lime is needed every year to maintain a ____ ph level as well as the other soil nutrients.
 

elfiii

Admin
Staff member
We did all that last season, I was just looking for something that I could do a quick check on PH to make sure things haven't slid to the point that more soil testing is required or if I just need to add a few hundred pounds of lime to a particular plot over a plot that doesn't need anything. Our plots varied so much I was kind of surprised when we had the tests done. Plots I thought for sure were going to need a lot of work needed very little while plots I thought would take a little love took a whole lot of love to get right. Now I'm just wanting to go through and just see quickly if there are any big sways in PH over the soil last season. Please keep in mind as well, that it's more about time then money. I have 400 miles to drive and basically a day and a half to do what I have to do to these areas so I was hoping something like one of these gauges would just give me a little extra information in regards to whether a plot should have a few bags of lime put on them or if I could just mow, tiller and plant due to what was done to them last season.

"Lime is the poor man's fertilizer". :wink: It's almost impossible to put down too much lime. If you think 400 lbs will do you put down 600 lbs. Your fertilizer will do a better job.
 
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