riverman,
In one of your earlier posts,possibly from last year,I think there was mentioned about using an inexpensive pH meter that gets pushed into wet soil.I have a couple of those from Rapidtest.
If that is what yours was and if it's still available,is it possible to get a few readings and compare them with the soil test?I'd like to see how accurate these meters are compared to a known pH value. Thanks,Brady

Yes, you need to monitor the pH, but I would suggest getting a pen type pH meter for accuracy. Those cheap probes are wildly inaccurate.

Since your pH is a bit on the low side, I would continue watering with your water uncorrected and use urea instead of ammonium sulphate for fertilizer. But you do need to keep tabs on your pH, so get a decent pH meter. Mix soil samples with distilled water (or even rainwater will work) and let it sit for awhile. Then measure the pH of the water. The fact that you still have sulphur that hasn't broken down may mean your soil pH may actually drop a bit more as time goes by, so you need to keep an eye on it.

I too would be interested in seeing what one of the cheap ph meters show in your soil. I havent checked mine since last year but all my raised beds were in the low 4s and some in the 3s. The potted blues were alittle on the high side and I added some sulfer to those but havent checked them. Only if I notice some yellowing will I check the ph in the future. The fertilizer I use has 14% sulfer in it so hopefully 3 applications of this fert a year will be enough to keep the ph in range.

Take my advice or not, but I did comparisons between cheap probes and decent pen meters, including testing them in calibration solution. No comparison. They can be off by more then a full point in calibration solution, even more in soil as moisture level comes into play in readings. For neutral readings between 6 and 7 for vegetables in soil, they are not so bad, but when you get into blueberry range, they get much further out, and blueberries are much less forgiving of pH errors then tomatoes for example. A decent pen meter can be had for less then $100. Worth every penny.

Brady,

I just did three tests with the Rapidtest around the base of one plant..........the one that the lab said had a ph of 4.1. I cleaned the probe between readings, the soil is very moist but not wet. The Rapidtest gave readings of 4.9, 5.1, and 5.3. So.......the Rapidtest is a full ph point off what is actually going on.

For $10 for a very accurate lab test I'm not sure it even makes sense to buy a meter. For what a good meter will cost me I can have a lab do the test for the next 10 years. For now I will just have mine checked every May or so and adjust from there.

RM

Hanna has some good meters if say .1 accuracy that close as get I've had one many years 1988 its always right on money ever time.

What recommendations do folks have for a good Ph meter? The Hanna ones on Amazon look like they need multiple calibration solutions, storage solutions, etc. Any other options that are accurate. I'm up to 30+ blueberries in 3 different locations and would like an accurate one.

Thanks,I'll check into getting a better meter or soil test done. Brady

The odd thing is I was out watering earlier and noticed that one of my plants has some leaves showing classic high ph problems, light colored leaves with dark colored veins. I tried the rapid test and it said 4.5 to 5.5 so not sure what's up with it. The plant is growing good right now.

RM

Try some liquid feed grade iron teaspoon in gallon sprayer liquid iron should be in ever garden center in 8oz bottle once plants well establish iron normal there in soil so a recent soil test can show there plenty but show different in leaves. with iron spray change be fast couple days even. High ph does overcome iron uptake.

The plant is growing good right now.
Yes iron heavy and slow uptake.

Iron has tobe spray on ever leave iron interning one will not transfer to next leave.

Cornell sells pH kits here for around 15 dollars. They have one kit for readings between 5 and 7 and another for extremes at both ends. I don't know if extensions in other states have similar kits available or if you can purchase these from Cornell out of state.

While these kits aren't as accurate as lab tests, they are reliably accurate within an adequate range for home growers, IMO.

Got the full results back today for those that might be interested in seeing them. The agronomist felt that some of the problems the unhealthy plant may be experiencing are a result of potassium. As you can see the pH numbers came up just a bit which he says is typical after a soak.

RM

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I have an Oakton pH meter which works pretty good for me. Calibration is rarely off by more then .1. I keep it working well by storing the tip in storage solution, and using electrode cleaners a few times a year especially after doing soil tests which tend to dirty the probes. It's worth having accurate tests, especially for blueberries. Adding sulphur to the bed can change the pH pretty drastically over time. To me, sending out constant soil tests is pretty cumbersome.

I hear ya Copoman...nevertheless,

I don't see collecting a few tablespoons of soil in a paper bag and driving it a couple miles to the local conservation district once or twice a year anymore cumbersome than cleaning probes, calibrating, and storing the meter tip in a solution. One major advantage of the lab is I know the results are very accurate.

The advantage I see in having your own meter, assuming it's accurate, is that you can run tests whenever you want to. And, being the ADHD gardening spaz that I am, I would probably be running a test every other day! I may try one and just see how it goes.

If you don't mind me asking, what model by Oakton do you have?

RM

I am using bromocresol green dye indicator to test soil pH in our blueberry beds. It works well, but the resolution is not so fine as can be obtained with a calibrated digital meter. The soil sample, about one tablespoon, is mixed with DI water to make a slurry, & this is filtered to get about 5ml of solution for testing. A drop or two of dye indicator is added. Yellow means pH = 3.8, blue means pH = 5.4, and green solution means the pH is around the mid-point, 4.6. This indicator is available mail order from HMS Beagle, but I'm sure there are other sources. A small bottle is two dollars.

Fe (iron real low get feed grade in 8 oz. bottle its in a lot garden centers).
use acid loving plant fertilizer this mainly for urea nitrogen so want change PH.

Yeah riverman,now that I looked more closely at your chart,there are some things that are lower than optimal.Maybe check for an acid fertilizer with micronutrients.I have the Jack's Classic Acid Special that supplies those things. Brady

Not too much of a surprise that the micronutrients are lacking since I'm using primarily peat and bark. Wish I could buy some Jack's locally, hate having to order stuff like fertilizer. Thanks for the recommendations.

RM

Riverman: I use an Oakton Ecotester pH2. I also have an Oakton ppm meter as well which is useful for testing fertilizer strength and water quality. I originally got these for hydroponic use, which I'm not doing anymore, but are quite useful in soil and container gardening as well.

Thank you..........