Highly-Rated Soil PH Testers That Gardeners Are Loving

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The idea of a garden seems so simple — find a sunny spot, dig up some dirt, plant some seeds, and water them. While gardening is good for your health, it can come with lots of pitfalls. Anyone who has seen their tomato harvest fail or their pole beans wither on the vine has felt the frustration of all that hard work coming to nothing. That's because gardening is a science, and one often overlooked, but crucially important factor is the pH of your soil. It can tell if you need to improve your garden's soil by adding fertilizer, lime, or organic matter. But how do you figure out the pH? There are plenty of testers on the market, and OutdoorGuide.com dove deep into online product reviews to find out what gardeners think are the most accurate, easiest to use, and best value products out there for at-home use.

Why test your pH? The calculus is pretty simple. Plants need nutrients to survive. The pH of a soil determines how well nutrients can be absorbed by the plants. Soils that are alkaline, meaning they have a high pH, will be limited in nutrients like iron, causing some types of plants to grow poorly. Acidic soils, or those with a low pH, have limited magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus, which will inhibit other plants' growth. 

It all depends on what the plant needs, and knowing your pH is an important step before bringing those seedlings outdoors. While many long-time gardeners prefer to send soil samples to their local extension office for accurate results, at-home tests require no waiting and can be used multiple times throughout the season. There are several pH test kits available on Amazon that rate highly for accuracy and ease of use according to reviewers and garden bloggers. 

There are two basic kinds of at-home pH testers for your soil: those that use test tubes and chemicals, or electric tests that you simply stick into your soil. A top-rated chemical test is the Luster Leaf 1601 Rapitest® Soil Test Kit. This test has over 300 five-star ratings by Amazon purchasers, and its accuracy is supported by other online reviews. YouTubers Tyler Lloyd and Forever Food Forest both compared the results they got from professional testing labs and the Luster Leaf test, and each found the pH results from Luster Leaf to be accurate. A majority of reviewers also found this test easy to use, although some found the capsules challenging.

Easier-to-use electric soil testers range in cost from under $10 to well over $100, but you don't have to spend a lot to get a well-reviewed device. A standout is the Kensizer Soil Tester, which costs a little over $10. The Kensizer tester has over 5,000 five-star ratings on Amazon, with reviewers noting its ease of use and value. Online blogs by homesteaders Katie Krejci and Morning Chores list the Kensizer as tops among the several rapid tests they tried.

Another highly rated, inexpensive tester is the Sonkir MS02 Soil Tester, an under $10 bargain with over 26,000 five-star reviews. YouTuber All DIY No Skills liked its ease of use and quick results, but noted that the pH reading is less precise than digital read-out models. Of those, the Yamron 4-in-1 Soil Meter is a top model, providing pH as well as moisture, light, and temperature with a clear display. Over 1,300 Amazon reviewers gave this device five stars, as did several garden blogs, highlighting its clear screen and precision over the needle readouts on most other meters.

With a focus on accuracy, ease of use, and value, the highest-rated soil pH rapid test kits on Amazon were evaluated. Products with a high number of five-star customer reviews were cross-checked against other online rankings from several gardening sites and blogs. In researching reviews to find the most popular products, online blogs and videos posted by gardeners who had used these kits and compared their results to lab tests were consulted.