Ferry-Morse 990 Electric Soil Tester

by Ferry Morse

Product Features

• Results in seconds
• Reusable
• Includes PH preferences on over 400 garden and landscape plants.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 2.2 x 1.5 inches ; 4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00134UQEC
• Item model number: 0990
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,508 in Patio, Lawn & Garden (See Top 100 in Patio, Lawn & Garden)

Product Description

Ferry-Morse has been supplying the best in seed and gardening supplies for over 100 years, and we are proud to still be innovating and improving. Whether you are looking for the finest in flowers or gourmet garden vegetables, you will find all your answers here. Take a minute and explore our product categories for planning and inspiration. At Ferry-Morse, we want you to enjoy your best ever gardening experience. Ferry-Morse Seed Company offers gardener's over 350 varieties of flower, vegetable, and herb seed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not accurate, useless tool for testing or adjusting ph, May 21, 2009

By 

Andrew Wowk - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ferry-Morse 990 Electric Soil Tester (Lawn & Patio)

I purchased this product from a local hardware store. I have also purchased another ph meter that works on the same principle made by Mosser Lee. Both units appear to be of no help in determining ph to any degree of accuracy, nor in adjusting ph. They *may* be of slight help in determining if soil is either way acidic or alkaline but nothing beyond that.

I first used it to test a control sample of soil from my area that should measure about 7.8 ph (this is a desert and the soil is alkaline). Additionally, the water here is likely alkaline but I have not measured it yet. I followed the instructions to test a sample with tap water (unfortunately I did not have distilled water available), and the meter instantly flung all the way positive, then slowly settled back to neutral (7) where it started at.

Next, I took 1 cup of water and added about a teaspoon of baking soda. I know this is not how the meter was designed to work, e.g., measuring water, so if it still measured neutral than I would still not count it as bad. Sure enough, it measured neutral.

My hope at this point was that the unit was mis-calibrated. So I took the sticker off from the front that is directly underneath the display and adjusted the lever so that the meter would read about 7.8 when testing my control soil sample. Next I measured a cup of vinegar (5% concentration) which measured about 2.5, so I figured that I was on to something. Maybe the meter just needed to be properly calibrated?

I proceeded to adjust the ph of soil for a potted plant. In concentrations of about 4 tablespoons per cup, I added about 12 ounces of vinegar in total, each time observing the ph drop a little. NOTE: I inserted the ph meter at an angle to read the top layer of soil that was soaked with the acidic solution. At end, it measured slightly below neutral(maybe 6.8). I checked this with a soil testing kit which measured the soil ph as about 5 to 5.5.

I don't consider the meter to be accurate enough to be of any help adjusting soil ph. If it was within .5 ph, than maybe, but instead the needle seems to like to settle around where it's natural resting position is. Meaning, if I was to measure more and more acidic soil than the meter would probably be worse and worse in accuracy.

The Mosser Lee unit I purchased seemed to operate in a similar matter.

Don't rely on these type of meters. They will mislead you. I could probably guesstimate a better ph reading through taste. Get your money back and go buy a chemical soil testing kit of some type if you have purchased one.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars definitely worthless, June 3, 2010

By 

marshmallow (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ferry-Morse 990 Electric Soil Tester (Lawn & Patio)

I should have read these reviews before buying this product. Unfortunately, I bought it off another website without putting much thought into it...I guess I thought for $24.99, I was going to get a quality product. Wrong! As someone else said, the resting position is 7, and when used, the needle just stays in it's resting position. I switched to the "Fertilizer Analysis" Mode to see if it would change and it did move so it was doing SOMETHING. However, I used the meter in orange juice and got the exact same result. Do not buy this product.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Needle Does Not Move, March 20, 2011

By 

LizAnn - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ferry-Morse 990 Electric Soil Tester (Lawn & Patio)

Bought the meter at Lowes. Inserted one AA battery. The needle points to 7 on the pH scale when the unit is turned off. Following the directions to test soil, the needle stays at 7, no matter what soil is being tested. I replaced the battery. The needle stayed at 7. I retested the soil with the same result. I tested water, water with baking soda, and orange juice. The needle stayed at 7 for each test. I returned the unit.