Customer Reviews

Luster Leaf 1817 Rapitest Mini Soil pH/Moisture Tester

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Extension agents will tell you "Fertilize the crop, not the soil." Good advice if you're using chemical fertilizers. As an organic grower, I believe "Feed the soil, and the soil will feed the plants." Either way, you need to keep up with soil pH and organic matter content.

This great little meter may not be laboratory grade, but it is accurate enough for a quick check on your soil's lime requirements and organic matter content (by way of its relative moisture retention.)

Periodic soil testing is good practice. Frequent spot testing with this inexpensive meter is a gardening breakthrough!

The people who tested it in milk and orange juice did not read the instructions. Mine say clearly that this is NOT designed to test water or other liquids, but rather soil and damp, but not liquid situations.
to quote from the packaging: USE THE METER ONLY IN SOIL. DO NOT PLACE THE PROBES INTO WATER!!

Yes, all in caps. I guess some folks aren't literate.

Obviously it's not a digital and I knew it when I purchased it. It seems to be accurate enough to perform it's function so I have no complaints at all. Quite happy really. The pins can be a bit flimsy in dryer soil so just mind the conditions and be cautious about it.

Based on my experience with this meter so far, I wouldn't recommend it for serious gardening, because it is quite inaccurate. Compared against a professional meter (that I eventually purchased later!), the rapitest meter reading is often off by as much as 1.5 - 2.0 points. Also, the reading seems to vary wildly depending on the moisture and temperature.

Do not be tempted by the cheap price. The meter may appear to be functioning but the result is likely so far off that you end up compensating your soil PH in the wrong direction.

I saw a lot of negative reviews about this item, but there were also a lot of positive ones, and it looked like those who had trouble had not followed the instructions properly--so I gave it a try. I should've listened to the bad reviews. I never put the tester in any liquid. I followed the directions exactly. I tried it in different soils, some of which were fairly dry, and some that had just been watered, some with fertlizer/some without. The indicator never moved. It stayed in the exact same spot no matter what type or condition of soil I tested. When I pick it back up, the needle wiggles, so I know it's not stuck in place. It just doesn't work. I can stick my finger in the soil next to my plants and know more than this thing can tell me. Save your money.

I got a deal on this so I bought it. I've been amending my front yard with compost and occasionally Austin's dillo dirt for years and the soil meter showed 6.5 to 7. I've neglected the backyard because of my kid using it and figured he'd just kill the grass anyway and it was 7.5 to 8 which is to be expected as we live on limestone with 1 or 2 inches of horrible soil at best. You do have to be gentle with the prongs but the meter works fine.

Very useful - I discovered I had been over-watering, but the ph was right on. You can ignore the low ratings on this since the people don't appear to have read the instructions and used it in liquids. I bought two I was so impressed. I seems a little light weight - durability may be an issue but for $8.99 you can use it for a couple of years until it breaks and buy a new one.

I bought two of these, one the dual type and also the single. The dual always reads 7 and the single is stuck on 6. They don't work.

Easy to use but hard to understand. When you figure out how to use it with predictable results, please post the method.

The moisture meter seems to report accurate readings as gauged by my fingers. However, the two sensor rods are somewhat flimsy and feel as if they will fall out or break off. I have to straighten them often. I have not yet tried to get a pH reading. Also the rods are shorter than I would like. My previous ancient meter would probe about 3 inches deeper. At least its cheap. I suspect I'll want to downgrade my rating after a few months.