Luster Leaf 1605 Rapitest Digital Soil testing Kit

So far, I've only used the pH test, but I'm very happy with the results. I never worried about pH levels until this past year, when my garden really didn't produce. Doing some research online, I found that pH levels play a critical role in a plant's ability to absorb nutrients. Shortly after that, just by chance, I ran across an old Ferry-Morse pH and Fertility meter at a garage sale. For a buck, what the heck. I tried it, but it stayed pretty much between 7.0 - 7.5. Was my soil that bad, or was this thing not working? I mixed some vinegar into the soil, and it did show movement to the acidic range, but I still wondered, was it working? Moving ahead 3 months, I ran across a TestWest pH meter on Amazon. It looked pretty cool, it seemed a lot easier to use (just poke it into the soil), and it could be used on indoor plants, which isn't specifically addressed with the Ferry-Morse. Once again, for under $15, what the heck. And also, to test everything further, I purchased this Luster Leaf Rapitest Digital Soil Test Kit . Like one of the other reviewers, I had used Luster Leaf's other soil test kit, but found it difficult to analyze the murky colors against the color charts, so I decided to go with this digital kit. Besides, it sounded pretty easy. Mix it up. Put the test tube into the meter, press a button to let the meter read the color and give you the results. What fun. For the test, I used the soil from one of my indoor plants, a 4-1/2 foot hibiscus. I followed Ferry-Morse's instructions, dug some soil out from about 3" down, watered it, let it set and then tested it. The Ferry-Morse read 5.8. The TestWest read 5.9. Pretty darn close. To validate the results, I used the same soil sample with the Luster Leaf Rapitest's pH test. Note: for the Luster Leaf's soil test, I followed Rapitest's instructions and set a bit of soil aside before watering it (they want to start with dry soil). After mixing the soil with the reagent and water, letting it set, placing it into the test chamber and pushing the TEST button, it lit up the 5.5 indicator--which means that the soil pH is between 5.5 and 5.9. I couldn't ask for a better validation (other than spending another $50+ and sending a soil sample to a full-fledged lab). All three tests instruments read within the same pH range. I already amended my garden soil this Fall (before I purchased this soil test kit) with a high sulfur fertilizer and an organic soil acidifier. I'll be testing my garden soil in the Spring with all four tests in this kit. I trust the results implicitly.

Living in an area of red clay soil, building a garden spot can be challenging. I have added organics, compost, as well as fertilizer. But I was still at a loss as to whether I had accomplished my goals or not. the Luster Leaf 1605 Rapidtest was exactly what I was looking for. You don't have to mix a chemical with water and then look at a color chart and try to find the color closest to your tube. There is no guessing with this kit. It reads the color for you. It has easy to follow instructions and gives you fast results which take out the guess work. I even retested the same soil to see if I would get consistent results or if the meter would give me a different reading. It was dead on, and it made me feel I was getting a good test. After testing the soil it has instructions as to what you need to do to correct your soil with what to add and even how much. Very satisfied.

I do container gardening in Arizona and wanted to see what my soil quality was. This kit is hard to figure out and the instructions are in very small print. The markings on the test tube are almost invisible and become totally so when powdery soil is added. The reagents are in plastic capsules, which are very difficult to open without spilling reagent. A pipette is required but not supplied. I found an empty Scalpicin container and was able to use it as a dropper. All these things compromise accuracy. I would not recommend this kit.

For reference, I bought 2 variants of this kit, 1605 Digital Soil Testing Kit in May 1 2019 1601 Rapitest Test Kit in May 3 2017 So I had a few capsules left from the 2 year old kit way back when, If I remember right, those capsules at the time resulted in something along the lines of a pH7, N0, P4, K4. The capsules for the PH and PK where ok but the nitrogen testing capsules where half melted, perhaps water got into the sealed ziplock? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I just re-ran the tests, using a bit of dirt from some totally dead lawn spots. I used old pH capsules new NPK, That resulted in a pH7.5 N1, P4, K4, I was getting ready for spreading out some ammonium sulfate but I thought to recheck, just in case... This time ran the pH with a new capsule, and resulted in... a 5! Well that was interesting and very fortunate I didn't add some sulfate to the lawn, or at least in these 'dead spots' So I did some testing of the test, using pure distilled water as a test subject, the old capsules ... made weird results. (see picture) I don't know if the digital meter is testing by some other method other than sensing light, but the digital meter listed a 5 when it looked more of a 6 to me. Anyways, the new pH tablets in pure distilled water, looked like a 7 and in the digital meter listed as a 7. So I feel more inclined to trust that set at the moment. I dont know if its time that messes with the capsules or water intrusion (even though my old capsules where in the sealable ziplock that they came in) but at least as far as the pH test in concerned, age of the capsules matter. Then given that the digital set of tests don't come in a seal-able ziplock, (which is really not a deal breaker, I mean actual ziplocks are easy to come by...) but it does make me wonder how long these guys will last on my shelf and how long they have been stored on Amazons shelf. Wishes; -Digital version came with color scales for results, just for double checking -The test capsules would come with a 'manufacture date' or 'use by date'

Very good soil test. Please note: you must run the test in a dark place, otherwise the reader will show false results. This happens due to fact that the reader works with color recognition, which can be affected by strong light passing through the green cover.

It needs capsules. Product comes only with 3 sets of 5 capsules. U need one capsule for each type of test. 1 for potassium 1 for phosphorous, 1 for ph. Product detail must include this information.

el producto llegó antes del tiempo indicado que eran 20 días hábiles. además no mostró fallas. fácil de usar y sin complicaciones.

Unit is easy to use, just don't get reagents mixed up. I found the analyzer to be quick and easy to use. Checked 2 different sections of my lawn and unit reported depleted Nitrogen and Potassium, deficient Phosphorous, unit was consistent. I know what fertilizer and other lawn nutrients I use and what they do. The readings for the Nitrogen appear low as I use a Nitrogen enhanced product and was used 2 months in advance of sampling. I will do more spot checks/sampling as I only do small sections (2 sg ft) now to see how they react to treatment. Better this way to calibrate how much and what to use, saves on material and waste if doing whole lawn with unknown results. Easy once you get the hang of it. My lawn is always a greenish/blue colour after June. I'm making adjustments to further enhance growth and thickness/colour and will adjust accordingly. I think it's money well spent.

Quite disappointed with this purchase. I thought with digital meter I would eliminate human errors in identifying matching colour to results, but this was a complete waste of money. The digital meter itself is very gimmicky and looks like a toy. The results were the same for all nutrients for all types of soil, surplus. I tested sandy soil, loam, potting soil and all gave same results. It looks like this “patent-pending” digital meter is just an LED light that lights when you press a button, fun but pretty expensive for a toy.