Best Soil pH Tester | Accurate & Reliable Soil Testing Kits. 2022 Comparison, Reviews & Buyer’s Guide

Any gardener knows that maintaining healthy soil is crucial for growing plants and crops there. First, you should know your soil’s pH, a unit of measure showing the degree of acidity or alkalinity. This knowledge is particularly essential when buying a new plant because most grow well only in neutral, slightly acidic or alkaline soil, with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5. You can call a professional to measure the pH of your soil in a lab to get results as accurate as possible. But you don’t need that precision unless you change your soil’s pH. In the latter case, even a minor change in pH numbers results in a significant change in acidity.

Soil pH Testers Compared

Soil pH testers are available in three types: pH test strips, electronic meters, and chemical dyes. Test strips are the easiest and most popular method of measurement among amateur gardeners. Each strip in the set has multiple colour spots. After you dip the strip in the solution, some or all spots will change colour in a matter of seconds. Match these colors with the chart that comes with the product, and you will learn the pH level of your soil.

We recommend test strips manufactured by Garden Tutor, the company that offers garden courses and soil testing tools. The Garden Tutor Soil pH Test Strips Kit will provide you with fast and accurate results.

One pack includes enough strips for as many as a hundred soil pH tests and a testing handbook with charts. The strips are calibrated for soil pH testing with a broad range from 3.5 to 9.0, making them suitable for all types of garden soil. Customers rate this product 4.1 out of 5 stars and highlight the ease of use as the major advantage. “Well they are easy to use and makes it easier to find out why seeds have been hard to germinate, so I know what's going on in the soil,” one of the buyers wrote.

Electronic pH Meters

Unlike test strips, electronic pH meters can be inserted directly into the soil. However, it is advisable to make a water solution containing different samples of soil. An electronic meter is made with a metal probe and a display where you can read the pH.

A good example is the Fosmon Soil pH Tester, which can also measure the soil's moisture and light. The third option, chemical dyes, needs to be mixed with the solution, and then you just check the colour against the chart included in the kit.

If You Want to Garden Like a PRO | Best Trusted Manufacturer of Soil pH Testers

If you want to garden like a pro, opt for the Bluelab PENSOILPH pH Pen for Soil, Coco, Rockwool and Solution. The product is made by a trustworthy manufacturer headquartered in Tauranga city of New Zealand. The company has 30 years of experience in producing equipment for measuring pH, temperature, conductivity, and nutrient levels.

The Bluelab PENSOILPH measures pH with close to laboratory precision. The product features an LCD screen, a low battery indicator, an auto-off function, and units for temperature. It is completely waterproof and can be used in any weather. The device has automatic temperature compensation and is easy to calibrate.

In addition to this pH pen, Bluelab offers a conductivity pen, a grower’s toolbox, and kits with a storage solution, a calibration solution, and a pocket tester. The Grower’s Toolbox measures pH, conductivity, and temperature.

The kit includes both pH and conductivity pens that will give you fast and accurate readings. If you only need to monitor nutrient levels in the soil, pick the Conductivity Pen.

There is also a pH Pen + pH Probe Care Kit that includes two packets with pH 7.0, pH 4.0 and KCl storage solutions, plastic cups, brushes, and probe cleaners. The tester features a double junction probe, which makes measurements even more precise.

How Does a Soil pH Tester Work?

In most situations, it is sufficient to use a portable soil pH tester. Once you get the device, you need to dig holes in different areas of your garden and take soil samples. Mix these samples together and then mix 8 tbsp of the solution with equal water. Some testers come with a special solution for measuring that can be used instead of water. Now, let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes and mix it once again before testing. What the tester does is analyze the water with soil particles. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, with a value of 7.0 representing neutrality. PHs less than 7 are considered acidic, and pHs above 7 are alkaline.

Best-Selling Budget Soil pH Testers | Comparison Table

Products with 5-star rating

Testing & Customers Reviews

Here are the reviews from YouTube bloggers who tested the Soil pH Tester and have found them effective and worth buying.

Erika Lodes: "No matter, if you've been into plants for a very long time or just barely getting started in the hobby, one of the best tools you can have is a moisture meter. Essentially, what a moisture meter is the tool that you use to stick into the soil of your plant and it will tell you how much moisture is in that soil hence the name moisture meter. It's relatively straightforward, but there is a correct way to use one. These can come in handy, if you're very afraid of over watering your plants, like I am, or, if you have a really big pot, that example this one. There is no way that I'm sticking my finger to the bottom of this pot. So, this is a case where a moisture meter comes in handy there are.

So, many different kinds of moisture meters on market. So, you can find them from very from varying prices and usually they're pretty low in price. There are different kinds of features on each moisture meter and I have two different kinds here and both of them have three features - they have a moisture meter, a light meter and a pH meter. I just stick to using these for moisture and I don't really use the other settings. But if you would like you can use them the pH is for the acidity levels in your soil and the light is to measure the lighting that your plant is getting I'm not really sure how accurate the light setting is but you can try it out.

Some things to know about the moisture meter is that you should not put it in water. If you put it in water it's not going to read wet, that's not how you kind of use it measures the amount of moisture in soil, in a substance. So, just don't do that, it's not good for it, keep it outside. Another thing you might be tempted to do, is just leave it in the soil of your plant, because, you know, you can watch it watch it slowly go down to dry. But that is also not the case you should not leave your moisture meter in soil, it's not gonna read the soil correctly, you might mess it up a little bit. So, make sure you always take it out after each use."

totrand: "This is a brief demonstration of Garden Tutor brand soil pH test strips. I'm going to use these to check the pH level of some miracle grow potting mix. In the past i had always assumed that a store bought general purpose mix like this would have a relatively neutral pH. But i've since discovered that's not necessarily the case.

To perform the test three items are required: a tablespoon measure, a small mixing container and some relatively pH neutral water. The manufacturer recommends using distilled water, preferably from an unopened container, though not essential. A disposable coffee filter can also be helpful. To start measure 8 level tablespoons of soil or potting mix and place it into the mixing container. Next, add eight level tablespoons of water stir thoroughly and let the mixture stand for at least 20 minutes, mix again for 10 seconds and then let the solution briefly settle. Insert the test strip for 3 seconds. Shake the strip vigorously to remove any soil residue, wait one minute and then compare the colors on the strip to the reference chart in the manual. Be sure to read the strip within a few minutes, as the pads dry out, the colors will change and no longer accurately represent the true pH value. If too much soil residue clings to the test strip making it difficult to read, strain the sample through a coffee filter, letting the liquid run into a secondary container. The results of this test indicate, that this particular bag of miracle-gro potting mix has a pH of between 4,5 to 5. This seems surprisingly low or acidic and initially had me concerned about the accuracy of the strips.

So, i decided to use the tap water in the house as a sort of reference solution. It had recently been professionally analyzed and determined to have a pH of almost exactly 7. The fact that the strips were in agreement with the professional test suggests that they are relatively accurate."