Just for grins I dug down 12-inches below the surface of one garden and tested that soil. The test strip color was between eight (8) and nine (9) showing the soil at that depth is more toward alkaline. I know some of the plants roots will grow that deep so I will till a bit deeper this Fall.

I did two more test in each garden at about 6-inches depth and they all showed almost exactly the same as on the surface which was a 7.

This is all good to know.

VERY good to know! I'll just dig 6 inches deep to test it. The test strips will be here soon

I went online and found this really good Youtube showing how to use these test strips. I have not been allowing my samples to sit up for that period of time. I will retest one area to see if there is any change.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Thomas, what you have is a VERY rough estimate and will only give you enough info to tell that you need to get a real soil test done.

The pH factors of both water and soil are measured in decimals (tenths) and every decimal is a 100 times factor. So water that tests at pH 7.5 is 500 times more alkaline than neutral water at pH 7.0. Anything measuring "between 8 and 9" is super alkaline and your plants will struggle. You need a more accurate test than that.

If your drinking water coming out of the tap is over pH 8.0 you really should contact your water company unless you are on a well. Our untreated well water here is pH 8.2 and after only a few weeks of irrigating with it, my plants begin to show signs of iron chlorosis (inability to process nutrients because of the high pH ). So if you're irrigating your garden with high pH tap water it's going to cause you some problems.

You can buy a good soil test kit at any garden center for about $12 and it will test 10 samples to decimal accuracy for you.

Or, you can buy them online - here's an example of one for under $7 (plus shipping) that will give you 10 pH tests.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001LEPYA/
Or this one gives you 40 tests for $22 and looks like it will last you for years. If you have a big garden, I'd get this one:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JCMKEK/

Another thanks! The video told me exactly what to do! I have some rain water, too, so I'll use that when the test strips come in. I can't wait!

dyzzypyxxy said:

The pH factors of both water and soil are measured in decimals (tenths) and every decimal is a 100 times factor. So water that tests at pH 7.5 is 500 times more alkaline than neutral water at pH 7.0.

The pH scale is logarithmic. There's a 10x difference between numbers on the pH scale. So pH 6 is 10x more acidic than pH 7. A pH of 5 is 100x more acidic than pH7, and pH4 is 1000x more acidic than 7. Certainly the water pH is going to affect the sample test, although presumably the water source that is normally used for irrigation will also affect the pH in the soil itself.

dyzzypyxxy said:Thomas, what you have is a VERY rough estimate and will only give you enough info to tell that you need to get a real soil test done.

The pH factors of both water and soil are measured in decimals (tenths) and every decimal is a 100 times factor. So water that tests at pH 7.5 is 500 times more alkaline than neutral water at pH 7.0. Anything measuring "between 8 and 9" is super alkaline and your plants will struggle. You need a more accurate test than that.

If your drinking water coming out of the tap is over pH 8.0 you really should contact your water company unless you are on a well. Our untreated well water here is pH 8.2 and after only a few weeks of irrigating with it, my plants begin to show signs of iron chlorosis (inability to process nutrients because of the high pH ). So if you're irrigating your garden with high pH tap water it's going to cause you some problems.

You can buy a good soil test kit at any garden center for about $12 and it will test 10 samples to decimal accuracy for you.

Or, you can buy them online - here's an example of one for under $7 (plus shipping) that will give you 10 pH tests.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001LEPYA/
Or this one gives you 40 tests for $22 and looks like it will last you for years. If you have a big garden, I'd get this one:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JCMKEK/

Hi Elaine,

I do understand that these Test Strips are not pin-point accurate. However they do tell me if my soil is suitable to grow most of my vegetables without any need for a drastic change in the PH.

When I visited with the folks at the Ag Extension Office they told me that my garden would be OK as long as I kept the PH near the 7 reading. They recommended that I only bring them new samples if the PH had a big change in either direction.

Thomas

Oops, thanks Sue. I must have been thinking of the earthquake scale or something.

Thomas, I still don't think a test that doesn't give you a reading to at least one decimal point really tells you anything.

I used an aquarium test kit to test my well water 8.2, tap water 7.6 and rain water 7.0. As I pointed out above, I can tell the difference very quickly between when my garden gets neutral rain water and when it needs to be irrigated with the high pH well water.

Thanks, dyzzypyxxy! I'm figuring the quick 'n cheap test will do as Thomas mentioned, tell me enough to know whether I have a big problem or a slight one. I kinda think my soil is "off" as my baby plants aren't growing as I think they should, but I also know (for a fact) that I'm often crazy! I tried using a capsule type soil test, but I couldn't determine what it was telling me at all!

You could call someone at your County Extension service to help you interpret your soil tests, Barbalee.

But the first thing I'd do is test the pH of the water you're using for irrigation. It can make a big difference, and even if your soil is ok, watering with high pH water can make the nutrients unavailable to your plants pretty quickly. If you know anybody with a swimming pool, they will have a test kit you can borrow and just follow the directions. They're pretty accurate - definitely will give you a result to one decimal. Or do as I did and buy an aquarium test kit.

dyzzypyxxy said:Oops, thanks Sue. I must have been thinking of the earthquake scale or something.

Thomas, I still don't think a test that doesn't give you a reading to at least one decimal point really tells you anything.

I used an aquarium test kit to test my well water 8.2, tap water 7.6 and rain water 7.0. As I pointed out above, I can tell the difference very quickly between when my garden gets neutral rain water and when it needs to be irrigated with the high pH well water.

Hey again Elaine,

In the case of some specific “flowering plants” one decimal point (ie. 7.0 v 7.1) can make a difference. But for a “home garden” with the typical vegetables (ie tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc.) the “normal” acceptable soil PH range is between 6.5 and 7.5, therefore I cannot see where just one (1) decimal point is that important. If my soil tested at 6.9 there would not be any need to try and raise the PH to 7.0. With that said, the Test Strips will give me a solid indication if my soil is within an acceptable range of 7/plus or minus.

The preferred pH range for a number of plants including various vegetables on this University of Vermont page might be useful:

http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/pubs/oh...

Interesting! The majority of my plants are daylilies and irises, and they have different choices, but it is a range of alkalinity vs. acidic (as in Thomas's vegetables). Nonetheless, I think finding a county extension agent or going to the nearest university would be a good idea, but not as easy as the simple test we've been talking about. So for me, I've got county extension agent and university on my LONG things to do list, but if the simple test comes in first, it sure won't hurt to run it!

You people are amazingly helpful and knowledgeable. THANKS!!