I’m curious what other people have used for pH testing. A quick search didn’t come up with anything super similar to this
I previously used a lab grade pH meter - which i happened to have from my fish tank but the cost is prohibitive and it needed routine calibration with standardized solutions and was quite fragile with the probes having glass tips.
I never used the cheaper meters - I can’t imagine they work very well as most can’t even be calibrated
I got some kombucha test strips and it seems to be pretty good. Only downside is it only goes up to 6, so I may get another set of strips for closer to neutral. My main concern is ensuring soil is acidic enough for blueberries. I compared plain water, lemon juice in water and hydrochloric acid in water and it seems accurate enough.
I use ph paper. Cheap short range 4.5-8.5. I used to use distilled water and mix with a specified amount of soil following a lab protocol.
Then, I tried just mixing some soil in a bucket with my well water and got the exact same results. So now I do that. I do let the soil and water sit in the bucket for 20 min or so. It seems to change as the soil is saturated.
I worked in an industrial lab with the probes- they were convenient but expensive and fussy. I have found the ph paper better in some ways.
What pH paper do you use ? Litmus paper is too broad and the other options on Amazon seemed hit or miss but at least what I got seems accurate for its range.
I agree I don’t think distilled water makes a big difference. Any difference in baseline pH compared to tap/well is likely due to small amounts of carbonate which I suspect wouldn’t greatly affect the measured pH with enough soil in the mix.
pH paper has worked fine for me too. I tried a cheap meter for a while and it drifted constantly. The strips are less precise but at least you know what you’re getting. I let the soil and water mix sit a bit like you mentioned, makes a difference.
I’ve been using one called “Hydrion Vivid Short Range pH Test Paper Dispenser, 4.5 - 8.5 pH”. It doesn’t do very well right around 7 (as expected) but for soil and testing my spray water, I don’t really care.
My well water is close to 8 so I have to acidify before spraying and I get it down to 6 or so. For soil I mostly have been testing compost and potting soil mix.
I have a more accurate test setup and have found this ph paper does just fine as long as I’m aiming for “around 6” or “around 7.5”
