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View Full Version : Scotts soil test kit

americanlawn
05-20-2009, 07:38 PM
Anybody ever try it? (tests pH & nutrient deficiencies) $15 sounds pretty cheap. Would you trust the results?

http://www.scottssoiltest.com/itemInfo.cfm?itemID=182
americanlawn
05-20-2009, 08:37 PM
OK -- I just order a kit. (didn't figure guys here have used it yet -- I think it's a new thing for Scotts ). I'll post results when I receive their email results. I figure I'll take soil samples from a crappy/clay-soil lawn and see what Scotts finds out.

A few years ago, we took over 200 soil samples. Loam soils where not lacking much except N. Nearly all crappy clay-soil lawns lacked N, Fe, Mn, Bo, Cu, Mg, & Zn. Problem is, it's difficult to find these needed mircronutrients "in a bag". This is one reason liquid fert has an advantage.
Jason Rose
05-20-2009, 11:48 PM
I don't know... Maybe i'm just negative, but I don't trust much anything with the name "Scotts" on it. I'm sure they are working to sell more product. It would be interesting to put one of their tests against one from another lab and see if the results and recommendations came back the same.
greendoctor
05-21-2009, 02:02 AM
OK -- I just order a kit. (didn't figure guys here have used it yet -- I think it's a new thing for Scotts ). I'll post results when I receive their email results. I figure I'll take soil samples from a crappy/clay-soil lawn and see what Scotts finds out.

A few years ago, we took over 200 soil samples. Loam soils where not lacking much except N. Nearly all crappy clay-soil lawns lacked N, Fe, Mn, Bo, Cu, Mg, & Zn. Problem is, it's difficult to find these needed mircronutrients "in a bag". This is one reason liquid fert has an advantage.

Many soils do have micronutrients in detectable amounts. However, they are usually not in a form readily utilized by grass or plants. I have to bite my tongue when someone thinks they will get the same results I do faster and cheaper because they are slinging granules that have X % of micronutrients as sulfate or oxide salts. The reason why plants or grasses are having micronutrient issues is the soil is binding with them and preventing uptake. A liquid bypasses this problem because the micronutrients are chelated and there is significant foliar/crown absorbtion.