How bout it. I am ready to buy probably one of the two: hanna or kelway. Being accurate as well as easy to use is important. But I defer to you all. It is for Ph. results.
Best Soil Testers for Ph? Kelway or Hanna
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replenish&subdue
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How bout it. I am ready to buy probably one of the two: hanna or kelway. Being accurate as well as easy to use is important. But I defer to you all. It is for Ph. results.
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I have not had good experiences with labs when it comes to P.H.. I will use labs to get nutrient,organic matter % and see what they say the P.H. is but this is one area where I would like to do my own test and with on the spot results.
So,my question,"what is the best soil testers of the two mentioned: Kelway or Hanna?"
So,my question,"what is the best soil testers of the two mentioned: Kelway or Hanna?"
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I didn't say spot results but results on the spot. That means I can know right then and there what the P.H. is. There is nothing wrong with that. It is one of several observations to learn a little about the soil condition. I do plenty of soil tests that I send in and tests which include the P.H. but I am confident with a good soil tester I can know the P.H..I am not confident in studying the soil to know the nutrient or organic matter content.
And so,at a N.O.F.A. seminar someone highly suggested the Hanna soil tester and another organic head the Kelway. So I ask,what do you out there who use soil testers,what is your opinion who might have had experience with the above two mentioned.
I hope that explains it.
And so,at a N.O.F.A. seminar someone highly suggested the Hanna soil tester and another organic head the Kelway. So I ask,what do you out there who use soil testers,what is your opinion who might have had experience with the above two mentioned.
I hope that explains it.
Testing pH IS important even in an organic program. If your soil is the right pH, your soil will release the nutrients more easily. For example.
Strickly organic... do a soil test and find out if you need ot use cottonseed meal, compost, or CGM (based on pH).
Bridge... do a spot soil test and see if you need to suppliment with 21-0-0 or 46-0-0 based on pH.
Applying something that influebces the pH can make other nutrients available even if you aren't applying those nutrients (Like Fe). It can also help discourage nutrients from leaching out of the organic nutrient cycle.
As far as what tool to buy, I couldn't tell you...
Strickly organic... do a soil test and find out if you need ot use cottonseed meal, compost, or CGM (based on pH).
Bridge... do a spot soil test and see if you need to suppliment with 21-0-0 or 46-0-0 based on pH.
Applying something that influebces the pH can make other nutrients available even if you aren't applying those nutrients (Like Fe). It can also help discourage nutrients from leaching out of the organic nutrient cycle.
As far as what tool to buy, I couldn't tell you...
I said on the spot results too....In the past, I have used a Kelway with good results, working for a company with a more chemical approach.
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natty is right on, if where talking about testing a customers soil? with out the soil test how do you know how to amend properly?
pH is very impotent but... whats driving the reading? when it comes to customers soil i would not drive your self crazy trying to get a perfect pH, it likely will never happen, and most importantly it's not needed to maintain good growth, as long as your in the window your good.
what would be more valuable to you and your customer is the complete soil test to guide your inputs decisions.
about meters;just research very thoroughly before you buy, understand the differences between them and how they work, and what meter is best for your requirements, some are for reading solutions only keep that in mind because most are that type and you will need to prep the soil sample first, some have specific soil probes..big bucks
non electronic meters like a kelway? not sure how accurate a non electronic meter is?. natty says it's good so maybe it's worth looking into. i trust his input.
truly what is accurate,reliable and cheap are the pH kits like the one's for pools but you will still need to prep and filter the sample first
pH is very impotent but... whats driving the reading? when it comes to customers soil i would not drive your self crazy trying to get a perfect pH, it likely will never happen, and most importantly it's not needed to maintain good growth, as long as your in the window your good.
what would be more valuable to you and your customer is the complete soil test to guide your inputs decisions.
about meters;just research very thoroughly before you buy, understand the differences between them and how they work, and what meter is best for your requirements, some are for reading solutions only keep that in mind because most are that type and you will need to prep the soil sample first, some have specific soil probes..big bucks
non electronic meters like a kelway? not sure how accurate a non electronic meter is?. natty says it's good so maybe it's worth looking into. i trust his input.
truly what is accurate,reliable and cheap are the pH kits like the one's for pools but you will still need to prep and filter the sample first
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I would not trust the Kelway for anything short of a ball park reading at a depth to about 3 inches.
"Spot" testing in lieu of lab results will need to be done with a lab quality pH reader if you expect to get readings with the same accuracy as a lab will. The Kelway is not a lab quality (research grade) meter. Hanna does provide lab quality meters, but prepare to fork out a good chunk of change for one that will produce lab accuracy .... and you will need to prepare the sample in order to test it.
If you want a "field" kit that will test pH and EC, here is a store that sells the two direct measure meters that Hanna provides in a kit.
http://www.eseasongear.com/hahi99hi99so.html
Note .... these meters will NOT give you lab accuracy!
A more important value to be field testing for is EC.
"Spot" testing in lieu of lab results will need to be done with a lab quality pH reader if you expect to get readings with the same accuracy as a lab will. The Kelway is not a lab quality (research grade) meter. Hanna does provide lab quality meters, but prepare to fork out a good chunk of change for one that will produce lab accuracy .... and you will need to prepare the sample in order to test it.
If you want a "field" kit that will test pH and EC, here is a store that sells the two direct measure meters that Hanna provides in a kit.
http://www.eseasongear.com/hahi99hi99so.html
Note .... these meters will NOT give you lab accuracy!
A more important value to be field testing for is EC.
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Kiril,Thanks for the good reply.
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Growing deep, you're not trying to get a perfect pH in a customer's lawn, you're trying to have an immediate idea of what is going on in the customer's lawn: should I plan on applying lime or should I DEFINITELY NOT plan on applying lime? Or: dolomitic or calcitic? Am I seeing iron deficiency related chlorosis? pH may be the single best indicator for me, because once I know that, I can tell if and what macros are lacking, as well as some important micros.
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l greenguy, i very much understand why pH is important. i own a meter but gave up on using it to test soil growing turf but again what does that tell you alone?
will your meter tell you if you should apply calcitic, dolomite or maybe gypsum would be a better choice?
what if your pH is good but your soil is lacking Ca and or Mg? other? and you skip the amendments that year because your meter told you pH was fine and your basic fert inputs lack those nutes?
point is like others have said when it comes to testing soil what does pH ALONE tell you?
most don't need meters to tell them there might be issues, for me just knowing my local soil types ete and using visual cues can tell me that there might be pH issues .
pH can swing through out the year in any given area for a number of reasons.
and that alone should not be the determining factor to make a liming choice
best to professionally test to see whats really going on and how to amend correctly
will your meter tell you if you should apply calcitic, dolomite or maybe gypsum would be a better choice?
what if your pH is good but your soil is lacking Ca and or Mg? other? and you skip the amendments that year because your meter told you pH was fine and your basic fert inputs lack those nutes?
point is like others have said when it comes to testing soil what does pH ALONE tell you?
most don't need meters to tell them there might be issues, for me just knowing my local soil types ete and using visual cues can tell me that there might be pH issues .
pH can swing through out the year in any given area for a number of reasons.
and that alone should not be the determining factor to make a liming choice
best to professionally test to see whats really going on and how to amend correctly
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That's great, growingdeep, I tried to clearly say that I'm not saying anyone else should do anything, but rather, this is what works for me. Yes, pH along with observation and a knowledge of soil science can tell me to use dolomitic or calcitic lime. It can be as simple as: do you want to alter pH dramatically or not? Read your lime analysis labels. If anyone is in doubt, please by all means get a lab test. Anyone that has not been testing soils for years should of course go that route. I'm not interested in a battle of egos, deep.
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Seriously? a field reading tells me an absolute boat load
No, it doesn't....I think that's the point Growing, Kiril and I have tried to make in this thread.
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Wow thats a pretty arrogant statement to someone sitting on Martha's vineyard from a guy in Lancaster, care to share with me some other valuable information you feel I need to know?
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Now you lost me .... something going on with you and natty?
Short of mapping variations in soil pH over an area, which is well beyond what most anyone will do here and is not really necessary for landscapes, the value of a field measured pH is limited.
Perhaps if you explained what immediately actionable information a field measured pH provides ................
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Ya, I got lost hear to when natty attempted to tell me what a ph reading hear on Martha's vineyard tells me nothing more than I need more testing. A coastal land with hundreds of sea shell drives and irrigated property's. With world class turf. This is typical of lawnsite, I am not saying additional testing is not needed I am saying a ph reading hear with known historical data on soil condition tells me more of whats going on than just a ph reading a lot more. Leading questions are nothing but a ego trip seriously no one has to agree but flat out not accepting that statement says allot about someone. Do you have time for this? I certainly don't
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Still not following you.
If you go to a property blind what immediately actionable information is a field pH reading going to give you? You certainly can't make an informed fertilizer or liming recommendation .... so what are you using it for?
You also can't be suggesting that all soils in your region can be expected to be identical? Any % difference in OM content can totally change the behavior of a soil with respect to nutrients.
Now if you have a soil test, then generated a map based on a grid of field collected pH points, you could then interpolate potential pH across the entire area and have a relatively informed idea of how pH will impact plant available nutrients based on what you know is available on the site given the results of the soil test. With this information you may decide to treat certain areas differently than others.
Now the million dollar question is, do you really need that kind of detailed information for your typical landscape?
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