Rapitest Soil Test Kit for Gardens, Vegetables, Flowers and Lawns. USA designed and assembled soil tester completely, quickly and accurately measures/analyzes soil pH acidity and garden nutrients

Arrived in great shape. The instructions are clear and it's easy to use. Matching the test results to the color scale charts was easy to see and understand. I had no problems with my test. I primarily used the kit to check the PH levels in a large bed, about 20x15 feet, and found slightly different results in different parts of the bed, which was good to know. Next time I want to check soil in an area I'm working in, I will buy this test kit. I recommend it as a good, quick, and easy-to-use kit. It doesn't replace or equal a State/University Agriculture department test for large projects, but it's great for getting a good reading of the soil condition for new plantings.

The kit is very easy to use. I don't know how accurate it is (I have no way to compare). The guide is very detailed and efficient and after readings it twice or thrice the process is very simple and the results are quite clear (except the PH test which is hard to tell due to fact that the soil does not settle in the required time of one minute) All in all, if the results are indeed accurate, I think the kit is very good, but what I particularly miss is the option to purchase supplemental capsules (those containing the powder). 10 for each test isn't enough, especially if you need to make repeating tests. I don't think I will buy the whole kit again just for the capsules themselves.

Look - I should have done this 8 years ago. Nope. I fell for the marketing - the four applications a year of the recommended seasonal product. And every year my lawn would look horrible around August or September. In hindsight a wise soil chemist could have likely named the issue - deficiencies in crucial nutirents and a pH problem - just by looking at the weeds in the lawn. I am not a soil chemist. Other than the blonde in the front row of freshman chemistry which was only offered at 7.30am I found most of the class boring. Uninteresting. Incomprehensible. I would have flunked if it were not for her being assigned my lab section and giving me a reason to attend a 2.30pm Friday lab. While her name is long forgotten to the nearly three decades since that class, two things I did not forget: the way she looked at me with utter disgust one of the many times I failed to offer an even halfway compentent response to question, and the importance of following directions in chemistry experiments in order to obtain accurate results. Not being a soil chemist I did the test - on two different areas of my 3,000 square foot lawn. And what I found was that despite my poor attempts at regular lime applications the pH was 5.5. And my occasional and relatively inconsistent application of whatever fertilizer was both in season and on sale left me with a complete and utter deficiency in Nitrogen and Potassium (the N and the P of the N-P-K number). Which - as any soil chemist will tell you - results in the perfect growing conditions for goosegrass and violets - two realtively common weeds that are a regular sight in my lawn. In conclusion - think of this handy soil test as an insurance policy against applications of the wrong fertilizer - or in this case - insurance against wasting money applying fertilizer when the pH is 5.5. And oh yeah - perhaps I should do something about my longstanding policy of being utterly ignorant about chemistry.

Worked as advertised, pretty good value for what it is. One word of advise, don't ph test too much soil at once as the murky water is hard to read

Spring is here and I thought it would be a good idea to test my lawn and garden soil for the first time before adding any fertilizers. This Rapitest kit seemed like a good idea so I bought in. The kit comes nicely packaged with four containers and matching "test pills" in orange(potash), blue(phosphorus), green(pH), and purple(Nitrogen) colors. The pills are enclosed in individual resealable plastic bags and each color has a quantity of 10. Unfortunately, my package came with nine purple pills instead of 10 so I'll be doing one less Nitrogen test. The kit also comes with a plastic dropper to add water or sample to the test container. However, it is small and almost impossible to clean since there is no way to insert any cleaning brush in the tiny hole. Your only remedy for consistent test result is to rinse it a number of times, or just use a different dropper made of glass. The test itself is relatively simple, but is a bit involved. The pH test is almost instantaneous by adding soil sample and water to recommended lines in the container. However, the rest of the three tests require a separate container to hold 1 cup of soil sample to 5 cups of water mixed well, then settled from 30 minutes to 24 hours. The mixture is then used to conduct the other tests in the same manner by adding a pill and sample in a container. I have no way to verify the correctness of the results without contacting a local authority. So, I'll skip this portion of the review. After having done the test once, this kit is going on my shelf and probably will just gather dust for the life of this product. I've decided to just return to my old ways of observing the greens and guessing what they need. I'm starting this spring with the usual pre-emergent for the lawn and compost for the planted bed. Recommended to those with the urge to know, but absolutely not a requirement. If you have a suffering lawn or plant bed, call a pro for advice.

This product is easy to use and pretty accurate. Just to give you some background on me and why I can support that claim- I am an Environmental scientist and hopefully soon to be Professional Soil Scientist (once I pass some exams). So this is why I say it’s pretty accurate. I tested my yard and flower beds. Because of my profession, I have access to a soil probe. I took multiple samples across the yard between 6-12” deep and submitted that as 1 composite sample and did the same for my flower beds. I submitted these samples to the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension (i’m In Houston, Tx) and I just got results back. (They are very affordable and will even consult with you about results) First, let me tell you what this test kit told me. It told me my Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorous (P) is depleted, I maxed out on the Potassium (K) and my pH was at maximum of at least 7.5. My actual soil results confirmed I have 0 ppm Nitrate-N, very little P at 5 ppm, K reported at 108 ppm but does not exceed the “high” or Critical Level and my pH is at 8.0. I would say that considering how cheap this kit is, it was pretty accurate certainly gave me enough information to steer me in the right direction. Now I just need to apply my hard earned knowledge in Soil Fertility to real life, instead of just theory. =) I hope this information helped someone feel More confident in using this kit. *Update- I passed one of my exams and am now a Certified Professional Soil Scientist. Had to brag on myself I’m so excited, yay me!

I got some "well aged" compost, and pretty much nothing grew well. I grabbed these and it became very clear that the soil was very lacking in P and N. Being so far off, it was much better to get into the right ballpark before paying for an expensive university extension test. Keep in mind the number of tests corresponds to the number of pill capsules, so a 20 test kit can test all 4 measurements 5 times. The capsules are a little annoying to open, especially if you have dry hands. The test containers are terribly unstable. Put them inside a small cup or wedge against something Follow the time limit for the Blue test, and make sure to shake that one. If you let it go longer, it will eventually turn dark blue and you'll get a false result. You must take your reading at the correct time. The others are not so variable with time.

It really works but it takes long to do all the testing, but it's worth it cuz you know exactly what's in your soil! And it tells you how to correct the levels. Very useful tool for experts or beginners like me. I'm already seeing the results in my garden vegetables and even my flowers! This test kit is a must have for gardening.

I hadn't realised until I tried this product out on our allotment just how improverished the soil was. The pack was very easy to use and the instructions were clear. I can now safely add the nutrients in the right quantities for my vegetables.

I took a sample from my veggie garden to see how my soil is. The tests were easy to perform and the results were very clear. I am hoping that this year were have a bountiful harvest come fall because I amended the soil as per the results. Fingers crossed!

It shows pretty close results compared to professional lab test. What type of nitrogen it is testing for would be good to know though. To apply the test capsule reactants to the tiny test chambers is a fiddly, fumbly business. There should be a kind of hopper coming with it, especially since the base of the test containers are not designed for a stable stand. I tried to find out wether you can buy replacement capsules. If I have to buy an entire new set after ten tests than this is unsustainable plastic waste.

Tut was es soll, funktioniert, kann natürlich nicht überprüfen, ob die Testergebnisse stimmen.

Tres bien