Luster Leaf Pack of 3 Rapitest Soil Testers

It was accurate and easy to use. Simple instructions and let me know what nutrients I needed to add to my tomato plants! Very handy when plant has slight issues but your not sure what is lacking in its care. Probably saved my harvest or at least promoted it.

The overall process is easy. The one issue I had was with the capsules. In humid conditions they swell and are almost impossible to pull apart. I had to cut the ends off with scissors resulting in some spillage of the contents. If the capsules themselves were a little larger, this may solve the issue.

These were easy to use. And seem to be a good value. No complaints.

A bit messy to work with but would be fine if the capsules would pull apart as they should. Ended up with a lot of the powder not making it into the vial so not sure readings will be accurate.

It's a cumbersome process of digging up dirt samples, putting the samples in test tubes, adding the power from the capsules, shaking, and waiting. The saving grace is that the results are accurate. I have used these before, and while they are a pain in the butt, the results are accurate. I have had zero luck with the mechanical soil testers (they always register neutral soil regardless of the PH).

Useful soil test kit. You will need a squeeze bulb "eye" dropper, a glass jar with volume marking and a wooden scrap 3/4" deep. Drill 4 half inch wide and deep holes to hold the test tubes while you separate the colored capsulesand pour in the marker powder for each test. That step takes two hands free from holding test tubes.

The product nominally tests pH, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. The tests are not difficult to perform but the process is messy. I could put up with that if the product delivered credible results but it doesn't, at least for Nitrogen. The pH from the kit was similar to what I found using other methods. I don't have a readily available source of information regarding phosphorus and potassium. They were off-the-scale high according to the kit. Maybe they were.For NPK results the soil sample is mixed with distilled water, mixed well, and then the soil is allowed to settle, leaving a solution that should contain N, P and K proportional to the content of the soil. When I tested for Nitrogen there was no reaction at all. Repeat testing gave the same result. The tube with my liquid specimen was completely clear. The tubes for P and K turned color as expected.Since I am new to gardening I wondered whether my soil really could be devoid of nitrogen even though it was Miracle Gro premixed soil for raised bed gardening that is supposed to have appropriate nutrients. So I fertilized with manure and a high nitrogen fertilizer. I tested again. The nitrogen tube didn't show any color reaction at all. That is simply not believable.Aside from the non-functioning Nitrogen analysis there are other problems. Color comparison charts can be hard to read. Clay soil may not settle well enough to get a more-or-less clear liquid specimen. The specimen of clay soil that I tested was still quite opaque after it sat for 2+ days in my kitchen. The other soil I tested (the Miracle Gro stuff) was testable after a couple of hours.The process can be messy. Emptying a small capsule of reagent into a small tube without spilling any can be challenging, especially because the kit does not provide a base to keep the test tubes stable.The kits also lack a pipette or other tool for transferring the test liquid into the test tubes.I wouldn't mind the other issues if I could believe the results, but unfortunately the product appears to be useless.

I was hesitant to buy upon reading reviews of folks frustrated with the product. I had no trouble with it. This trick is to clip the top of the capsules with sharp scissors and pour the contents into the soil prepped vial. I then added water with an eye dropper I happen to have on hand. After shaking vigorously, I set the vials in a small container to keep them up right. After 30 minutes the final color was formed for comparison with included chart. Worked great for me.