[LILLILEAF]

Are soil testing kits a good idea,if yes whats the best one to use,i think it may be a good thing to see what my soil is up to, I have never checked it.Lillileaf

[Kleftiwallah]

Good evening Lillileaf,
 I think they are an excellent idea, but I have only used the chemical jobs, I haven't used the elctronic jobs.  If you use one, remember the soil in your garden can change from area to area so don't just check a single position.  Best to keep a record of results and check later to see if there has been any significant changes after adding chemicals.  Finally, different veggies prefer different soil acidity.

Cheers,  Tony.

[JayG]

Given that you've never checked your soil pH, I'd recommend buying a chemical pH test kit - they are quite cheap and should give reliable results, although as Kleftiwallah has already mentioned you will need to test more than one sample.

Cheap pH test meters (the sort with probes which you stick into the ground) are obviously easier to use, but there are persistent doubts about their accuracy.

You can buy chemical test kits which test for some minerals and nitrates as well as pH, but they are much more expensive and possibly an unnecessary expense and faff for those who take reasonable steps to keep their soil in good condition.

[rowlandwells]

we had a soil test done in 2014 by a professional lab testing company the analysis  we received  back was vey good listing of what was required to improve the soil

I'm trying some green manure [Tilney mustard] in the spring as a trial to see if that improves the soil but I think it would be an idea to get the soil tested again as its been around 5years since it was done

[LILLILEAF]

I have bought a chemical testing kit which does the PH and the nutrient levels, it will arrive next week, so I will be able to test and know what I need to do to improve my failing potato yields.
 In the beginning I was blaming the seed spud suppliers but think it may be my fault, I will know more once soil has been tested.Lillileaf

[rowlandwells]

as I said in my previous post we use a balanced fertilizer for our potato crops  if we didn't use fertilizer it would be a waste of time planting

also  I really believe you can't beat a good load of well rotted of  cattle manure to put back all the nutrients in the ground but I don't manure my potato ground only on a rotation basis