[JimB]

.

Just read the news letter and saw special offer from Two Wests for a soil test kit, as I was interested but before I ordered one, at the remarkable price of £17.95 plus only£4.95 carriage, I googled and found it was being offered by Gardening Naturally for £15.65 post paid!

Some companies spoil their good intentions by making up their profit by charging  "the earth" for carriage,packing and insurance!

No thanks!

[mumofstig]

Oh dear 

[lettice]

Think it is the same one, £9.90 and Amazon and free delivery

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Two-Wests-Elliott-257-Testing/dp/B0017866I4/ref=sr_1_1?srs=1660356031&ie=UTF8&qid=1454492295&sr=8-1&keywords=soil+test+kit

[AussieInFrance]

Surely it's cheaper to simply buy the strips. I've been using them for a few years now and they tell me enough. Well, in truth, they tell me little as the ph of my soil is so close to neutral that the strips don't change colour. Technically speaking though, that does tell me something!

[lettice]

I also use the ph strips. Bought them on amazon for about £1.
Work great for me and love how consitent they are.
Do tests of the soil from differing parts of the plot and the strips produce the same result with multiple strip tests, so show they work.
Mine generally shows 6.5 - 7.
I have an old soil tester kit too and that shows the same.
Nice to know your stuff is accurate.

[Mr Dog]

Unless you have a problem patch these kits are IMO a waste of money for the amateur gardener. If you're not growing commercially the extra few % of yield you'll get from doctoring your soil will be far outweighed by the cost. Looking at what those nearby are, or indeed aren't, growing will tell you if there's a soil pH issue and hydrangeas will give you a quick guide to whether it's acidic or alkaline. If you really do want to test the pH buy some papers as Lettice as suggested and save a bit of cash for more seed.