Wasted $80 on a fancy soil tester that was totally wrong

I bought this digital soil pH and moisture meter on Amazon thinking it would help me finally figure out why my rhododendrons kept looking sad. Turns out the thing was reading 2 full points off compared to a proper test kit from the garden center. After I wasted a whole weekend adding sulfur to lower the pH that was already fine, I went back to the old school chemical test drops that cost like $12. Has anyone else had those digital meters give them bad readings?

3 comments

3 Comments

sethfoster1mo ago

Two whole points off is wild. I bought one of those digital meters last spring and it told me my hydrangeas were in alkaline soil, so I dumped a bunch of coffee grounds and sulfur around them. Turned out the pH was actually fine for them, around 6.0, and I just stressed them out for nothing. I chucked the thing in the trash and went back to the liquid test drops from the hardware store for ten bucks.

ross.lily1mo ago

Ugh, that's so frustrating. Did your hydrangeas bounce back okay?

john_fisher1mo ago

Well I'll be, that's a good point. I've always been a bit skeptical of those digital meters myself, but I figured they were at least directionally accurate. This makes me realize I should have stuck with the old-school liquid tests instead of assuming the fancy gadget knew better.