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Vegetable Gardening

anyone have experience with Miller's pH meter?

15 years ago

Miller Nurseries has a pH meter for sale and I am wondering if it is worth anything. I'd like to hear from you if you are using the pH meter that Miller's is marketing. Thanks!

~thomis

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Comments (7)

mudflapper
15 years ago
I don't know which one they sell, but if it's the one that gives a reading for N.P.K. I would save your money... if its the rapid test it will at least get you in the ballpark; its the one I use.
User
15 years ago
Good news...

Though it won't do you much good this season you can get a professional soil test for free in NC. Well, your tax dollars pay for it.

These are some high-end professional tests that will tell you exactly what's going on with your soil. If you choose to use this service (it's VERY worth the effort) try to have your soil samples in before October/November for quick turnaround because the lab gets SWAMPED with requests over the winter.

The final report will pretty much tell you where you stand with your soil quality and what you need to amend it with nutrient-wise.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Test Forms & Information
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Dave, Thanks for the link. But after reading through this material (and others), I'm now not sure if a pH tester will benefit me (based on how I thought I'd use it). I have a small garden (~350 sq ft) with raised beds all. I was interested in using the tester so I can create ideal pH for the various fruits and vegetables that I'll be growing in the beds (raise pH a little here, lower pH a litte there). But, as I understand it, adjusting pH takes time. And since I'll be rotating my crops annually, by the time I get the pH right for one thing, it will be time to plant something else there. Unless plan my layout and test the pH very early in the season, so I may have a pair of months to try to get things just right. Or, in my situation, is the benefit of the tester to have a general idea of the pH so I can keep things from getting too basic or too acidic? How do small gardeners typically use their testers?
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My buddy bought an Accurate 8 meter to test aside mine. When inserted into the same hole at various pH levels the two meters were within 0.2 pH units. Of course both could be wrong but the readings make sense relative to plant responses. Recently I tried blood meal for the first time on some potted blueberries. About a week later I took pH readings just to monitor things. At first I thought the meter was off because readings were high. But now I think the blood meal raised pH. After switching back to ammonium sulfate the pH is now back to the 4.5-5 I want. So I'm still pleased and think the meter has already paid for itself.
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Ya hardclay7a, unfortunately there are a lot of sales people out there like that. That's a clear and obvious tip off at an attempt to just get more money out of people. That type of thing really upsets me, and I probably would have nicely put down any products I had planed to get, and just walked out of the store with nothing (and get my stuff elsewhere). To me that's equivalent to steeling money directly out of my wallet, and people like that don't deserve a penny of it. It's one thing to give an opinion about something (even if untrue, as in this case), but it's another thing altogether to ignore what works for the customer, as well as what the customer want's just to try to push something they want to sell. That's when it crosses the line from an opinion to steeling for me. But unfortunately most people new to hydroponics don't know any better, and just believe what the salesperson tells them because they think they should know, after all they work there. So they just trust whatever the salesperson tells them. They rip off so many people that way it just infuriates me to even hear about it. P.S. I also agree that freshlygrownfarms post was informative, and it's always good to hear about peoples personal experiences with products they have used, as well as hear about what works best for them. I found it particularly good to hear that the continuous read meters are much more likely to be more accurate and better quality. Right now I don't have a need for one, but I hope to in the future.
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Comments (5)
Susan - if you're addressing me, I don't use one of those. I thought about one, but I needed to know a lot more than that so I purchased one of those home test kits from a box store. It's the one with 4 tubes and little pellets. We took soil samples from several places in the general area of two of our garden spots. We probably took a good spadesized scoop of dirt from each place (maybe 8" deep) and mixed it all together. Then according to the directions, mixed that dirt with the water and tablet. They're aren't "professional" results but scientific enough for me. I would think that the value of the dirt at any given depth would be subjective, depending on what, if anything, the "keeper" had or had not done to the dirt. Of course, the deeper you go the more you'll know about your "base". Makes sense? Maybe I'm rambling! LOL! Larry, I agree with you about HF. They do have some good stuff....but this is one of those places that most of the time, you get what you pay for. Except for Chandra's greenhouse....I want one of those so bad I can almost taste it!!! Paula
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User
15 years ago
Just a head's up here...

You have to get the boxes in person at your county agricultural extension office. The good news they can tell you exactly how to fill out your paperwork and take a soil sample, too. You can read up on all that without getting an extension agent involved on the link given, though.

The jargon is a bit weird to get around, but this service is something labs in other states charge $15-$25+ for. Plus the "customer service" (aka, the extension agent) is very used to handling soil report questions.
User
15 years ago
Nevermind...I just took a look at your pics and you've already got your soil test reports. Doh...

As far as pH meters go I pretty much only trust Hanna meters. They're easily piece-part replaceable, though a decent meter will set you back $100-ish.
User
15 years ago
Well it seems the low end (but mostly stable and replacable electrode) Hanna HI 98103 is commonly found on ebay in the $25-ish range.

I don't know about the other tester, but the HI 98103 is a pretty reliable home-garden tester with great accuracy.
cyrus_gardner
15 years ago
I have bought one from HD for about $20.
It does two thing: 1- PH test , 2- General nutients test.
I don,t care for the latter. I only used it for PH test last December. It is not a hight tech instrument but it gives you a good indication. Also, it seems to me that measurimg Ph is not that complicated. The probe senses H(hydrogen) ion strength. PH= Potential Hydrogen.
But I cannot thrust NPK test.

The best indication is the state of health of what you plant. I have no problem with anything so far. I will find out later about peppers and eggplants.
thomis
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the info nc-crn, you are right. The service NC State ag office offers is very nice. I use them often. Thats a tax benefit that actually works for us!! ;)

I had a credit for Miller's so it made sense to get it.

Thats interesting cyrus, about what the probe senses. Seems simple enough. I do indeed watch the health of the plants. I take soil samples and do the leaf analysis (not free).

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