Raspberryflyer, I will be more polite and diplomatic in my answer... I just bought a PH meter for my daughter who is doing a science project concerning the acidity of soil. It's not an expensive model ($15.00 Canadian) and we were told it may not be accurate, but so far it's giving the readings which I expected. Dipped in vinegar which is highly acidic, the meter registers in the deep of the lower PH levels, and dipped in mucky ashes from the wood stove, the meter goes straight to the higher PH levels. So far we've tested potting soil, forest soil, garden soil, lawn soil, etc. and the readings are what I expected them to be. It appears to be working well. It's a simple meter with two prongs which are inserted into the muddy soil. In essence, you place the soil in a bottle, add water to make it muddy, then insert the meter and wait about 60 seconds. We kept the receipt just in case it didn't work, so you might want to do the same. It was bought at a garden center. Since the ground has started to freeze here, we were out on Sunday with a pick axe digging. You have to get soil from about 5 inches down. I am actually glad she chose this as her project this year. I have been wanting to buy such a meter for some time, and this gave me the right excuse. I have places on the property where blueberries grow and so I wish to keep the acidity at a high level. In the ornamental gardens, I'm looking for neutral soil. This meter will help me in achieving these goals. I truly hope I've helped in answering your question, and that you will not be discouraged from posting at this forum in the future due to the above response. Most folks here are kind in nature and quite helpful and do actually focus on the question at hand. Sincerely, Nicole.

I use a battery powered pH meter, manufactured by Hanna Instruments, pn HI-1270. This unit was bought in 2005, from Elemental Scientific, located in Appleton, Wisconsin. The price at the time was $34.50. If you go this route, be aware that you will need to calibrate the meter, using a standard solution, before it is used. Its not just the soil that needs to be tested. If you plan on using tap water to irrigate your blueberry shrubs, then the water will need to be tested, as well. I use 5% white vinegar, from the grocery store, to pre-treat our tap water, before using this water on our blueberry shrubs.

You're meter will work just fine since soil pH is just a measurement of the pH in the soil solution anyway. What you do is make a saturated paste. You put your soil into a container and slowly add D.I. water and mix it in until it is fully, but not overly saturated. Saturate the soil until (I know this sounds goofy) it has a consistency pretty close to a Frosty from Wendy's. Then add a few more drops and mix until you get a tiny meniscus (for lack of a better term) of water along the bottom edge of your soil blob when you tip the container at an angle. Then you need to let it sit for a minimum of 8 hours. 24 is better. Cover the container with aluminum foil to keep water from evaporating. When you take off the foil, there will be a little bit of free water pooling on top. Don't sweat it, that's normal, just mix it back in. If you're in a lab, I'm assuming you have a Buchner funnel and an Erlenmeyer flask you can hook up to suction. If you do, set it up and throw some filter paper in the funnel and suck out the moisture. Then run your pH on the leachate.

seysonn, that's a good point you make. If neutral distilled water won't make a noticeable difference compared with tap water, then the only problem I have is finding a reliable way to test for pH. I thought my cheapo test strips might be off by a little bit, but the vinegar test does show them to be worthless. So what is the liquid test kit you're referring to. What brand is it?. I've been looking at better quality test strips, ColorpHast is a good brand (used by my scientist friend) , and also Phinex (4.5-9 pH range). I'd like to find some with a range of 2-9 pH so I can use vinegar as a low end standard. ColorpHast makes that range, but seems to be out of it every time I check. And does it matter if a test kit is labelled for saliva and urine...is that just because of the range, and can any pH test kit/method be used to test a soil sample? Any opinions on favorite pH testing methods? I think I'll start a new thread to ask that questions, or has this been done many times already?