Environmental Concepts MA10 Moisture Analyzer

Right out of the package it works great!I was interested to find out why my zoysia grass was growing well in my backyard and not so well in my front yard.I stuck the probes in the ground after cleaning per instructions, the soil was moist and lo and behold a PH of 4.4-5 in the areas where the grass was growing poorly and a PH of 6,-6.5, -7 in the healthy areas.The deeper I probed the higher the acidity (as low as 4) as I started to slowly remove the probe,the PH would begin to increase to 5.5. then 6, so I could begin to see the topsoil was deeper in the backyard and shallow in most of the front yard.I will treat with lime this fall. I had suspected this was the problem. My house is only three years old so the sod was just laid three years ago.

After first two test measured 7.0, and having read reviews stating the meter always reads 7.0 regardless of actual pH, I decided to conduct a test. Taking soil from one of the previously measured locations, I then added 1 tablespoon vinegar to the soil, moistened the soil with water as instructed, mixed, and tested. Meter measured 6.5. Conducted a fourth test, added 2 tablespoons vinegar to the soil, moistened, mixed, and the meter measured 5.8. So my meter works. If others are skeptical or worried their meter is broke or not working correctly, you might want to try what I did before you return yours for refund or replacement.

Works good, prongs are always tough to keep nice so be careful when testing. I will say to everyone here that is growing outdoors to till and amend your starting soil with dolomite lime which will automatically make the soil PH come back to neutral. The cup testing method works to some degree but most of the time its best to till, soften ,and test directly in the ground. The use of distilled water is questionable considering it usually has a lower than neutral PH, using a neutral 7.0 batch of water will have less influence on soil PH after being saturated.Indoors:You need to take the PH from the soil your roots are sitting in, take a top soil reading and if possible a root level reading as well.Taking soil out of a grow container to do a test will not give you a correct root soil PH and disturb your root progression, best to soften the soil in the pot first w/ neutral filtered water and test directly in container .Great product for the price :) 4 Stars

ALERT: Read the instructions before trying to stick the probes into the ground.1. Clear instructions stating to put some dirt into a container, add distilled water and read the PH that way instead of trying to stick the very thin probes into the hard ground. They will break.2. Clean the probes every time you use them.3. Wait a full minute before taking a reading, the meter will peg into a direction, then back to center, then it will begin to move in the direction of the PH reading.

I have a battery powered soil analyzer, but it seems to go through batteries like nothing. I bought this one because of the low price and because it doesn't use batteries. Right out of the package it is ready to go and I went all around the yard, almost playing with my new toy! It read the same as my high-end analyzer but with no batteries ti worry about! I recommend this to everyone looking for an inexpensive and easy way to test the Ph of any soil!

Very simple to use and provides quick results. I purchased this to test soil on different parts of my small farm, so I could amend the soil as necessary for planting. I was so surprised how easy this was to use. I carried around some disposable plastic cups, added soil and a little water just to dampen and consolidate the soil, stuck the prongs in, and had readings within seconds. Then I simple rinsed the prongs off and went on to test the next samples. I even sometimes simply just stuck the prongs directly into the soil, which still gave me decent readings, but I do think it is better to dampen the soil in a cup or container, so you have the most accurate sampling. But, this is a great tool for gardeners or farmers. It is so easy to use and there are no batteries to worry about.

I followed the instructions to a T - distilled water, cleaning of probe, waited a minute. All results showed my soil as acidic (6 to &) but the capsule based product showed it to be quite basic.(8 to 9) I know that our area is mineral rich and PH is a real problem and so I can only assume that this product isnt doing the job. Found an Oregon State study that evaluated this product and found it not suitable for horticultural use..google it!

Didn't work for me. I cleaned the probes and tried testing six or seven places in the garden, including some peat moss mix. I tried tilting the device to make sure the needle wasn't stuck, but it moved enough to tell me it wasn't frozen in one position. Everything I tested had the same reading -- slightly alkaline. Even the peat moss and other areas that I know run toward acid.