i bought a soil test kit at Lowe's. It tests for pH, nitrogen, and 2 others. It has 4 small bottles and what looks like a pill inside the bottle. Are those reliable or should i take the soil to my local extension?
Also, i just fertilized my lawn last week. Should I wait a couple more weeks before doing the soil test? I don't want to skew the results, because the fertilizer I applied was nitrogen heavy.
IMO, these kits are OK for testing PH, but that's about it. I have one of the Rapitest capsule based kits. The PH readings have been consistent with what I've seen from agri ext tests, so I have some faith in them. I've never seen it show any indication of nitrogen, even a couple weeks after applying high nitrogen fertilizer.
However, it;s not all that bad, as PH is what I really use it for anyway. I put down fertilizer by amount and schedule, spring/fall, so I'm not that concerned with NPK.
Suggest you get a real test done too and let us know how it compares.
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