Soil Meters & pH Testing

Your plants need ideal pH levels and a nutrient solution that’s not too concentrated or too weak for healthy growth. This makes monitoring these two things one of your most important tasks as a professional or hobby grower. You do not want your plants to grow up with toxicities or deficiencies.

Why should you test your garden soil?

Before you start growing, it is essential that you thoroughly check your soil. But this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to keep a check after you have planted your seeds. You should test your soil for pH and nutrient levels regularly to ensure healthy plant growth.

Like everything, plants need an optimal pH level for healthy growth. If you are growing in a soil garden, the ideal pH range is 6.5-6.8, whereas, in soilless gardens, the pH level should remain between 5.5-6.5. Ideal pH levels ensure good nutrient absorption in plants, and if the pH level is outside the optimal range, it can lead to disastrous results for your plants.

Apart from the pH, you also need to keep your soil in check for nutrient content. Maintaining the right NPK ratio is important to improve plant growth and plant yield. For instance, if your soil is rich in Potassium, you will need to lower the potassium content that you feed your plant to prevent toxicity.

How to test garden soil?

The most common way to do it is by using a soil meter and test kit. There are numerous types of meters and tests available. For instance, the Active Air 2-Way pH & Moisture Meter is a basic kit to test moisture and pH. There also are more advanced options available, such as the Luster Leaf Products Rapitest Electronic 3-Way Analyzer. This device tests plants for NPK, pH, moisture, and sunlight.

The Bluelab Pulse Multimedia EC/MC Meter is even more advanced and allows for spot-checking. You can pair the device with a smartphone app to make a database of all your information.

How can you adjust the pH of soil and nutrient solutions?

The pH meter or test kit allows for testing pH levels only. These test kits can both be simple such as the Bluelab pH Pen, or complex such as the Bluelab Pro Automated PH and Nutrient Controller. If pH levels are not in the ideal range, you can always use a pH adjuster kit to bring the pH back to optimal levels.

Automate your grow room or garden

Like everything in the world right now, gardens and grow rooms need to move towards automation. Once you have set up the grow room and the grow operation is properly dialed in, you should not be spending too much time in the grow room. This is possible through automation.

If you want to decrease your workload significantly, you should use a combination meter, which condenses all your kits and meter in one. You can test the pH, PPM, TDS, temperature, and other things simultaneously. Many of these can be integrated with your smartphone, and you can access all the data and readings whenever you want.

The device automatically adjusts these variables if it finds any of them to be outside the optimal range. For instance, it will automatically apply the pH down function if pH levels exceed the ideal range. You will not be monitoring everything at all times; instead, the device will do its magic, eliminating the need for you to intervene. A nutrient and pH doser can further increase your grow room’s efficiency. The device is ideal for hydroponic systems as it monitors the nutrient reservoir.

Humidity and temperature in the garden or grow room

You should also focus on maintaining an ideal temperature and humidity level. For the most part of a plant's life, the humidity should be at 40%-50% while the temperature should range between 70-80^oF.

Thermometers and hygrometers allow for monitoring the temperature and humidity inside the grow room, allowing you to take the necessary steps in case the levels become too high or too low.

Our blog on the best pH testers for hydroponic and soil growing can help you in making a purchase decision. At Groindoor.com, we also have a variety of calibration and cleaning solutions and replacement probes and accessories for our customers.

For more information, call us at 866-GRO-INDR!