Billy wrote:
In article ,
"DogDiesel" wrote:

Hi,

I got a Accugrow test kit and a D hoe from Johnnies today. I just
had to go dig a hole. So I went out and dug a hole in the snow and
soil to get a sample. And did a test. This is what I came up with.

PH 7
Nitrogen A
Phosphorus D
Potassium C- D , but its closer to D then C

Last year I mixed up liquid fish fertilizer and poured it on the
plants using a hand waterer. And that's mostly nitrogen. So that
guess worked out. It was 5-1-1, 0r 3-1-1.


What do these letters A, B etc mean in this context?


Other then that, And the fact I just dug a hole in the snow in the
dark. It looks like I'm nitrogen deficient. And the fact that the
kit doesn't show PH above 7. How would you know if your PH is over
7.

Diesel

How weird that they don't cover that. I would expect there to be quite a
few districts in the USA where the typical soil pH would be alkaline.
Consider testing in several places before amending your soil, as sample of
one is not very representative.

Litmus paper


This isn't going to be very accurate because litmus changes colour over
quite a wide range of pH, you are probably not going to be able to tell if
the pH is 7, 8 or above 8 using litmus. There are dye indicator systems
that will give you a much better reading. I forget the brand of the one I
have and as the temperature is about 42C I am not going out to the shed to
find it right now.

David