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Old 28-03-2003, 01:20 AM
Monte
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to make a soil test kit???

I know you can buy the things, but I'm stubborn and curious.(and still
alive to tell about it) heh

What I am looking for is what reagents etc are used for the standard tests
for NPK? hey, even I can use litmus so the Ph thing is whipped.

any help appreciated, seems all the 'experts' want to sell you their
personal kit or service.

Monte
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Old 29-03-2003, 08:32 AM
Just a little bit
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to make a soil test kit???

On Fri, 28 Mar 2003 00:19:52 -0000, Monte wrote:

I know you can buy the things, but I'm stubborn and curious.(and still
alive to tell about it) heh

What I am looking for is what reagents etc are used for the standard tests
for NPK? hey, even I can use litmus so the Ph thing is whipped.


Litmus is useless for soil testing. You don't want to know if a soil is acid or
alkaline so much as how acid or alkaline it is.


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Old 29-03-2003, 02:44 PM
Monte
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to make a soil test kit???

Just a little bit wrote in
:

On Fri, 28 Mar 2003 00:19:52 -0000, Monte
wrote:

I know you can buy the things, but I'm stubborn and curious.(and
still alive to tell about it) heh

What I am looking for is what reagents etc are used for the standard
tests for NPK? hey, even I can use litmus so the Ph thing is
whipped.


Litmus is useless for soil testing. You don't want to know if a soil
is acid or alkaline so much as how acid or alkaline it is.




Come on, you wasted a posting! Jeez didn't you see the little smiley icon
behind the litmus sentence. NOW provide me some clues or answers too my
question!

Monte
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Old 31-03-2003, 12:20 AM
David Hare-Scott
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to make a soil test kit???


"Monte" wrote in message
...
I know you can buy the things, but I'm stubborn and curious.(and still
alive to tell about it) heh

What I am looking for is what reagents etc are used for the standard

tests
for NPK? hey, even I can use litmus so the Ph thing is whipped.

any help appreciated, seems all the 'experts' want to sell you their
personal kit or service.

Monte


Do you have a degree or equivalent in chemistry? This will be a very
long hard road if you don't.

Are you prepared to do hours (days) of research and then spend days
buying, measuring and testing laboratory reagents to work out a
practical test? Do you have the required equipment to weigh out,
measure and store this stuff? Do you expect this one-off to be cheaper
than a mass produced store-bought kit? If you want to try your hand
start with just the pH test which would be the simplest to set up but
even then I doubt that you will save time or money and come up with an
accurate and reprducible test.

Or were you expecting somebody who has the skills and the gear and the
time to work this out to just give away free recipe books on the
internet? This is possible but it does not seem probable to me. Go
ahead and google - I would love to be proved wrong as I could then use
the same material. I doubt that this will happen.

David


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Old 31-03-2003, 11:56 PM
Monte
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to make a soil test kit???

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in news:3e876bb6$0$5551
:


"Monte" wrote in message
...
I know you can buy the things, but I'm stubborn and curious.(and still
alive to tell about it) heh

What I am looking for is what reagents etc are used for the standard

tests
for NPK? hey, even I can use litmus so the Ph thing is whipped.

any help appreciated, seems all the 'experts' want to sell you their
personal kit or service.

Monte


Do you have a degree or equivalent in chemistry? This will be a very
long hard road if you don't.

Are you prepared to do hours (days) of research and then spend days
buying, measuring and testing laboratory reagents to work out a
practical test? Do you have the required equipment to weigh out,
measure and store this stuff? Do you expect this one-off to be cheaper
than a mass produced store-bought kit? If you want to try your hand
start with just the pH test which would be the simplest to set up but
even then I doubt that you will save time or money and come up with an
accurate and reprducible test.

Or were you expecting somebody who has the skills and the gear and the
time to work this out to just give away free recipe books on the
internet? This is possible but it does not seem probable to me. Go
ahead and google - I would love to be proved wrong as I could then use
the same material. I doubt that this will happen.

David




Well David old chap,
First off you best remove your head from your arss and get some oxygen.
You need it.
Yes, I have a couple of semesters of chem, long ago. Enough not to blow
myself up with kitchen chemicals.

Now to the problem I asked about. One you are a complete dolt and do not
even understand the question. there are relatively simple qualitative
indicator tests which are made for NPK sufficient for the average
gardener and even a farmer. You can buy these at almost any garden
center. THESE my troll-like friend are what I referred too exactly what
are the chemicals used. They do not list them exactly on the labels. At
least not the ones I've seen.

So go crawl back under the rocks and wait for a crippled 'roo to passby
so you can fill your gullet and leave gardening folk to tending the
better foodstuffs.

Monte


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Old 01-04-2003, 12:44 AM
David Hare-Scott
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to make a soil test kit???


"Monte" wrote in message
.. .
"David Hare-Scott" wrote in

news:3e876bb6$0$5551
:


"Monte" wrote in message
...
I know you can buy the things, but I'm stubborn and curious.(and

still
alive to tell about it) heh

What I am looking for is what reagents etc are used for the

standard
tests
for NPK? hey, even I can use litmus so the Ph thing is whipped.

any help appreciated, seems all the 'experts' want to sell you

their
personal kit or service.

Monte


Do you have a degree or equivalent in chemistry? This will be a

very
long hard road if you don't.

Are you prepared to do hours (days) of research and then spend days
buying, measuring and testing laboratory reagents to work out a
practical test? Do you have the required equipment to weigh out,
measure and store this stuff? Do you expect this one-off to be

cheaper
than a mass produced store-bought kit? If you want to try your hand
start with just the pH test which would be the simplest to set up

but
even then I doubt that you will save time or money and come up with

an
accurate and reprducible test.

Or were you expecting somebody who has the skills and the gear and

the
time to work this out to just give away free recipe books on the
internet? This is possible but it does not seem probable to me. Go
ahead and google - I would love to be proved wrong as I could then

use
the same material. I doubt that this will happen.

David




Well David old chap,
First off you best remove your head from your arss and get some

oxygen.
You need it.
Yes, I have a couple of semesters of chem, long ago. Enough not to

blow
myself up with kitchen chemicals.

Now to the problem I asked about. One you are a complete dolt and do

not
even understand the question. there are relatively simple qualitative
indicator tests which are made for NPK sufficient for the average
gardener and even a farmer. You can buy these at almost any garden
center. THESE my troll-like friend are what I referred too exactly

what
are the chemicals used. They do not list them exactly on the labels.

At
least not the ones I've seen.

So go crawl back under the rocks and wait for a crippled 'roo to

passby
so you can fill your gullet and leave gardening folk to tending the
better foodstuffs.

Monte


With the attitude that being offensive to strangers is fun, which will
no doubt get you lots of help, combined with the view that this task
must be really simple I can see you will fix this little problem up in a
few ticks. Let me know when you have it licked.

David


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Old 01-04-2003, 01:44 AM
Anna Merchant
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to make a soil test kit???

Pool pH meters do tell you how acid, or how alkaline a soil is. This is a
wee bit more useful than something just telling if it is acid or alkaline.
My dad has a electronic pH meter that I use in the garden, has been very
helpful so far.

--
Anna Merchant

http://www.thecotfactory.co.nz
If electricity comes from electrons, does that mean that morality comes from
morons?
"Monte" wrote in message
.. .
Just a little bit wrote in
:

On Fri, 28 Mar 2003 00:19:52 -0000, Monte
wrote:

I know you can buy the things, but I'm stubborn and curious.(and
still alive to tell about it) heh

What I am looking for is what reagents etc are used for the standard
tests for NPK? hey, even I can use litmus so the Ph thing is
whipped.


Litmus is useless for soil testing. You don't want to know if a soil
is acid or alkaline so much as how acid or alkaline it is.




Come on, you wasted a posting! Jeez didn't you see the little smiley icon
behind the litmus sentence. NOW provide me some clues or answers too my
question!

Monte



  #8   Report Post  
Old 01-04-2003, 02:20 PM
Andrew G
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to make a soil test kit???

"Monte" wrote in message
...
I know you can buy the things, but I'm stubborn and curious.(and still
alive to tell about it) heh

What I am looking for is what reagents etc are used for the standard tests
for NPK? hey, even I can use litmus so the Ph thing is whipped.

any help appreciated, seems all the 'experts' want to sell you their
personal kit or service.

Monte


To be honest I have never seen a EASILY available NPK checking kit. I know
in Hydroponics there is a thing called a truncheon(sp??) meter which will
simply check the nutrient level. It gives a readout of a number, that's all.
Different veges require a different level of nutrient to grow in.
I have no idea what chemicals are used in soil NPK tests. But, did you know
different pH unlocks/allows different nutrients in the soil? So if your soil
reads 7.5, it will have different nutrients available then the same soil at
6.5, and so on.
So getting pH test kit that gives you a number figure, rather than just
telling you if it's acid or akaline, then getting hold of a chart telling
you what nutrients are available at what levels of pH would be the easiest
and cheapest. IIRC even the yates garden guide book had such a chart.
Yup, I know this is useless if the soil is lacking a nutrient. This only
tells you if a nutrient would be available, but the nutrient has to be there
in the first place. But can be corrected with good use of fertiliser and
organic matter.

As I said Ive never seen such a easily available kit, but of course they
would exist.
Failing that, I'd be finding another NG, something dealing with chemistry or
biology perhaps.

--
Remove "not" from start of email address to reply



  #9   Report Post  
Old 02-04-2003, 04:20 AM
Andrew
 
Posts: n/a
Default How to make a soil test kit???

NPK kits are produced by a number of companies although you
may have to search around for them. They are similar to the
test kits used for aquariums. The problem I see is that
while these kits are expensive they contain quite low
amounts of chemicals. To reproduce such reliable titration
solutions you'll need to make up a comparably large volume
of stock solution. If done correctly, you'll end up with
more solution than you could imagine using. It will also
cost you far more than a quality kit, which will last you
ages anyway. There is no way you'll be able to economically
reproduce the solutions in these kits on the small scale. If
it was possible, there'd be DIY instructions on every
aquarium website.
Andrew

Andrew G wrote:

To be honest I have never seen a EASILY available NPK checking kit. I know
in Hydroponics there is a thing called a truncheon(sp??) meter which will
simply check the nutrient level. It gives a readout of a number, that's all.
Different veges require a different level of nutrient to grow in.
I have no idea what chemicals are used in soil NPK tests. But, did you know
different pH unlocks/allows different nutrients in the soil? So if your soil
reads 7.5, it will have different nutrients available then the same soil at
6.5, and so on.
So getting pH test kit that gives you a number figure, rather than just
telling you if it's acid or akaline, then getting hold of a chart telling
you what nutrients are available at what levels of pH would be the easiest
and cheapest. IIRC even the yates garden guide book had such a chart.
Yup, I know this is useless if the soil is lacking a nutrient. This only
tells you if a nutrient would be available, but the nutrient has to be there
in the first place. But can be corrected with good use of fertiliser and
organic matter.

As I said Ive never seen such a easily available kit, but of course they
would exist.
Failing that, I'd be finding another NG, something dealing with chemistry or
biology perhaps.

"Monte" wrote in message
...
I know you can buy the things, but I'm stubborn and curious.(and still
alive to tell about it) heh

What I am looking for is what reagents etc are used for the standard tests
for NPK? hey, even I can use litmus so the Ph thing is whipped.

any help appreciated, seems all the 'experts' want to sell you their
personal kit or service.

Monte


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