Luster Leaf 1601 Rapitest Soil Test Kit, 40 Count (3 Pack)

Great product. Easy to use. Got it quickly.

Easy for students to use

provides the information to help keep my lawn looking great

The test did not work. It seems there is a 12-18 month shelf life. Did I get an expired kit? NOT happy that there is an expiration date, and no mention of it!!

Good quality tests

Great that the capsules are color coded to match the testing box, but it's an engineering failure to expect most people to open a small capsule containing a fine powder and empty it into a minute opening of an unstable container that contains soil residue liquid. Many people are not familiar with lab protocol such as this. Recipe. For. Disaster.Please consider redesigning this product with a blister pack of dissolving test tablets that can be pushed through the test cylinder opening, instead of the capsules.I'd love to see a package redesign that will hold the sample containers, capsules, dropper and directions all together - maybe something like a home pool testing kit? That would really be helpful for organizing multiple use tests.

I’ve been using these kits for years to monitor nutrient deficiencies in my law and garden. I chose to order these newer versions because I was out of the previous kits and I wanted to monitor the nutrients throughout the Autumn and Winter seasons which I normally didn’t do... until this year.I live in a very hot climate with extremely mild winters. Basically, our summers are Winter and our Winters are a standard summer season for optimal growth and improvement of turf.These are easy to use. Don’t overthink it. Read the instructions it comes with and follow with precision. I’ve read where people rush the process or don’t use the correct water (appearance of water is mentioned in the pamphlet and yes, it has a lot to do with your soil sample).These kits have helped me keep a full lawn and it’s a matter of dedication. This doesn’t give you amounts needed of each, it tells you what your soil is depleted of. It’s up to you to do your due diligence and guess via charts on nutrient bags.How this helps you:PH is what either allows your plants to take up nutrients or lick them up, starving them of nutrients. What this means is that it doesn’t matter what you buy to feed your lawn, if the PH is off, it’s not going to show any improvement.(N) Nitrogen: This is what makes what you see above ground turn green and grow healthy because it converts sugars into energy. This is the basis of photosynthesis. It takes the sun that shines on the leaves, pulls the sugars and turns your foliage green and feeds the plant for rapid growth. Adding too much of this will scorch your plants. It’s your job to make sure you know the plant’s requirements before adding any of this to it.(P) Phosphorous - this is responsible for root growth. I can’t tell you how important this is. I’ve been gardening 40 years. I’m 47. This is what I learned was paramount about plants : It doesn’t matter how pretty the flowers look, how nice the lawn looks when the roots are not longer or wider beneath the soil. At the first test of strength via stress or drought, you’ll see just how weak they were. Phosphorous is responsible for larger blooms and longer branches. Tiny roses on an large heirloom rose bush meant to produce very large roses means a phosphorous test is required. Again, this is part of using this test, results are up to you.(K) Potassium : Basically, this helps the plants do well by creating a balanced use all of the nutrients.This test is useful in the sense that it is done at home. Understanding the nutrients, their uses and the effects of their deficiency is where a beautiful garden begins.This test kit has never failed me ever since I started using it. It’s not a pro test however it comes near close if you understand the principles and importance of feeding your plants and watering them. The next thing that affects the results is you, the gardener.We have 50k sq ft of lawn and harden to maintain. One test per month in each area has helped save our investment and see phenomenal growth as well as color.If you want to improve your soil, buy the kits. Learn to use them. Test your soil. Know your plant’s requirements for health. Invest in the nutrients wisely. Monitor their improvement. Water accordingly. Repeat.This test helps you get started if you’re serious. It’s not the easy button but it certainly makes the process easier.Regarding color per test, these have richer color for better comparison on nutrient levels. Many complained that they couldn’t tell where their results were and I concur. There were times I couldn’t tell however, I understood it meant the nutrient that turned the water the color that noted it’s quantity was low if it was below sufficient. Remember that.Don’t walk away from the test after shaking up the vials. If you don’t monitor the time, you’ll have overprocessed the results and end up with wrong results. Be present. Stay focused. First and foremost, this is the basis of gardening: you and nature, looking to improve your surroundings. It takes a few minutes and then you have the answers you need to start your journey to a better lawn and garden.** The image added is of a blooming crape myrtle from our garden in oppressive 110 degrees mid-summer South Texas. I focused on Root health (phosphorous) to keep them in full bloom through a very long heat wave. The test being accesible at home facilitated this because I could monitor the required levels this tree needed to be healthy and tolerate a test of overall health.