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I bought one of those hand-held ph meters at a garden store last year and found it impossible to use (admitedly, my technical skills are not good!). It gave different readings in the same spot on subsequent tests (and I hadn't done anything in the hours prior to the repeat testing). A garden friend tells me that Ph meters such as I bought are not reliable. Is there a type or brand that anyone knows of that really works?

Also, I am going to plant blueberries in addition to the vegetable garden and they supposedly like acid soil. What organic thing can I use to amend it if I find it is too alkaline? What organic amendments can be made to a soil that is too acidic, just in case?

pH paper will suffice for your needs, I don't know if you can buy it in a nursery or what have you but, you can order it online or through a science catalogue.

The only pH meters that I have ever used are designed for lab or field work and are incredibly expensive and require proper maintenance, use of buffer solutions (which are also expensive) and so on.'


Though, if you bought a proper pH meter, it could have been that the different parts of the pots had differnt pH's though, I doubt it. I have taken pH readings througout 300 000 L ponds with algae and they are pretty consistent.

You might try dolomite lime if it's too acidic. Certainly lemon juice will make it acidic It really depends on what's causing the pH level to vary. The soil type etc... clay vs sand soil texture, calcium and magnesium levels etc... I wouldn't assume an easy fix, however certainly getting up your organic soil levels and microbial activity is important. That's where compost will come in handy. Perhaps try some worm castings close to pH neutral and having lots of rich microbial activity. Perhaps mix in with your soil and water in well.

By the way, blueberries tend to like acidic soil between 4 and 5.5 Fruits generally prefer slightly acidic soil. The issues effecting growing might or might not be related to pH.