Luster Leaf 1820 Rapitest Soil Moisture Meter

Useles

Mine worked as advertised, for a few months. Then it stopped working. I contacted Peg at Luster Leaf and she told me to send it back for a replacement. I did, and she told me it showed signs of "neglect" and that they wouldn't replace it. This was infuriating, since I stuck it in some potted plants. I didn't use it to probe the surface of the moon. Horrible product, horrible customer service. There are many other brands. Choose one of them.

So I have a black thumb. Usually I don't care, but I do like fresh herbs in my food, particularly basil. Now that it's winter, grocery stores scarcely stock fresh herbs, so I've resorted to (trying to) growing my own. So far, I'm doing a terrible job.I bought this soil moisture meter to help me figure out why my basil plant was touch and go and seemingly really high maintenance. As soon as the meter came in the mail, I popped the package open and started reading. "Includes watering needs for over 150 plants!" Guess what? Not one of them is basil...or any herb, really. No parsley, oregano, etc.Frustrated, I took to the internet and found this pdf from Luster Leaf that had some additional plants and their watering needs listed. I've included them below. Note, below is not the entire list, just a smaller list of plants that seem to be left off the official Luster Leaf instructions included with the plant meter.Hint: 1st number is the "water number" (how wet it should be. Most plants here are between 2-5); 2nd number is how many days before you should check it again (most plants are ever 1-3 days); and the last number(s) are additional comments specific to that plant. See the key below the plant list for the key.Alyssum 5 3 3Artichoke 4 3 2, 3Asparagus 4 3 2, 3, 10Azalea 5 2 2Bamboo 5 2 2Basil 4 1 2, 3Bean 3 3 2, 3Beet 4 3 2, 3Broccoli 3 3 2, 3Cabbage 4 3 2, 3Camellia 5 2 3Canna 4 3 2Cauliflower 3 3 2, 3Celery 5 3 2, 3Chard 4 3 5, 10Cilantro 5 3 3Corn 3 3 2, 3Cucumber 4 3 3, 10Daffodil 5 1Dahlia 5 1 9Dianthus 3 2Eggplant 4 3 10Hydrangea 8 3Impatiens 5 2Iris 4 1Lemon Balm 5 3 2Lettuce 4 3 10Lily 5 2 5Marigold 4 2 8Melon 4 1 2, 8Mint 4 2Mum 5 3 9Onion 3 3 2, 3, 10Oregano 3 1 5Parsley 5 3 2, 3Pea 5 3 2, 8Peppers 3 3 2Petunia 5 2Pine 4 2Potato 3 3Primrose 5 3Radish 3 3 3Rhododendron 5 1 3Rose 5 3 3, 10Spinach 4 3 3, 8Squash 4 3 3, 10Strawberry 4 3 8, 10Tomato 4 2 10TuberBegonia 5 3 4Tulip 4 1Turnip 4 3Watermelon 4 1 2, 8Zinnia 2 2 8Comment Key1. Spray foliage daily2. Never let soil dry out3. Keep soil moist but never soggy4. Keep soil wet at all times5. Allow soil to dry between watering.6. Soil should remain dry 4–5 days7. Reduce watering during dormant period.8. Water from beneath (in saucer.) Never wet foliage.9. Water more and more frequently when temperatures are hot.10. Water thoroughly.So, basil's water # shouldn't be higher than a 4, it should be checked daily, And the comments are to never let the soil dry out, keep it moist but not soggy. Guess how my basil was doing???? Yeah, it's bad.Hope this helps someone else!

Can't give 5 stars simply because there is no way of verifying its accuracy. I do get variances when checking different pots of soil. The green scrub pad didn't do much to initially clean the probe which resulted in essentially a 7 reading in every place I checked. Used a very fine "000" steel wool and it made all the difference in the world. When I finish testing one pot, I wipe the probe clean with a paper towel then clean with the green pad. Seems to do the trick. One commentator said that were having the same initial problem as I did but used Bon Ami to clean the probe. They said it must have worked because they proceeded to dunk the probe in 5% white vinegar and got a 5 reading on the meter. If you Google Ph of white vinegar you will find the Ph to be 2.5 to 3. Listen folks...the scale on the Ph meter IS NOT Percent. I wouldn't suggest to use a scouring pad as it is probably to rough. Perhaps a VERY fine sand paper if you don't have fine steel wool, but don't squeeze very hard.

Right out of the package it never registered any moisture. I tried it per instructions in numerous pots that did not need watering where it should have registered moisture. Never got it to work.I am returning it to Amazon.Also, if it had worked the probe is very short - would have only been usable on small pots.The $8 ones shown in the searches here have much longer probes and I have always had good luck with them. Thought this one would be higher quality and thought the "cord" feature would have been nice.

It pretty much comes to you completely oxidized. You have to really clean it to get it to work. That little green scratchy cloth is truly useless. I ended up using a little Bon Ami to get it clean.It says not to use abrasives on the tip...Ignore this. USE ABRASIVES on the tip, especially. The tip should be as bright and shiny as new stainless steel. Keep using an abrasive until it is. THEN, and ONLY then will it work.I tested it in White Distilled vinegar and got a 5 reading. The vinegar I used is acually diluted to a 5% acidity, so it works....IF you get it clean enough.