The Ferry Morse Soil Test Kit

Update: The information is the same now as when this was first posted, in February of 2013. The exception is I stated the cost of the kit as about four dollars. The price has changed, so check with your local nursery outlet for current costs. (2025)

You can watch a demonstration video of how to use the Ferry Morse Soil Test Kit on YouTube

How to Use the Ferry Morse Soil Test Kit in Your Garden

Before spring planting, which here in Phoenix is as early as January but no later than the end of February, I add a fresh layer of garden soil to the beds. I like to use the permaculture method, meaning I don't till the soil or turn it over. Rather, after the plants are removed, I just add another layer of soil, so as not to disturb the existing microbial community within the beds.

I also like to test the soil for nutrient value at that time to ensure each bed can support its intended plants.

The Ferry Morse Soil Test Kit is available at home improvement stores and garden centers at a reasonable cost - around $4 a kit. Now, I have seven beds in my garden. So if I test each bed, I can expect to pay around $30 to test the entire garden if I buy the kits separately. Buy in bulk, though, and that cost is reduced.

Why bother testing? Well, if you know what the nutrient content is in your soil, you can better choose which fertilizer to use,or better understand why certain plants aren't thriving.

For example, broccoli needs a lot of nitrogen. If the broccoli leaves look yellowish and the plants aren't producing heads, you can use a test kit to determine if the soil nitrogen level is too low. Add blood meal to the bed and your broccoli hopefully will recover and thrive.

Macro Nutrients
The Ferry Morse Soil Test Kit lets you test for nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, all macro nutrients essential for healthy vegetables.

Nitrogen (N) is directed to leafy growth and stem growth. Without sufficient nitrogen, the plant is unable to properly develop its 'vascular system', the means by which nutrients are transported throughout the plant.

Phosphorous (P) is essential to the process of setting fruit. Without phosphorous, the plant struggles to develop a strong root system and is unlikely to flower. If a plant doesn't flower, it doesn't produce fruit or develop seeds for propagation.

Potassium (K) helps plants resist disease and is akin to a multi-vitamin; it promotes general overall health in the plant.

My Assessment
I like using the Ferry Morse Soil Test Kit for my garden beds. It's an easy test to use, and each unit costs only about $4 at local outlets, but you can find it online in bulk; you'll get a decent discount buying them that way.

It's an uncomplicated test that doesn't require anything more than a soil sample, water and a bit of your time. Essentially, I use the tests once a year and am satisfied with the product.

Kratky in a Can Update
Unfortunately, the strawberry plant installed in my coffee can Kratky system didn't survive. I don't fault the methodology of the experiment. Rather, the onset of cold weather and the plant's exposure to it likely damaged the roots - the water was a bit frozen the morning after I had forgotten to take the plant inside.

I want to repeat the experiment. A strawberry plant may not have been the ideal subject, either. I'm going to use sweet basil for my next test subject because we've had good luck with basil in other hydroponic methods; the herb is well suited to the watery environs of hydroponics.

Landscaping Projects
Spanish Dagger trees are common here in Phoenix, and you can get some tips on how to trim these long-lived agaves in our video, "How toTrim a Spanish Dagger Tree."

If you have an unwanted cactus in your yard, watch our video, "Removing a Small Cactus from Your Yard". 

And finally, we'll start planning for new landscaping, as the install of a new sewer line presented and opportunity to update the backyard. In an upcoming post, we'll show you what we come up with. 

Disclaimer: Ferry Morse did not supply me with this product. I paid for it myself.

Frostbit Garden and Starting Seeds

Frostbit tomato plants

Update: The strawberry plant in the Kratky can was transplanted, but failed shortly after. The seeds did fairly well, as I recall; a 60 to 75 percent is average for germination and reaching the seedling stage, and from there, about two-thirds of the plants come to fruition. And the tomatoes were tasty, both from the box and bowl.

October, 2025

Despite my efforts during the cold snap, most of my vegetable plants died of frostbite. A sad thing indeed.

The plants in the aquaponics grow bed survived, but there's little growth. When we built the aquaponics system, we placed the bed in a partially shaded area for two reasons. The fish barrel needs to be in full shade so the fish survive the summer heat. They don't mind the cold - goldfish can live beneath ice- but they don't like those high temperatures.


Aquaponics bed

The bed is in partial shade because, again, the summer heat is so brutal. However, the area is getting too little sunlight in these winter months, and the cool weather greens are not growing as quickly as they should. So we'll be doing some changes to the system within the next few weeks and try to find the optimum location for the grow bed and the fish.

The beds in the soil garden out back are pretty well emptied, so I've started my seeds, and hope I'll have seedlings by mid-to-late February. Then, I'll have to start thinking of protecting the tender plants from the heat in June and July, as everything comes to harvest.

Starting seeds

While most of the country plants in early spring, in March or even as late as April, we in Phoenix need to plant in January and February. By June or July, veggies like tomatoes and cucumbers are curling up their leaves and calling it quits. It's just that hot. So we set our seeds outside in January, while everyone else shovels snow.
I've started seeds for a variety of plants: okra, snap peas, beets, sweet peppers, jalapeno peppers, Anaheim peppers, and red hot cherry peppers. I've also planted yellow squash, zucchini squash, yellow pear tomatoes and beefsteak tomatoes, and cucumbers.

Before I put the seedlings into their beds, though, I'll test the pH of the soil, as well as nutrient content. Before I do that I'll add some new compost and top soil. We'll video the testing and share that with you.

Strawberry plant on 1/23/13

Meanwhile, my tomatoes are ripening in the box and in the bowl. I'll roast those up and use them on pizza.

The strawberry plant in the Kratky can is still with us, and though the one stem is a little weak, we're seeing some new growth. So far, so good.

Saving the Tomatoes

Draping the garden against the cold

First Published Jan 11, 2013

Update: This is still relevant today, as for many, many generations, gardeners have gathered green tomatoes and stashed them safely against the harsh elements of winter.

Thanks for reading. October 2025

In Phoenix, Arizona, the growing season is nearly year round; people plant tomatoes in September and October because we have such mild winters. Sometimes, though, even the valley of the sun experiences near freezing temperatures and we have to cover up the plants, from ornamentals to small shrubs to the vegetable garden out back.

Our back garden looks a bit like a refugee camp for wandering veggies. Drive through the neighborhood and you see old sheets and blankets draped over hedges. But if it saves the plants, then drape we shall.

Ripening tomatoes in a box

One problem I'm having though, because of this cold snap, is the green tomatoes won't ripen. It's simply too cold. So I'm going to try and ripen them off the vine (though tomato plants are not actually vines). According to B. Rosie Lerner, writing for Purdue Yard and Garden News, the optimum temperature range for tomatoes to ripen on the vine is 68 to 77 degrees, not usually a problem here in Phoenix in the usually warm and mild winter months.

This year, though, it's cold. So I've taken the large green tomatoes off the plants and I'm going to try and ripen them in the house.

There's no dearth of suggested methods for ripening tomatoes off the vine. I can place them in an open paper bag with a banana. The ethylene gas from the banana hastens ripening.

Ripening tomatoes in a bowl

I can put them in a crate cushioned on straw or crumbled newspaper, and set the crate in a warm, unlit place. Sunlight isn't an essential element, so say some, when ripening tomatoes in this fashion.

Others say to put the green tomatoes on a window sill, and let the sun do its job.

I don't have any bananas at the moment, nor do I have a crate. But I do have a light bulb box and a bowl. So I'll put a few tomatoes in the box and set then out of the light, and some in a bowl in indirect sunlight.

Then we'll see what happens next.

The strawberry plant is still alive

In the meantime, the Kratky in a Can experiment is doing well; the strawberry plant is still alive. I bring it in at night during this cold weather, and set it out again in the early morning.

But cold weather notwithstanding, it's time to get ready for spring. I'm going to start seeds for greens and tomatoes and summer squash, but that's all for another post.  

Welcome to just az gardens

First Published Jan 2, 2013

Update: The just az gardens have changed quite a bit since this post. The aquaponic bed has been replaced with a sleeker version, and the back garden has undergone a renovation, a conversion to container gardening. But the post is still relevant, and as good a place as any to start.

Thanks for reading. October, 2025

An original aquaponics bed

Gardening is as much an art form as it is a science. It is a hobby and a means of survival. You can grow fruit and vegetables, herbs, flowers, shrubs and trees. You can grow plants in soil, as we do in our own vegetable garden, or you can use hydroponic methods, in which the plants are nourished with nutrient rich water - no soil required.

And then there is aquaponics, the system based on a symbiotic relationship between fish and plants, in which fish water is used to nourish plants installed in a grow bed. You can learn more about aquaponics in our video series on YouTube.

For us, gardening isn't just about growing plants. It's about finding different ways to grow them. At just az hydroponics, we focus on soilless methods of growing plants. We believe it's important to understand and utilize these methods because in places like the southwest desert, soil gardening is a challenge.

But we also have a backyard garden, because I like the feel of soil in my hands, and the way gardening in soil creates a connection to the earth itself. My backyard garden is akin to a meditation room, except my journey to inner piece includes calluses and cuts and bug bites.

The video in this first post of just az gardens is our experiment with the Kratky method of hydroponics. You can read more about this method on the justaz.com website. Over the next few weeks or so, we'll track the progress of the experiment and post the results in this blog.

Next week, we're going to look at what to plant in January in your soil garden in Phoenix, and preparing for a container garden on the front porch.