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["Karen L. Black" <karen AT plamondon.com>]

Rob in VA wonders:

>  Since Santa did not drop one of these off, I'm thinking about buying
one. Like this one:
http://www.google.com/products?checkout=1&q=rapitest%20four%20way%20soil%20a
nalyzer

...

> Anyone ever used one? I'm concerned with what they mean by checking
combined n-p-k ... what does "combned" mean in that context?

Judging by the reviews on Amazon (http://tinyurl.com/9kf6gu), it looks like
something I'd give a miss. The "combined" reading for NPK appears to be a
simple "ok/not ok" for all three components together. If you want to know
what each one's level is, you'd need something like this sampler
(http://tinyurl.com/8gyjlv), which you can probably find at any garden
store. I've seen them at Rite-Aid Drugs.

Karen Black
Norton Creek Farm
Blodgett, OR