Differences EXPOSED: My Soil vs Yard Mastery Soil Test Kits

I wanted to compare the MySoil Test with the Yard Mastery soil test kit which is closely related but sold by two different companies. I figured the test results would be nearly identical (and they were) but I mostly wanted to compare the user experience of using one test over the other.
Both tests are analyzed at the same lab and priced nearly identically however each company prices and applies sales independently. I think either test is fine for the majority of lawn owners depending on which company they want to support.
You can price the two tests out through the following affiliate links:
► Yard Mastery Kit: shrsl.com/2d3aw
► MySoil Kit: www.amazon.com...
► There are plenty of other companies though that you can get mail-in soil test kits from. I've outlined many of those alternative companies on this page on the Turf Mechanic website: turfmechanic.c...
► If you need to lower pH in your lawn soil then make sure to watch this video: • Lower Soil pH In The L...
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[@TurfMechanic]

►►► Want to fix your lawn for the long haul but don't know where to start? I can help! Click here right now and get started today: turfmech.link/dont-know-where-to-start ◄◄◄

[@RionPhotography]

I got tired of trying to remember what to do when throughout the summer and have been using Yard Mastery this year along with their products. So far am extremely happy with both the app and the products and my lawn looks great. I love that I just need to put in my grass type and location etc and the app puts all my recommended applications on my calendar for me. They line up with what I would typically do on my own except I don’t have to think too much about it just follow the calendar. I’m not running a golf course over here and I feel this has been a great solution for me

[@mattb9664]

Ended up going with the Andersons version with the included stainless probe. With this yard, it's really been like driving through the fog and getting lucky the whole time with what I had inputted into the soil last season...so hopefully I can actually know what my baseline is and actually know what's needed now.

[@matthodel946]

That was awesome and I overlooked the YM now suggests fixes and products. It's another tool to up the game

[@CaymanMadness]

Appreciate the content as always and learned a lot from this channel. Just thought I would share my experience with all of the tests I tried at the same time in 2022. It seems the major labs are the most accurate vs the tests like MySoil and SoilSavvy especially when it comes to ph (same core samples all mixed and ground up to make the test as accurate as possible - minor variations assumed). The lab tests show an accurate reading (which my ph meter verified) vs the box tests show I am in the good range and about .5 lower ph. Also, the box tests don't really provide a range that seems to match up with in or out of range. The labs all seem to use a standard scale which is easier for see what range you should be in and how much to adjust. Just wondering if anyone else has ran multiple tests at the same time and what your results where. I also don't use their fertilizer suggestions as the Labs seem to provide data for farming and the box tests just try to sell you product that doesn't match what you need. If anyone is curious how they compare you can view all my tests here - app.box.com/s/aznlw6gguutwdnhpcj6knfvq56reho6f

[@TheLawnLover]

Well done video Brian, interesting results!

[@TurfMechanic]

I agree; little tests like this always reveal a few things unexpected; I'm always glad when I do stuff like this. Thanks for the watch!

[@GirLzLawn]

Great information for the homeowner Brian. I'm sure many people wondered about the results of both kits. You laid the information out and made it very digestible while remaining non-biased in your delivery. As you pointed out, soil tests can be useful for homeowners and they will likely only ever get it done once every 3 years, if that.

[@TurfMechanic]

I hope it helps; especially for those people directly searching for a comparison of these two products. I don't want to make a commercial afterall. For lawn owners yeah, testing soil every few years is probably all that will ever be done but for gardeners I could see testing many times a year since different beds can have very different results and different plants require different soil types and nutrients. If I was testing 10 garden beds once or twice a year I'd have to find a better, less expensive way for sure!

[@rosendo9953]

Good info here, i personally have used Mysoil kits and have been only recommended yardmastery products which i am ok with as long as they are beneficial to my lawn. Thank you for the comparison

[@curbappeallawncarellc4263]

I'm sure they are connected some how. I did the yard mastery. Plus I follow him on KZbin too. He does mostly diy lawn care. Loving ur stuff too. Got sent over here by another lawn dad

[@TurfMechanic]

Now that I'm on SoCal I'm going to have to go into his archives and watch his stuff on Palms; I've got a few of them now in my landscape with no experience with them. Glad to have you here; love hearing that the base here is expanding. I'll check your channel out too sometime soon; gotta spread the love! :D

[@pilsplease7561]

I have used my soil and was what indicated that I had a massive nutrient deficiency in my vineyard, which I suspected and the results made sense with what I was visibly seeing on my wine grapes.

[@TurfMechanic]

Sometimes it's good to just get validation, good luck with the vineyard this season!

[@pilsplease7561]

@@TurfMechanic I hope so as well, the crop was really bad last year because of the nutrient deficiency I gave my vines a broad-spectrum low-grade fertilizer with everything this spring, so they set good buds as grapes like boron and magnesium I have a rootstock that some of my grapes are grafted onto that loves magnesium and suffers when its low so its always a battle.

[@pilsplease7561]

Came back to add that I am still battling the problems in my vineyard, despite last years fertilizer additions I didnt get the improvement that I wanted. I am going to try again this season. @@TurfMechanic

[@cashoption2319]

Was there a registration number on the my soil jar or did you have to take sticker off instruction sheet and put on jar? The instructions kept saying register online so i thought that was all i needed i assumed mail envelope or jar had ID.

[@K-Zone]

Nice! I got a SoilKit test at Lowes on sale for $4. I decided why not? And I found my pH and all the other nutrients. Do you think a pH of 7.7 is too high? I can't seem to find any cheap elemental sulfur or whatever to cover large area of 5000 sq. Ft. Economically. Thanks!

[@TurfMechanic]

Even if it was a bit pricey I'd apply it anyway and to offset the cost I'd pull back on fertilizer spend on the year. The thing is if your pH was 6.6 instead of 7.6 you'd need very little inputs to make the lawn look it's best. It's one of those invest now so that you spend less later scenarios. If however you chose to do nothing then you'd be fine; not the end of the world. Using acidifying fertilizers like Ammonium sulphate might marginally help throughout the year but IMO the more you use AmmSulfate the more your lawn kind of builds a dependence on it since it's straight synthetic. It's good to know you aren't over 8 though, I was shocked to see this place under 5.5 so I'd say your pH now is tolerable.

[@wally7856]

Test your irrigation water's PH. If you water regularly and your water PH is in the same range you are just a dog chasing his tail on the PH. Municipal supplies always have alkaline water to protect the infrastructure from corrosion from acidic water. You may not be able to change it with amendments.

[@mainj54]

My understanding is adjusting Ph is a slow process that happens over time so once applications are done it can take a lot of time to show results. How do you know when to check?

[@TurfMechanic]

yes, it's slow in both directions but it can be adjusted upwards much faster than downwards and some products act slightly faster than others. One reason I like adding pH adjustment stuff on warmer winter days is because it can start changing things when the grass is dormant and not growing so that by Spring some of the effects can be realized and retested if you want. Any fast acting lime could easily be retested after 2-3 months at the start of Spring (late March to early April) if applied now but I doubt elemental sulfur would see much difference for a full season (although maybe less). I've got a few vids on lowering pH, although I don't talk about soil testing in them I do mention the speed with which some methods work and how long their effects work for. My pH raising video which I hope to make in the next month or so should layout all that too in the other direction.

[@mainj54]

@@TurfMechanic My soil tests come back in the range of 5.2-5.7. I put down the recommended lime and check again in 6 months and it averages 6.0 , I have TTTF and would like to keep it around 6.5 as it tends to trend downward. Look forward to your pH video.

[@TurfMechanic]

@@mainj54 nice to see you didn't overshoot and good to see you had measured improvement in less than one season! Continued improvement is the goal. 🙂

[@liveyourbestlawn]

Great detailed comparison. My unsolicited advice for the diy is to use this as a check up of their lawn every 2-3 years. Focus on the macronutrients and increase or decrease where you need too. Lastly, the recommendations are nice but there's nothing wrong with picking up what you need from your local supply store.

[@pilsplease7561]

I use the kits to test my vineyard yearly to see what I need to dose the grapes with in the spring so that they have no issues with micronutrients or macronutrients because I often suffer from low levels of some of them that cause quite a bad fruit set if not treated. Last year it was basically everything.

[@liveyourbestlawn]

@@pilsplease7561 I hope you have a good harvest this year.

[@ariel2759]

AND why are you using your hands? You can contaminate the soil and get an off reading....

[@mdhandley11]

DID YOU MOVE?

[@TurfMechanic]

I did, for better or worse! 🤣 moved in mid Oct from Klamath Falls or down to Camarillo ca. My last 15 long form vids have been from the new place. Check my transition video out from mid Oct if you've got some time to kill. 😀 kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqDSdnymjreeiNU

[@TurfandStem]

Both kits are good, but I recommend going with your local extension, the results are better calibrated to your area kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4rSZmtoqbR_fJo

[@TurfMechanic]

That may be the case folks: check this video out if you want to see how variable even the mail in kits can be.

[@andrews7993]

Wish my local extension was doing tests! If others are like me that’s not an option

[@pilsplease7561]

no

[@mablenay]

Thanks! I bought YM for $23 on sale, but definitely want the wider options of DoMyOwn

[@TurfMechanic]

It's interesting as a creator that also links out to domyown as an affiliate. Despite their having so much cool stuff to choose from and having generally good pricing...and having a lot of customer support I don't see nearly as many people buying products from them as I would expect in my analytics. That's kind of a marketer observation on my end rather than a yard owner observation but still interesting nevertheless. I buy stuff on Amazon a lot like most people but if I can buy something on DMO or YM instead of on Amazon I'll do it nearly every time. Amazon has enough business.

[@mablenay]

@Turf Mechanic Amazon is also losing reputation with (American) consumers, because third-party sellers can send out junk; fake stuff/inferior product/inflated pricing/expired product, and not always easy to get exchanges/refunds. I find myself shopping elsewhere when possible now, and Amazon is now my 2nd choice for purchasing something

[@3drage]

As someone who has been diving into improving my lawn the last couple of weeks, when I was doing product searches domyown was a site I hit a couple of times and was hesitant to buy from them because I felt the site had an unpolished fly by night kind of feel. I didn't really get the feel that it was a legit site until I discovered who was popular and reliable in the youtube DYI sphere, which was a couple of weeks down the road. I did end up ordering from them after I decided what I really wanted to buy and people vouching for them. But just to test the waters. Quick shipping and no issues with the ordering process, so I'll likely start to use them more.

[@ryanharris738]

I have a hard time with yard mastery, because of how often I find links to links of things. So I try to find the specific company selling the product I am looking for

[@TurfMechanic]

It's usually a good way to go in life. I try to learn as much as I can from everybody and back in the day I learned a ton from Allyn but I also like to understand as much as possible and that usually makes we interested in tons of different products from tons of different brands. Look into the gardening market and see the insane amount of products they can use, all of those are available to us in the lawn too, some easier to use than others but still.

[@ryanharris738]

Have you tried lawn synergy? I am a rookie and I picked theirs and I'm waiting for the results.

[@TurfMechanic]

I have not tried them. I'll look them up but the next test kits I'm going to try are Lawnbrights kit which uses a different lab than the MySoil kits, and SoilRx