for alkalinity,acidity and PH test read this:
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/gardening/ht/Soil_Test.htm

Those soil test kits for the home are not worth doodly, don't test for everything you need, give incorrect readings, etc. You'd be far better off to send a soil sample to your county extension office. The cost is around $15 here in Georgia. It may be less where you are.

Truly, don't waste your money.

Agree with Anney - the home test kits are notorious for being inaccurate and can only lead you to making things worse instead of better. They come up for discussion often on the Soil Forum here and folks have reported on either the same resulta no matter what soil is tested or no results at all.

Spend the 10-15 dollars to get a professional test done from your local county ag extension office. It will tell you he results and what you need to do to fix it.

Even the Frugal Gardening site linked above recommends getting a professional test done.

Dave

California is the biggest agricultural state in the nation but the state does not do soil tests and we don't have county extension offices. They used to have one about ten miles from where I live but they closed it down years ago. And with the current budget crisis I expect whatever services they were providing through the University of California will be cut back too.
Can anyone recommend a private soil testing lab that does tests at a reasonable cost?

What are you looking to test for? If only pH, there are many good pH meters available for sale that will give accurate results.

These folks can do your soil tests. And they can also do plant tissue tests.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waters Lab

California shut down most of their county offices? WOW that is too bad. UC had one of the best multi-county extension services in the country. Many states pattern their programs after them. They still list individual county contact info and services on their website http://ucanr.org/County_Offices/ so they may be able to direct you to a soil test source.

Maybe they have combined some of them during the state budget crunch and will be able to open them back up if the fiscal crunch ever ends.

Meanwhile you can apparently get a soil test done via ANR Labs at UC linked site below with contact and how-to info.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: ANR Analytical Labs

You can buy an inexpensive PH tester fo about 20 buck.

The principal on which there gages operate is simple.
I am sure the manufacturers can caliberate them , by trila and error,
to get a relatively practical reading. I will leave myself a margin of +0.15 / -0.15 error on PH readings.That is fine for me.

To test those devices, place them in distilled water, you should get 7. Add drops of lemon, you will get reading unde 7. Or some add wood ash, you will get over 7.
So, the point is that they work but maybe not be super accurate.

Michigan State (or maybe it's the University of Michigan) will test the soil, but I do not know what the normal cost is. I live in OH, but there was a program from the Soil & Water Conservation group that allowed an individual to send them two samples and the only cost was the postage (about a buck, two thirty-nine). But it was a basic test, pH, N, P, and K.

Mike

A good farm supply store will have access to soil testing. It'll be a little more costly than Extension Services, but many times you'll be able to get more results. We used Peterson Labs in Hutchinson, KS when I was in the Ag business.