Solvita Compost & Garden Soil Test Kits

Description

Solvita - the easy-to-use color coded compost maturity test kit that is reliable, rapid, inexpensive and fun! Each kit measures carbon dioxide and ammonia simultaneously, resulting in a Maturity Index value. The Solvita test provides an essential tool for makers of compost by permitting rapid, reliable and cost-effective on-site monitoring of the decomposition rate. The test results reveal respiration rate plus volatile ammonia content and thus enable anyone to make inferences about the progress of composting and the maturity and safety of the end products. Solvita is based on a new technique of gel-colorimetric analysis, which captures respiration gases from composts and accurately displays the results in a simple, color-gel system calibrated to a wide range of known compost conditions.

Compost Maturity (CM)

CM is defined as the advancement, by biological means, of the process of decomposition and humification. Measuring microbial respiration is one of the most common means to evaluate CM. Scientists created Solvita by carefully evaluating the respiration rate and age of thousands of compost samples and also by correlating this with other known maturity traits like self-heating and oxygen consumption. When this was done, they designed a unique, patented gel system to capture CO₂ and display it a color-coded scale, making possible the rapid and inexpensive testing of CO₂ respiration.

Solvita was designed by scientists at the Woods End^® Research Laboratory, who have been testing soils for over 21 years. In addition to accurately measuring compost biological activity, each Solvita kit is furnished with a comprehensive instruction manual that provides insight into the compost process and gives guidelines for proper use of compost products at each level of maturity.

Beware of Unfinished Compost

Compost which undergoes adequate decomposition will normally result in a product that favors plant growth, improve soil fertility and potentially suppress soil-borne pathogens. Under some circumstances, however, compost may not fully mature, meaning it does not undergo sufficient breakdown to become stable and growth promoting. Such composts may not only be odorous, they may also be phytotoxic, and will suppress plant growth. The primary mechanism is oxygen deprivation of root zone and direct phytotoxy via volatile organic acids produced by unripe compost. Such composts often have a Solvita Index of less than 5, indicating very high respiration rate, and may have a high ammonia index as well.

Specifications