Affiliate Disclosure
How Soil.ie uses affiliate links, what we earn from them, and the rules we hold ourselves to when recommending anything.
Last updated: 20 August 2026
Some pages on Soil.ie link to products on Amazon. If you follow one of those links and buy something, we may earn a small commission. You pay exactly the same price either way.
The formal bit
Soil.ie is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.ie. As an Amazon Associate, Soil.ie earns from qualifying purchases.
How we decide what to link to
Affiliate links only appear on pages where the article has already told you to use the thing. A page about reading a soil test links to a sampler probe because taking a proper core is the first step in that job. A page about composting links to a compost thermometer for the same reason. If an article does not call for a tool, it carries no links.
Nobody pays us to be included, and no manufacturer or retailer has any say in what appears on this site or what we write about it. We do not accept payment for placement, and we do not write product reviews.
What these links are not
They are not recommendations of a specific brand, and they are not reviews. We have not lab-tested these products against each other. They are examples of the type of tool the page describes, chosen because they are widely available on Amazon.ie at ordinary prices. Read the reviews on Amazon and make your own judgement, or buy the same thing from your local garden centre or co-op, which we would generally rather you did.
Cheap kits have real limits
This matters more than the commission. Home soil test kits and handheld meters give you a rough indication, not an analysis. They are useful for spotting a trend or settling an argument about pH. They are not a substitute for a proper laboratory test, which measures lime requirement, phosphorus and potassium indices and organic matter to a standard you can act on and, where relevant, comply with.
If you are making a decision that costs money, such as buying lime or fertiliser, or if you need results for a scheme or derogation, use an accredited lab. We list what the Irish labs charge on our soil testing prices page, and we earn nothing from any of them.
How the links are marked
Every affiliate link on this site carries a rel="sponsored nofollow"
attribute, opens in a new tab, and sits beneath a notice saying what it is.
You will always be told before you click, never after.
Questions
If anything here is unclear, or you think a link is inappropriate on a particular page, tell us and we will look at it.