Sterilizing my soil

[bobbyblaze]

So every bag of FFOF I bought in my life has had some kind of bugs in it..

So I've searched and searched this thread looking for some good instructions..

I have found a few ways to do this:

1. Heat the soil at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

2. Heat the soil at 180 degrees for 12 hours.

3. Pour boiling water in the pots before use.

What would be the best way to do this a bag at a time, I would
really like to not have to take it out of the bag, So the 180 degrees idea sound ok, Since I don't think 180 will melt the FFOF bag, but I could be wrong.. What about the good microbs that the heat will most likely kill? Is there a way to add them back in or will I be fine with out them?

Any tips greatly appreciated..

 

[EvilTwin]

Hi Bobby,
Bummer about the bugs. If you bought it locally, I'd return it. You will kill the beneficial organisms, but there are products available that will allow you to re-innoculate the soil after sterilization.

I've heard of using a microwave to sterilize soil...but I don't know details about how long. Do it till the bugs are dead I suppose.
Good luck,
ET

 

[Justa6655321]

ok...I'll say it....poison...get some bug killer and kill those fuckers....get some neem oil, some dish washing soap, mix them, spray the fuck out of the soil...

The neem breaks down and is organic....

You can also drown the fucker if you like!

Get some Voodoo juice or Scopion power...there are a lot of places that carry the benificial microbes and bacteria - try the local nursery....

 

[supermanlives]

i have had luck killing fungas gnats by putting soil ina sealed black trash bag in full sun for a few days. your results may vary

 

[bobbyblaze]

The reason I want to sterilize it with heat is because its the cheapest way to do it.. I could use pesticides but when I gotta do 5+ bags of dirt its gonna get rather pricey..
I don't think there actual bugs in the soil, I think theres always some kind of eggs laying dormant and then after two weeks I usually have a crop of bugs.. LOL

What do the beneficial microbs actually do? Will the plants die with out them?

 

[swyork5]

try nematoads

try nematoads

You can mix them with plain water that has been PH'd and water the plants right before lights go out. I use nematoads and ladybugs and never have any problems with bugs.

 

[bobbyblaze]

BUMP

 

[Dope Boy Magik]

either in a microwave till its nice and steaming..WET IT FIRST WITH HOT TAP WATER...this will kill msot things rather fast...

or just moisten it slightly with hot tap water.and bake in oven..for around an hour or until it steams!!

 

[steppinRazor]

try a new brand? you say that foxfarm has been the culprit this whole time, why do you keep going back?

 

[carbonskeleton]

You could pasteurize it. Low heat for a long time. It would probably end up using your oven too much might incur a pretty fair gas/electric bill though.

Also perhaps its not just a problem with the manufacturer but the distributor. Where do they store the soil you buy from them? Indoors or outdoors? What are the conditions like? etc

Just a consideration.

 

[bobbyblaze]

My theory on it is, Its all dirt, and unless some other dirt company labels that its sterilized, then their all going to have some bugs in it and or eggs. The place I buy my soil from keeps all there dirt indoors. I have bought FFOF at two different locations and they all had some sort of bugs in them..

Does anyone think that 180 - 200 degress for 12 hours and a 1.5 cu ft bag will thoroughly sterilize it?

 

[EvilTwin]

Does anyone think that 180 - 200 degress for 12 hours and a 1.5 cu ft bag will thoroughly sterilize it?

Pasteurization (like Carbon suggested) is different then sterilization. Pasteurization is enough heat to reduce the bad elements without killing all the good ones.

Don't ask me how this works because I'm not a microbiologist. But back when Louis Pasteur developed pasteurization...there was limited refreigeration. It was a process for preserving beer and wine. When used in milk, for example, it lowers the bad bacteria count and somehow the lactobacillis survives.

So yes, it could solve your problem.
ET

 

[bobbyblaze]

Pasteurization (like Carbon suggested) is different then sterilization. Pasteurization is enough heat to reduce the bad elements without killing all the good ones.

Don't ask me how this works because I'm not a microbiologist. But back when Louis Pasteur developed pasteurization...there was limited refreigeration. It was a process for preserving beer and wine. When used in milk, for example, it lowers the bad bacteria count and somehow the lactobacillis survives.

So yes, it could solve your problem.
ET

Yeah, After i figured out that it was called pasteurization I did some google research and found some good info..

They say for soil it only has to be heated to 180 degrees for 30 minutes.. I think 11 gallons of dirt will take way longer than 30 minutes, So Ill cook it and take temps, Well see what happenes..

Thanks everybody.

 

[beejium]

can't have good bugs without bad bugs.

 

[bobbyblaze]

can't have good bugs without bad bugs.

Whats a good bug? (That would come in soil that is)

 

[SupraSPL]

Good bugs in soil would be predatory mites. I think I got hyposapis miles from Foxfarm Ocean Forest and I love them. Do yours look similar?

 

[carbonskeleton]

Whats a good bug? (That would come in soil that is)

It is not exactly a bug but there are beneficial nematodes.

 

[wuzzenme]

I am just not a fan of sterilizing soil at all. Get some diaotomaceous earth and sprinkle on top of soil after you pot them or spray with a safe pesticide. For fungus gnats I just let the top of the soil dry before watering again and it has worked great for me. My point is to deal with the bugs rather than destroy the soil microbiology. When you heat the soil you are going to harm or even wipe-out all those beneficial microbes that make soil so good. Good luck.

 

[bobbyblaze]

Good bugs in soil would be predatory mites. I think I got hyposapis miles from Foxfarm Ocean Forest and I love them. Do yours look similar?

Actually they kind of do look similar to those, At least in the batch of soil im using now..

The bugs I have now are super super small, They look like a mite, They stay in the soil and on the rims of my pots, they dont seem to be too interested in the plant itself. So I grabbed my x10 magnifier, They are white, Have a set of antenna's and its hard to tell if they have 4 or 6 legs. I was thinking that there root aphids. I dont know.. How do I take pictures of something so small I have a 5 and 10 megapixle camera.. Wish I could post pics of these fuggers..

 

[opt1c]

sterilizing soil only works for small amounts; like for starting seeds... anything more and you need summer heat over 90+ f and some black poly... put ur bag of soil on the ground... cover with the poly and let bake... solarization i think it's called... look it up but it don't work unless its really really hot outside

for pasteurization just throw some soil in a paint strainer bag in a 5gal bucket and cover with boiling water; let sit for 90 mins and you're set... takes a lot of heat to make 5gals of water boil though and u can only get so much soil in a strainer bag so it probably wouldn't work for the amount ur talking about... but for seedlings and whatnot its golden

look into merit75 wp... that'll work if gnatrol wdg doesn't... the mosquito dunks can b hit & miss depending on how old they r and how they're used... people seem to have the best luck crumbling them as a top dressing for the plants as opposed to leaving in the res or just soaking and watering in with... spraying the surface of the soil with neem doesn't hurt either... but if those don't kill the bugs than u might have root aphids and nothing but imidacloprid kills em