Baking miracle grow from home depot before use??

[Elements001]

Hi all, I've heard that it is unwise to use soil bought from a store like home depot straight out of the bag for several reasons (I have had some serious pest issues from using that crap untreated).
I've read somewhere about putting the soil into like a turkey roasting pan and baking it in your oven for awhile to kill off any remaining pests and or mold that may have taken to it.
I bought a small bag of miracle grow to use for my seedlings since they take really well to it, I was just wondering at what temperature I should bake it at and for how long.
I believe it is an 8 quart bag so its not a lot by any means.

I was also wondering if placing the soil into the pan and placing it in front of a good space heater could acclomplish the same thing over a longer period of time since my stove is currently a p.o.s. and not working.

 

[Elements001]

I also live in colorado and the bag I got today was completely frozen, and I was thinking that could be a plus actually, maybe already doing the trick freezing any bugs or eggs out.

 

[OrganicOzarks]

If you think you have to bake your soil then you should not be using it.

 

[Capt.Ahab]

Ive put small bags (8-10 lbs) of regular soil I wanted to sterilize in the microwave. Make sure they have some moisture in them and zap them until they are steaming hot. Stop the process mid way and give the bag a shake to make sure it is evenly heated. Then let them sit until cooled. Worked for me and it was a lot quicker than using a conventional oven.

 

[The OrigF/clred]

if that miracle grow sez "fertilized for 3 months or six months" - don't use it. If you look thru the soil you'll see a ton of small gel capsules (perfectly round little buggers) - biggest one might be 1/8" diameter and a lot much smaller

they will be releasing fertilizer for a long long time (think the energizer bunny) but in the microwave or oven, the heat is going to cause the gel capsules to expand, burst & release the fertilizer all at one time

trust me - don't make the mistake a friend did - two times seedlings died within 5 -7 days of being transplanted into it and btw, he had sterilized it in the oven - took him awhile to figure it out but it all made sense when he found some of the capsules in un-sterilized soil. He showed the pile of capsules he'd pulled out of a half of the smallest bag - said it took him hours, there were enough capsules to fill a good size coffee mug.

 

[Sativa Dragon]

Only cook your soil if you are okay with your home smelling, Do it on the bbq, Or shell out another $30 for a huge bail of good soil from the hydro shop it goes a fair ways if your not growing a pile of tomatoes.

Peace

 

[Elements001]

onyl reason I bought a small 8lb bag was because the botanicare slakcer coco coir hybrid mix I have tends to be too hot for my seedlings and they have been dying very quickly once transplanted into that mix. I had an old bag of miracle grow from about a year or so ago that was sitting in my garage I used for my seedlings 2 months ago and they absolutely loved it. I'm betting this is because all the crap in it had died off and all the fert bled out of it.
I actually didnt get miracle grow, I got "Mojo Grow" Organic potting soil

Ingredients:
Composted Forest organic matter, composted farm cellulose, and lignin organic matter, perlite, bloodmeal.

Micro-Organisms:
Actinmycate Specifications...........CFU per gr
Streptomyces thermoviolaceus 100
Bacterium Specification
Comamonas denitrificans 100

Guranteed Analysis
Total Nitrogen.........................0.35%
.35% Ammoniacol Nitrogen
Available Phosphate (P205)........0.15%
Soluable Potash (K2O)..............0.20%
Calcium..................................0.50%
Magnesium..............................0.15%
Sulfer.....................................0.10%


Only reason I bought this was because of the Calcium and magnesium I saw in it which I was hoping would act as a buffer for my pH because with the Botanicare Slacker coco coir hybrid mix I have, both seedlings (one I started directly in the mix, another that was perfectly healthy for 2 weeks in old miracle grow then transplanted into the botanicare slacker coco hybrid) had some kind of lockout and got some washed out and spotty and almost died.
I went out and bought some cal/mag the other day to hope resolve this from happening, but I still need a good starting medium for my seedlings/clones. Would it be best to try the botanicare coco mix and just make sure to use cal/mag for at least the first month to ensure there is no lockout, or is that mix potentially too hot for seedlings as well?

Botanicare Slacker moisture formula:
Ingredients: CocoGro® High Pith Coconut Coir, Hydrolite® (Silica Based Rock), Rice Hulls, Perlite, Compost, Earthworm Castings, Bat Guano, Alfalfa Meal, Montmorillonite, Seaweed, Yucca Extract, Humic Acid, Trichoderma Fungi.

and this is taken directly from thier site,
"Available in moisture and aeration formulas, Slacker is completely peat free and combines our 100% high pith coco fiber with carefully sourced organics, along with unique inputs such as Hydrolite® and parboiled rice hulls. By combining a soilless coco coir base with a complete range of select organic inputs, this premium blend provides the best of both worlds. Slacker produces organic quality flavors and aromas with hydroponic growth rates. Why settle when you can have both? Slacker comes pre-buffered, charged, and pH balanced so it's ready to use right out of the bag.
They say that, yet my seedlings had a severe lockout and almost died untill I flushed and brought the pH back up.

Not to great with all these mixes, can anyone suggest a good easy to use soil mix that would be ideal for seedlings and clones?

 

[Elements001]

thanks for the info guys. I was at the hydro shop the other day, and maybe its because I was in a hurry, but I could swear that all the different soil mediums I saw were all basically coco mixes, and I really wanted something that was more similar to the peat moss that I think is in the miracle grow.
I'm a bit suspicious of this coco stuff, I know its great once you work out all the kinks, but I feel as though it's a bit more than I want to deal with right now at the moment. If I can just get my seedlings to take in the stuff and make it to 4 weeks I have absolutely no problems, but that has proven difficult for me right now.

 

[Sativa Dragon]

I hear ya man, I used MG a while ago and my seedlings rocked, but I got a bad case of spidermites for my efforts, it really sucked.

You are really much better off with some soil, or soiless mix from the hydro shop.

Peace

 

[Elements001]

right on. I guess from my ignorance I didnt do much prep when putting the seedlings into the good stuff from the hydro shop.
Didnt treat with any cal/mag first like recomended, and didnt wet to run off to test the pH becuase I figured itd be ok.
The guy at the hydro shop said I shouldnt have to add anything like dolomite to the mix since he said there was already some lime. and is it true the coco actually sits on the higher end of the pH spectrum? I could swear when I ran 6.5 pH distilled water through the coc mix to run off the pH was down close to 4.0 which really confused me.

Hopefully by just pretreating the mix with some cal/mag before planting and continuing to add the cal/mag duringgrowth I can avoid all of this.

Sorry for asking such a stupid question, I knew I was likely just asking for trouble buying this cheap crap, but I thought it might work out for the best. Think I'll throw it in the garage for a couple years untill its good and dead and ready to use. Only $4 so no loss really.

 

[Elements001]

well I figured since i had the bag, some left over propane, and a grill I never use, I'd give baking it a shot.
I put the soil into shallow foil lined pan on the grill on low for about an hour, until the steam coming off was slowing down and the soil was almost hot enough to burn skin to the touch. Started to smell a little funky, so I decided to tuen off the heat and now I'm letting it stay on the grill while it all cools down. I figure after that I'll take it and put it into a clean bag, and let it freeze outside for a few days, then possibly repeat if I feel necessary/bored.
An hour on the grill should be about enough though right? (really shouldve just looked around closer at the hydro shop, but now im broke again untill payday in 11 days.)
I have a lot of random seeds Ive been collecting and was going to do a side by side of this baked soil vs the coco mix I have as well.

 

[Z-Man]

Over the past 10 years that I've been growing, I've always been told never to use miracle grow soil or fertilizer. I've noticed that even with tomatoes and vegetables, miracle grow fertilizers can leave that "miracle grow" smell behind in the plants odor and even in the taste of the vegetables. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Sativa Dragon]

well I figured since i had the bag, some left over propane, and a grill I never use, I'd give baking it a shot.
I put the soil into shallow foil lined pan on the grill on low for about an hour, until the steam coming off was slowing down and the soil was almost hot enough to burn skin to the touch. Started to smell a little funky, so I decided to tuen off the heat and now I'm letting it stay on the grill while it all cools down. I figure after that I'll take it and put it into a clean bag, and let it freeze outside for a few days, then possibly repeat if I feel necessary/bored.
An hour on the grill should be about enough though right? (really shouldve just looked around closer at the hydro shop, but now im broke again untill payday in 11 days.)
I have a lot of random seeds Ive been collecting and was going to do a side by side of this baked soil vs the coco mix I have as well.

Way to go man!

All that steam should have killed all the nasties off.

And by the way no such thing as a stupid question, you need not do anything else to your soil after that BBQ hee hee. Just keep it sealed or outside frozen till you need it.

You should be able to use the soil fine.

Remember MJ is a hearty plant don't care for it to much, or you will smother it with love and kill your babies.

Peace

 

[OldSSSCGuy]

I would not trust -anything- MG as far as I could spread it. They are like a smaller Monsanto and do more about messing things up with chemicals. Keep in mind that Scotts (the owner of MG) even bought the brands "Roundup" and "Ortho" from Monsanto about 10 years ago; two of the most toxic-crap-poison brands available everywhere.

But you mainly want to get packaged soil which is not stored outdoors. Outdoor storage makes a bag of soil look like a luxury condo to bugs. Freezing might not help - many bugs survive the winter just fine; its not like Mother Nature starts from scratch every year.

Microwaving or baking will probably work for small amounts, but like Elements001 said it will tend to stink to high heaven. If you Google "baking organic soil" you will get a lot of articles on how to do it and at what temp.

 

[Elements001]

Thanks again for the tip Sativa Dragon, I feel like this soil will be better for my seedlings and clones than the coco mix i have. Well, at least easier for my skill set right now, not necessarily better.

 

[Sativa Dragon]

He already did it Oldguy. You need to read the whole post, he cooked it on the bbq outside. Best place to store is freezer or use right away. For sure everything is dead in the soil.

MG will add as little as they need to the soil and it is NPK.

Elements will be fine for now but he will need to get some Hydrostore soil before transplant.

Peace

 

[Elements001]

Yeah, Im glad I did it outside in a grill I dont use because it stuck up a whole lot more than I was expecting. Seemed to work well though and I believe there was enough moisture in the soil to steam off for an hour without burning anything in the soil at the same time. Was only a small 8 lb bag too though, which took up muchmore space in the grill than I thought it would. Think it should've worked out though, guess well see in the next 2 weeks! Gonna keep them in a quarantine type zone too just in case anything did survive.

 

[Sativa Dragon]

Thanks again for the tip Sativa Dragon, I feel like this soil will be better for my seedlings and clones than the coco mix i have. Well, at least easier for my skill set right now, not necessarily better.

Definitely ma man, you made a wise choice imo. The skill will come with experiences you will have and staying here and asking the right questions, I am sad to say I have planted some plants in some shitty shitty stuff and still had some success.

My problem is not with seedling starter mix from MG or whoever my problem is with all the bugs and nasties in them, fine for outdoors when you have some pests that will be taken care of by mother nature, indoors it is a nightmare.

Peace

 

[Elements001]

exactly, my only problem with the stuff is all the nasties that move into it sitting outside of home depot for months on end, getting water logged, etc...
Other than that the stuff actually works really well for my seedlings and clones. Thanks again man

 

[Sativa Dragon]

NP friend...

Just want you to be as cost effective as possible.

Peace