20 gallons of diseased soil...

[Goat]

Hi there, this year i decided id like to try my hand at some pure organic growing and after about $100 worth of amendments and other aviscatus im left with roughly 20 gallons of diseased soil. Seeds germinated end up withering after few days out of the soil and plants that have been top-dressed with the soil end up just as diseased. Ive read here and there about soil sterilization but have yet to find a method that can be used for rather large quantities. I assume i could bake it in the sun for a few months but also dont need a big square of dead grass in my lawn come the end of the process. Ive also read about using an oven but thats not possible either. Any Ideas? I ended up using pro-mix and pure-blend with excellent results so far.

sorry for the blurry image but my camera rufused to cooperate...cameras these days...this show the plant a few days after being top-dressed with the aforementioned soil...


Thanks - Goat

 

[Space Ghost]

it's possible that the soil is just far too hot for seedlings, have you tried transplanting an established plant into the soil?

 

[Sinfuldreams]

Is that a Bean Plant?
What you do get the soil out of your garden?
I bet it's mixed to heavy, thats why is burning up your youngins.
Early seedling growth don't need any extra nutes for at least a week.
More Info perhaps.
Sin

 

[sproutco]

Use nondiseased soilless mix like bark and peatmoss for seed starting. You could bake a small quantity of diseased soil in the oven for 30 minutes at 200 degrees and no hotter and use this for your seed starting. Seeds and seedlings are more vunerable to fungus attack than mature plants. You could use a fungicide like 50% captan to prevent damping off fungi. It is used for vegetables and is nonsystemic. I might try a very low rate of 1/4 teaspoon per gallon (3.8L) and drench the soil after seeding.
75% pcnb/terrachlor could also be added at maybe 1/8 teaspoon per gallon (3.8L) to broaden the spectrum to include Rhizoctonia fungus control. Spraying the emerged seedlings with a fungicide maybe once a week is always wise. I would use daconil 2787 at slightly less than the ornamental rate on the bottle. Best prevention for your seedlings from disease is probably not to overwater.

 

[Goat]

Space Ghost: Greetings, The plant in the picture was started in peat/perlite/lime and then when i felt it could use a little boost i top-dressed the cup with about an inch of my organic soil. The next day i had what you can see in the picture.

Sinfuldreams: Hey there, actually its a cucumber plant. I doubt its too hot because as far as i know it isnt showing signs of nutrient burn (ie burnt leaf tips). I assumed some kind of fungus...

sproutco: Just the reply i was looking for! I generally use peat/perlite/lime for my seed starting or the occasional peat puck. This seems to happen to any plant that comes into contact with this soil so ill have to sterilize whatever i need and just leave the rest. Any chance that something from the myco. family might come in handy? Thanks a bunch

Thanks a lot everyone, i appreciate it! - Goat

 

[Suby]

Het goat, sounds like you have a nasty soil situation.
If the problem is fungus then it's spores are in the soil, try chunking up the mix with perlite to get more oxygen to the mix, I would also bubble a worm casting tea for 48hrs and add that to the soil to try to outcompete the nasties with beneficial bacteria.
You could also try a concentrated peroxide solution fed a couple of times over a week or so, it won't toxicify your soil why sterilizing lightly.
Michorizae won't help if some shit has a foothold in the soil but once you have it under control it can keep it at bay as they secrete antibiotics and have other active transport mechanisms to keep nutes flowing.

 

[Goat]

Excellent idea Suby that sounds a lot less complicated than what i was planning. Thanks!

btw, awd kicks ass...i wonder if i can get a conversion kit for my geo?

 

[Suby]

It's pretty simple really, the reason organic plants are healthier is because the good bacteria and fungus outcompete the bad, mother nature is a sly bitch.

I'm sure someone's done a conversion on a geo...but is it worth it lol.
Just got my summer rims and tires done yesterday and it was rainy, some relxed drifting insued.

Peace

 

[Goat]

ah hells yes