Sterilized Soil

[Guest]

Remember reading somewhere a long time ago about a method for sterilizing your soil using a microwave.

Has anyone out there used this method or know anything about it?
ie. How much soil to nuke at one time & for how long?

Thanks,

Bh

 

[Deft]

Yea I've heard of it too, I dont think its the best idea though since a lot of plants need soil fungi and microbes to help them grow.

 

[Guest]

Yea I've heard of it too, I dont think its the best idea though since a lot of plants need soil fungi and microbes to help them grow.

That was one thing that had crossed my mind as well but, I wonder if there is some way to re-inoculate with microbes, etc.

Bh

 

[Space Ghost]

i think you'd be better off using the oven to sterilize soil, I used to do it to kill fungus gnat larve, but now I just put a layer of lava rocks on top of the soil and I now have narey a gnat to be seen. Get a very large cooking pot pack it with soil and bake at 225 for 45 min. And then to re-innoculat the sterile soil, saturate the soil with with water with a double dose of a product like EN/EA in it. EN/EA is a mix of benificial bacteria and fungi as well as other goodies.

 

[Guest]

Hmmmmm.....EN/EA!! Was wondering if there might be a product on the market like this. To be purchased at a nursury I would assume?

Thanks Ghost!!

Bh

 

[Space Ghost]

I doubt most run of the mill nursuries will carry it, you'd be better off looking at hydro shops or just order it off the internet.

 

[Guest]

I doubt most run of the mill nursuries will carry it, you'd be better off looking at hydro shops or just order it off the internet.

This must be the stuff you are speaking of, huh?

http://www.aliveandthrivin.com/index.php?page=products

..............oh great, damn link didn't give me the same page I was on..grrrr

Bh

 

[br26]

Down microwaves completely! The test results of this product will not be conducted by any company, because they don't want the public to know the truth. Microwaves enhance the probability of having free radicals in the body when consuming this radiated substance. The probability of the a liquid being superheated is also a reality.

In physics, superheating (sometimes referred to as boiling retardation, boiling delay, or defervescence) is the phenomenon in which a liquid is heated to a temperature higher than its standard boiling point, without actually boiling. This can be caused by rapidly heating a homogeneous substance while leaving it undisturbed (so as to avoid the introduction of air bubbles at nucleation sites).

Because a superheated fluid is the result of artificial circumstances, it is metastable, and is disrupted as soon as the circumstances abate, leading to the liquid boiling very suddenly and violently—a very dangerous situation. Superheating is sometimes a concern with microwave ovens, some of which can quickly heat water without physical disturbance. A person agitating a container full of superheated water by attempting to remove it from a microwave could easily be scalded. - Wikipedia

use the oven!

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the info. br26.

"Earth Ambrosia & Earth Nectar (EA & EN) Liquid Mycorrhizal Inoculant"

^^^This must be the stuff that Space Ghost was refurring to. Found it on a web site I can order from......have it bookmarked.
I have some soil that was stored outdoors at the local nursury. The last time i used it I noticed (too late) that it was infested with some kind of bugs...probably spider mites. Wanted to avoid the pesticide thing next time around & fix the problem before planting!!!!!
So, looks like the routine would be to bake in oven then add the above inoculant.....easy enough.

Thanks to all for your input!!

Bh

 

[Space Ghost]

yeah that's the stuff, i really like it....

 

[Frend]

What you really want to do is pasteurize your soil 175 fahrenheit. If you sterilize you kill all bacteria and fungus including the good stuff. If you pasteurize it will keep the good bacteria in your soil, so that it has the best chance of getting a foothold.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for posting Frend!!

Bh

 

[Deft]

What you really want to do is pasteurize your soil 175 fahrenheit. If you sterilize you kill all bacteria and fungus including the good stuff. If you pasteurize it will keep the good bacteria in your soil, so that it has the best chance of getting a foothold.

Thats somthing I thought about mentioning but I didnt know the temp range.