Storing Bagged Soil Outdoors, for Indoor Use

[0.2microns]

Hey all. I have a question here. I'll be starting up an indoor set up very soon, however I purchased my soil a month ago, and I have it (Unopened bags) stored on the side of my house. The soil bags are sitting on a patch of dirt next to a couple of my shrubs.

Should I be concerned about bringing this soil in to the garden? Considering the whole room will be bleached prior to bringing the soil in, is this a terrible idea, and should I just repurchase the soil?

I'd rather not repurchase the soil (40 bags) but I would much rather not have to deal with significant pest issues down the line.

Thanks all in advance!

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

You could get fungus gnats out of that deal. A lot of soil bags have little tiny holes in them so the bags can breathe I guess. Anyway fungus gnats crawl into the bags and later on make you crazy. They are not that big a deal. I use mosquito dunks when I get them and a lot of people use predatory nematodes you buy over the internet. I would go for it and see what happens. There might not be any fungus gnats in your location.

 

[0.2microns]

You could get fungus gnats out of that deal. A lot of soil bags have little tiny holes in them so the bags can breathe I guess. Anyway fungus gnats crawl into the bags and later on make you crazy. They are not that big a deal. I use mosquito dunks when I get them and a lot of people use predatory nematodes you buy over the internet. I would go for it and see what happens. There might not be any fungus gnats in your location.

This is exactly what I've been told by several people now.

I'm not too sure whether I have fungus gnats in the area.

Is sterilizing the soil a good idea?

Any sort of preemptive measures I can use? Just assume that I have fungus gnats, how would I go about preemptively treating for them?

 

[0.2microns]

I found this product.

https://www.amazon.com/Million-Live-Beneficial-Nematodes-Exterminator/dp/B007XFI4VC

What would be needed roughly to treat 60 cubic feet of soil?

 

[BOMBAYCAT]

60 bags is probably too much to sterilize and I am an organic grower so that would kill off all the beneficials also. It looks like that product you found would work for you without being too expensive. You could buy a couple bags of nematodes and sprinkle on top of the dirt. I just grow in flower pots so sprinkling a little Mosquito Dunk works for me, but you have a larger grow planned. Fungus Gnats are such a nuisance and pain I would just try the nematodes and see what happens. For only $6 a bag of nematodes, it would be worth it. The nematodes will also get some nastier bugs which might possibly show up in your grow.

 

[0.2microns]

60 bags is probably too much to sterilize and I am an organic grower so that would kill off all the beneficials also. It looks like that product you found would work for you without being too expensive. You could buy a couple bags of nematodes and sprinkle on top of the dirt. I just grow in flower pots so sprinkling a little Mosquito Dunk works for me, but you have a larger grow planned. Fungus Gnats are such a nuisance and pain I would just try the nematodes and see what happens. For only $6 a bag of nematodes, it would be worth it. The nematodes will also get some nastier bugs which might possibly show up in your grow.

Thanks for your input. I'll give it a shot.