We all like the idea of not buying soil, but the alternative is using compost and garden soil with loads of bugs in it. This is never fun to bring into the house and so in this episode I will share with you 3 ways to sterilize your soil to make it better for indoor use.
VIDEO: 3 Ways to Sterilize Soil for use Indoors
We all like the idea of not buying soil, but the alternative is using compost and garden soil with loads of bugs in it. This is never fun to bring into the house and so in this episode I will share with you 3 ways to sterilize your soil to make it better for indoor use.
Can we sterilize worm castings in the oven @Migardener? Last year I used worm castings without sterilization in my potting mix while up potting seedlings and brought fungus gnats inside and killed a lot of plants sadly
The oven method is the way I do it for seedpropagation and compost use indoors.
I just happen to be sitting in the kitchen with 23 house plants that I picked up for 22 cents at Lowe’s yesterday, a bag of perlite and all my potting soil in the oven to sterilize for 20 minutes on 400. The hot water method didn’t work for me last time. I bought yellow sticky sticks online to place in pots to catch flies and so far they’re working fabulously. I can’t wait to use them for seed starting!
Colloidal silver will sterilized your soil.
If you live in the North all you need to do to freeze the soil is to keep it in a container above ground level. Who needs a freezer when the outside temperature gets to 0 degrees F?
I've been using the boiling method for 3 years. I pour the boiling water into my planters. Let the soil cool down and replant my bananas and palm. Never had an issue.
I always place the soil in the bottom of my grill, light the grill and keep doing until I finished my shower
Take a fifty five gallon drum with a lid you can take on and off. Shovel as much into it as you wish. Put the lid on and then plug into the drum a portable steamer .You can get one cheap from amazon. Also it is great to use if you have manure that you wish to throw into the mix. It will kill of unwanted pathogens etc.etc' If you are going to screen the compost you can do it from the top as you load your drum. You can do a lot outside with little or no fuss. One drum nearly full will give you about 3 good wheel barrows full. Happy gardening friends. Oh did I mention killing weed seeds?
Luke I have a question, do you recommend or find it necessary to sterilize 'store bought seed starting mix' such as Jiffy or Promix? I don't recall seeing you sterilizing it in your past DIY seed starting mix videos which had contained Promix. I've been sterilizing my 'store bought' seed starting mix in order to prevent fungus gnat eggs from hatching which I heard are often present in store bought mix. What do you think? Thank You & a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!
WRT baking… I'm thinking I can take the sheet and place it on the top of my wood stove. That would bake the soil and add to the moisture in the air!
I don't think dehydration will get rid of mold spores. But then, mold spores are floating around in the air everywhere anyway.
I have been microwaving mine for years. Works so well.
Where do you get that sifter?!
I wonder if putting it in a partially closed ziplock bag and using the canning pressure cooker is wise? It would preserve the moisture content and cut down on the smell of cooking dirt maybe?
Did he say 350 degrees or 130? Was he using celsius and fahrenheit interchangeably? What do I set my oven at?
where can i get the sifter that you used. thanks
To sterilize with hot water works like a charm! Heard about using the microwave too, or the oven, but after trying to sterilize in the oven I just say "no more". It smells too much. Hot water is the way to go! Fungus gnats are usually the main pest for me and my seedlings. Those pesky fungus gnats can survive a good bit of cold, like down to -25F/-31C so freezing is not really an option.
I can’t wait for spring to get here
I dunno about anyone else, but I put worms and springtails in my potted plants.
I love the fact that you gave us the best one first. Thank you! Watching the full video without the drama is wonderful.
Mrs. MI Gardener would be fighting mad if she seen her good trays outside. Lol. Smart man using the old stuff.
I was thinking of a hot plate and a large pot. Add some water, cover the pot and braise till dry.
Please tell me where I can get tomato seeds that grow acidic tomatoes. I don't want sweet tomatoes. does using a certain soil preparation help? Please help.
This got me thinking, I wonder if freeze drying the soil would be effective? I don't have a freeze dryer, but it seems like it should work.
I microwave my soil but I have no idea how hot to get it.
Problem is that by sterilizing you’re going to kill all the microbial life that feeds your plants. Many of those nutrients you talk about are not in a plant available form. It takes microbial life to make them plant available. You need those bacteria, fungi, Protozoa for plant health. Read about the Soil Food Web. The latest soil science that I’m reading about is starting a revolution in agriculture. Check out Dr. Elaine Ingham’s research.
Where did you get the compost sifter?
This is the second time I've been unsubscribed from this channel. This could have really helped me a couple days ago. I brought in some dirt to repot a tomato, and now have fungus gnats in the water part of my coffee pot…
I have an old 700 watt microwave that I use specifically for this. I put approximately a quart of soil in a covered Pyrex casserole and microwave for about 6 minutes. I let it sit in there until it cools.
I've measured the temperature of the soil after microwaving and it was about 160 degrees which I assumed was hot enough. I'm pretty sure it stays above 130 for at least 5 minutes. I usually wait at least a half hour before I put it in my "sterile soil bucket".
I should mention that we had a huge gnat problem this summer (seems like it was all over Michigan this year) and it looked like they were going after my soil (it was mostly compost), probably to lay eggs. So I removed those plants from my house and it looks like the gnats have finally died off.
Since I use my soil for non-circulating (Kratky) hydroponics I decided to strictly use microwaved peat moss from now on (I will microwave and re-use it). But I've used the compost in the past and never had a problem with the gnats. I think it was just a bad year for them. If I were to go out and get that soil and microwave it again I could probably use it without issues. But I'm going to try to stay with the peat moss from now on. Less stuff to attract the bugs and I don't need the organic stuff for my hydroponic greens anyway.
When it gets near spring I get aphids (late February or early March). I don't know how they get in the house (maybe my cats bring them in?), but I usually stop growing my indoor greens once I get the aphids because I've never been able to control them. I harvest whatever I have left, rinse the aphids off and eat them (not the aphids, the greens!). About that time I'm starting new plants for outside anyway. Someday I hope to figure out a way to avoid pests on my indoor greens because I would love it if I could grow them all the way to spring. Hopefully next year I'll have a small unheated lean-to green house against the south side of my house (technically a cold frame, but with some heat that escapes from the wall of the house) and maybe I can move everything out there when the aphids come. I just don't want them in my house.
Uh oh. I brought soil in without doing anything to it. Im going to be so sad if bugs hatch. Sigh… I like the oven method. That seems easy and best. Thank you.