Just wondering, is it fear of insects, molds and fungus, weed seeds...or some other reason why you sterilize your mix?
I don't bake mine because I havent had any problems with mix I've used except for one time:......
I never have until.....I was using out of a bag of soil that was in my cellar - little damp there. The top of the soil on repotted plants started growing a moldy fungus so I had to repot them again. After that, when I used that soilmix,, I baked the soilmix in my microwave oven first and that solved the problem. Oh and by the way, it will catch on fire and burn! yea....and it really smells bad when that happens! It was damp and in one of those black plastic microwave trays I saved from a frozen dinner and it melted that tray!
Who's next?
tish
Survey! Who sterilizes their soil mix - and Why?
never had the need, lol
mrsbonnie
I have never found it necessary,but if you add organic things like manure,leaves or soil from your yard you would probably have to.Most fungus that grows on top of indoor plant soil will not harm the plant,but in the case of old soil,why take a chance?
I do not because it kills the good things in the soil that are helpful and there are many helpful things. It certainly kills the bad things and when we have a bad thing happen we want to never have it happen again and I think we can forget that bad things happen sometimes and we can't control every bad thing. When we kill the good things though they are not there to keep future bad things in check so if you introduce something you may have more problems in the long run. We destroy the balance that nature has already provided us. Now of course if you have something that you know has problem by all means it's important to sterilize it. I have a friend who is a Master Gardener and she told me that if I had to sterilize I should put it in a container that is deep and make sure it's wet but not dripping wet as the steam is what does the sterilizing. Put it in the oven at 270 degrees for about 20 minutes. Oh and cover it but make sure that the cover isn't completely tight so a bit of the steam can escape. I've never needed to use it but wrote it down in case I did.
Oh I just saw Lynn's response as she wrote it as I was writing and I meant all the soilless mix items that we use such as peat, perlite, vermiculite etc and not things from outside. Things from outside are very different and I wouldn't use them with my AVs in most cases I don't think simply because of the problems and I wouldn't want to sterilize some things like compost because of the beneficial bacteria that is there.
I do sterilize mine in the microwave for about 10 minutes. I got a bag of potting mix that was full of fungus gnats, so I make certain to always sterilize it. I've also had a mold problem with seedlings with unsterilized potting mix, so just to be sure, I zap it in the microwave. :o)
what kind of container do you put your soil in Amy? Do you wet it all the way or just dampen it? I know the lid needs to be cracked too, right?
Any kind of large plastic microwave-safe bowl will work. I use one of those 5 quart ice cream buckets. I get it pretty moist, more than just damp, but not so that water is sitting in the bottom of the container. Some of that water comes off as steam as it is heating. The bucket has a lid that fits it, so I just sit that on top of it, but don't snap it down. Other bowls I use, I'll take a lid that's too big and just lay across the top. I don't worry about whether there's a crack or not, but make sure that it's not snapped or sealed closed. Does that make sense?
Perfect sense, thanks!
I remember reading one of the old threads on here and one of the ladies from right here in Maryland(Critterologist???) tried this without making sure the soil was all wet and started a fire in her microwave!!!!!!!!!!
I read that, too and was always very careful to be sure it was moist enough. Until one day... LOL Lesson learned! Be sure you add enough water and mix it in! It's one of those "don't ask me how I know" things! ;o)
;) Gotcha! LOL
Don't forget you take all the good stuff out as well as the bad stuff when you microwave any mix.........
I used to when i used miracle grow,but now that i use pro mix i dont,I also to use physan 20 or products like that,they kill the bacteria in it
JIM
OOOOOH >....I really don't like that Miracle Gro african violet mix.........have been using outside in pots for my outdoor plants (LOL)
Jim, do you use the Pro Mix that is in the orange bag?
mines in a big bail and i think the packaging was in white
JIM