My Method Of Sanitizing Rich Soil So You Dont Get Gnats Dirt Bugs Etc

[hunterfisher]

I have the best results with fox farm ocean forest
problem is gnats crawlers aphids and I think even spider mites come with every bag
so I tried promix , sunshine and a few other things
the downside is they need more nutes that cost time and cash .
also the flavor is not even close for the true flavor lovers like myself
I have researched all kinds of methods to sanitize dirt such as baking in the oven
all deplete the nutrition and some mess with ph
so this is what I have been doing with rich soil and seems to work well
smaller garbage can with holes in it like a strainer
cut a bag of soil open and put the bag in the can
dump a large pot of boiling water in the bag and fold down the top
weep hole in the bag slowly drain in the can which drains on the ground
let sit for about 45 min
pull bag out of can and open up to release the last of the steam
hot water / steam don't add anything to soil or change ph
and nothing alive in there lives threw 160 degrees
add Beneficial's or nematodes after treated recommend but necessary
when cooled off you have super rich soil without the critters that come with it

 

[fishwhistle]

Sounds reasonable to me hunter,thanks for the tip.

 

[Muckman420]

Thanks mate

 

[SonOfDaMourning]

Neem cake

 

[Burned Haze]

http://www.summitchemical.com/mosquito/mosquito-bits/

Fungus gnats : works great :)

I then azamax (néem) high, then rotate other organic and then go nasty (avid or flora) on certain breeds of mites . Point is there's alot of people who use the harsh shit without ever trying or retrying ( just cause it does not work the first time does not mean 100% failure )

Non nuke waste , natural based first !

 

[3N1GM4]

I have been using ocean forest and had a problem with fungus gnats. New to this so I had no idea that they were in the soil. Still had no idea untill today when I opened my bag of ocean forest and scooped out a cup of soil and gnats flew everywhere. I then proceeded to the store to get a bucket to pour boiling water into because I had heard of that technique or maybe just thought of it. Walked past a large cooler on my way to the buckets and thought to myself, hey that will work and I have one. So now my cooler is full of ocean forest and boiled water. Wish I had just bought a garbage can, then when I got angry I could just sit it out by the curb.
If the reason that we dont bring in dirt is because we might introduce pests or disease, what good is it to buy dirt that definately has pests in it. I might as well go dig a hole and mix in some compost and boil it. At least you dont have to pay $20+ a bag for the pests in your yard.

 

[3N1GM4]

So I have another problem, 4 sprouts, all with little white aphid or spider mites I don't know the difference. They are the only about an inch tall and I put one in the bug infested ocean forest the other day without knowing about the pests in it. The coco pucks that the other three sprouts are on are covered in the little white bugs. Is it possible that the eggs of what I am guessing are some type of aphid are in stasis untill I watered them and they swelled up then triggering the eggs to hatch or is this just the ocean forest again and the aphids migrated from a pot in the open air to a covered foil baking dish. I sprayed them with azamax and it seemed to have no effect. I have diatomateous earth and a duster, I might try that next, please help.

 

[ShroomKing]

So I have another problem, 4 sprouts, all with little white aphid or spider mites I don't know the difference. They are the only about an inch tall and I put one in the bug infested ocean forest the other day without knowing about the pests in it. The coco pucks that the other three sprouts are on are covered in the little white bugs. Is it possible that the eggs of what I am guessing are some type of aphid are in stasis untill I watered them and they swelled up then triggering the eggs to hatch or is this just the ocean forest again and the aphids migrated from a pot in the open air to a covered foil baking dish. I sprayed them with azamax and it seemed to have no effect. I have diatomateous earth and a duster, I might try that next, please help.

Unless you identify the little bugs it's hard to say what they could be. Fox farm adds hynoaspis miles bugs to their soil to fight fungus gnat infestation, so in all reality those could be beneficial bugs.

 

[ShroomKing]

I have been using ocean forest and had a problem with fungus gnats. New to this so I had no idea that they were in the soil. Still had no idea untill today when I opened my bag of ocean forest and scooped out a cup of soil and gnats flew everywhere. I then proceeded to the store to get a bucket to pour boiling water into because I had heard of that technique or maybe just thought of it. Walked past a large cooler on my way to the buckets and thought to myself, hey that will work and I have one. So now my cooler is full of ocean forest and boiled water. Wish I had just bought a garbage can, then when I got angry I could just sit it out by the curb.
If the reason that we dont bring in dirt is because we might introduce pests or disease, what good is it to buy dirt that definately has pests in it. I might as well go dig a hole and mix in some compost and boil it. At least you dont have to pay $20+ a bag for the pests in your yard.

Put the bag of soil into an old pillow case then cut it open, stand up in the cooler then pour 3 gallons of boiling water through it. Works great.

 

[tobh]

Put the bag of soil into an old pillow case then cut it open, stand up in the cooler then pour 3 gallons of boiling water through it. Works great.

This is how I pasturize my substrate for mushroom cultivation. Works like a charm, kills mold and unwanted bacteria without harming the substrate or depleting nutes. Hell even a turkey bag full of substrate that has been moistened thrown in the oven for an hour at 165 degrees F works well.

 

[happy b]

I have the best results with fox farm ocean forest
problem is gnats crawlers aphids and I think even spider mites come with every bag
so I tried promix , sunshine and a few other things
the downside is they need more nutes that cost time and cash .
also the flavor is not even close for the true flavor lovers like myself
I have researched all kinds of methods to sanitize dirt such as baking in the oven
all deplete the nutrition and some mess with ph
so this is what I have been doing with rich soil and seems to work well
smaller garbage can with holes in it like a strainer
cut a bag of soil open and put the bag in the can
dump a large pot of boiling water in the bag and fold down the top
weep hole in the bag slowly drain in the can which drains on the ground
let sit for about 45 min
pull bag out of can and open up to release the last of the steam
hot water / steam don't add anything to soil or change ph
and nothing alive in there lives threw 160 degrees
add Beneficial's or nematodes after treated recommend but necessary
when cooled off you have super rich soil without the critters that come with it

Great minds think alike as thats more or less what i do!i just sit my bags in the bath and pour the water through.it was actually @ShroomKing who told me about that wee titbit.

 

[sandywp]

If I have one of those pressurized home steam cleaners (my One Plus goes to 320F) ... can anyone see a reason why I can't steam sterilize my soil even in it's container/pot/raised bed? Or what about putting my raised bed soil into containers and putting those into my steam shower... I can control temps better, but it will be moist.

 

[Pondracer]

I bake mine in the oven.

 

[MercDod]

I know this is an old thread however, wouldn't boiling kill all the beneficial microbes as well as wash out a LOT of nutes?

 

[Peat_Phreak]

I know this is an old thread however, wouldn't boiling kill all the beneficial microbes as well as wash out a LOT of nutes?

Yes, but those can be added back. I steam my peat or use H202. It has no nutes to wash out. Then I add myco back to the sterile peat.

 

[Habosabin]

I have no idea if this would work but could throwing a block of dry ice into a garbage bag of soil and sealing it work?

 

[Shaded_One]

Or just stay away from trash soils like FFOF :)