To cook or not to cook?

greasemonkeymann said:

whats going on my man?
so what I do with my soil after it's used is let it chill in my gigantic smartpot and depending on how long it'll be till I use it, I may or may not put a cover crop on it.
one of my favorites is simply grass, they tend to attract and need the same sort of bacterial interaction that cannabis does, not to mention it keeps the soil more "alive"
now in regards to pest control? I literally don't do a thing about that, considering my grows are in a very unsealed shed outside, in a redwood forest, so pest control isn't a possibility for me, so I'm afraid I can't offer much advice there.
i'd speculate that a garage would work alright, but past that it's gonna be hard to control any bugs, but that being said typically you don't get bugs from the soil itself, not unless the previous grow had bugs, but normally the "bugs" present in a soil will be the total opposite types of the ones that eat your plants, almost all of those are 'transient" type pests, mites from the wind, grasshopper/leafhopper, etc. all those actively go and LOOK for plants to infest, rather the soil critters are just chillin there

literally the sole reason that I am here my friend, I have a myriad of odd compulsive neurotic "needs" goin on, luckily one of them is to help people
now if only the other like 7 neurotic issues would be so benign..
I am happy to help in any way my man

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natureboygrower said:

thank you,dude.you're always so willing to help and know a shitload.i think i'll throw the leftover unused soil in a rubbermaid tote and store it in the barn,til my indoor is up and running(very reluctant about the indoor deal)you see a problem with putting a lid on it? or leave it uncovered?

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Rasta Roy said:

Some holes drilled along the sides near the top will keep it breathing with the lid on. That's how I store mine. If you like to store it moist than I would check on it and mix it up every once and a while. But I'll let mine dry out and then just mix it with fresh castings and hit it with a compost tea when I plant in it.

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SouthCross said:

The bags of soil might be a year old....Might be 6 months...

Premixed soil has a shelf life. There's a point of diminished returns. From what I've read, Its a year. After that the nutrients in soil decline in strength and amount. The only way to stop it is to store the soil bone dry. Moisture activates it.

Cooking a premixed bag of soil is wasting time and money. You want it fresh as in around a month old. The clock keeps ticking if it contains any water.(which it does)

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