baking soil before using?

Pattahabi

Well-Known Member
I have been using my home-made, decade-old compost for the last 2 crops without any sterilization. Worst thing I've found was a 4-leaf clover sprouting in one of the pots :peace:
Wait... you mean I don't have to nuke my soil before I plant into it? But what if I get a bug in my soil?! Lol! :roll:

I kind of have a feeling the amount of bugs crawling in my pots might freak a few people out around here. :mrgreen:

Peace!

P-
 

indicat33

Well-Known Member
Wait... you mean I don't have to nuke my soil before I plant into it? But what if I get a bug in my soil?! Lol! :roll:

I kind of have a feeling the amount of bugs crawling in my pots might freak a few people out around here. :mrgreen:

Peace!

P-
Hahahahaha..... :bigjoint: Yeah, because ya find plenty of nukes in nature... where all this takes place every day... Naturally :idea:
 
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a senile fungus

Well-Known Member
Wait... you mean I don't have to nuke my soil before I plant into it? But what if I get a bug in my soil?! Lol! :roll:

I kind of have a feeling the amount of bugs crawling in my pots might freak a few people out around here. :mrgreen:

Peace!

P-

Yup. My neighbor shit a brick when he brought his scope over to check some trics, he told me I had shit crawling all over my soil lol

If you scope the worm's egg sacs you can see baby worms moving around. I've got lots of little white springtails and a few little red mites. Lots of others as well but those are my main populations.
 

hydroMD

Well-Known Member
Hahahahaha..... :bigjoint: Yeah, because ya find plenty of nukes in nature... where all this takes place every day... Naturally :idea:
*hahahaha hahaha* um... that's the point... indoor growing has NONE of the NATURAL pest deterrence. .. which is why a STERILE grow site is recommended.

Think, then post

*
 

hydroMD

Well-Known Member
Has anyone heard of baking the soil before you use it? To get rid of any larvae. ... would this work?
If you want zero bugs, grow hydro.

If you grow soil, give your plants some preventative treatment a few times through veg to keep things knocked down. Trim your stems up a bit so there are no green bridges (place besides main stem for bug to access plant from ground or surroundings)

Key is keeping things clean, preventative measures and knocking them down when things pop up immediately. You can also rub neem oil all over your main stalk from the dirt up as a sort of barrier.

The dormant bugs should mostly hatch within the first 3 weeks of good conditions so for the first couple months make sure they dont colonize if they are present
 
If you're growing organic, healthy soil with microbes and soil organisms is beneficial. You need them to unlock the nutrients in the soil INSTEAD of dumping synthetic salts all over the roots.

If you're really worried about it, start a new mix with sterilized garden soil instead. Much less headache and it's not going to have anything nasty.
 

willienelson1stgrow

Well-Known Member
If you want zero bugs, grow hydro.

If you grow soil, give your plants some preventative treatment a few times through veg to keep things knocked down. Trim your stems up a bit so there are no green bridges (place besides main stem for bug to access plant from ground or surroundings)

Key is keeping things clean, preventative measures and knocking them down when things pop up immediately. You can also rub neem oil all over your main stalk from the dirt up as a sort of barrier.

The dormant bugs should mostly hatch within the first 3 weeks of good conditions so for the first couple months make sure they dont colonize if they are present
Hydro, I must admit is very intimidating to me. What would you recommend, for a total fucking newbie(yes, I mean me), the cheapest way to go hydro..........
 
Heh...hydro really isn't cheap OR for newbies.

It's great for yields, but because there's no buffering in the soils, it requires a fair amount of skill and knowledge to pull off. Honestly, if you're not quite comfortable in soil, I'd strongly consider getting a few grows under your belt before making the switch. You want to feel confident in identifying different kinds of deficiencies and burns, and knowing what your plants want before going hydro; they'll be less forgiving on mistakes once you do. You could try growing in Coco, though; it's basically the same as hydro, but a little more forgiving because you're still in a medium of some kind.

I can, however, recommend some VERY basic steps for soil growing if that would help you. If you're dead set on trying hydro though someone else will need to take point. It's outside my range of expertise.
 

hydroMD

Well-Known Member
Heh...hydro really isn't cheap OR for newbies.

It's great for yields, but because there's no buffering in the soils, it requires a fair amount of skill and knowledge to pull off. Honestly, if you're not quite comfortable in soil, I'd strongly consider getting a few grows under your belt before making the switch. You want to feel confident in identifying different kinds of deficiencies and burns, and knowing what your plants want before going hydro; they'll be less forgiving on mistakes once you do. You could try growing in Coco, though; it's basically the same as hydro, but a little more forgiving because you're still in a medium of some kind.

I can, however, recommend some VERY basic steps for soil growing if that would help you. If you're dead set on trying hydro though someone else will need to take point. It's outside my range of expertise.
Hydro being harder than soil is a bit of a myth.

You must have a good ph and ec meter. Takes all guess work out of growing, which for newbies, is actually much more beneficial to the learning curve.

Hydro, I must admit is very intimidating to me. What would you recommend, for a total fucking newbie(yes, I mean me), the cheapest way to go hydro..........
Deep water culture. 1 plant in a 30 gallon tub.

You will need to shell out some dough for a good ph and ec meter. Blu Lab and hannah combo meters are the only way to go... but run bout $200.

If you can afford it, you will always have precise levels and will be growing better herb than you ever have before.

I pull 20-40oz (yes ounces) per plant in dwc depending on strain.

6" net pot
30 gallon tub with hole cut in lid for net pot to sit inm
air stone
air line
air pump
sterilized medium that won't fall through your net pot (hydroton, gravel, lava rock, etc)
And 1 submersible pump that you can put in your res to drain water and also fill with.
 

hydroMD

Well-Known Member
Hydro being harder than soil is a bit of a myth.

You must have a good ph and ec meter. Takes all guess work out of growing, which for newbies, is actually much more beneficial to the learning curve.



Deep water culture. 1 plant in a 30 gallon tub.

You will need to shell out some dough for a good ph and ec meter. Blu Lab and hannah combo meters are the only way to go... but run bout $200.

If you can afford it, you will always have precise levels and will be growing better herb than you ever have before.

I pull 20-40oz (yes ounces) per plant in dwc depending on strain.

6" net pot
30 gallon tub with hole cut in lid for net pot to sit inm
air stone
air line
air pump
sterilized medium that won't fall through your net pot (hydroton, gravel, lava rock, etc)
And 1 submersible pump that you can put in your res to drain water and also fill with.
Also a reputable hydro line. Grow, micro, bloom is all you need.
 

indicat33

Well-Known Member
*hahahaha hahaha* um... that's the point... indoor growing has NONE of the NATURAL pest deterrence. .. which is why a STERILE grow site is recommended.

Think, then post

*
...And I'm still Laughing because like I said before, I use home-made compost successfully, without ANY precautionary measures. Never a problem with bugs, larvae, or anything else for that matter. Going to mix-in perlite for next grow. I'm describing MY experiences with MY compost, that's all. So, next time, YOU should read carefully, before shooting from the hip. I have a background in Biology and certainly understand WHY it is recommended to sterilize the medium before planting. I am laughing because I purposely ignored this rule last 2 crops as an experiment, and I have ZERO problems. So yeah, I reserve right to chuckle - (especially at YOU). :lol:
 
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hydroMD

Well-Known Member
...And I'm still Laughing because like I said before, I use home-made compost successfully, without ANY precautionary measures. Never a problem with bugs, larvae, or anything else for that matter. Going to mix-in perlite for next grow. I'm describing MY experiences with MY compost, that's all. So, next time, YOU should read carefully, before shooting from the hip. I have a background in Biology and certainly understand WHY it is recommended to sterilize the medium before planting. I am laughing because I purposely ignored this rule last 2 crops as an experiment, and I have ZERO problems. So yeah, I reserve right to chuckle - (especially at YOU). :lol:



Im just saying you sound like an idiot saying that the reason you dont need to nuke soil is because it *doesnt happen naturally* when your creating a completely un natural environment. If you wanna be a condescending ass hat to anyone that comes here asking questions that fine... but let me give you some advice that the sample pool stretches a little further than 2 grows....

Soil contains bugs. Sometimes it contains bad bugs. And Im probably even more aware than you that bugs dont always colonize out of soil, but the fact remains that ITS POSSIBLE. And if they are present, they can colonize, which makes this a pretty good question from a noob.

I have never 'steralized' a medium as its not warranted with proper care...

Are you saying that you HAVE steralized your medium in your grows ezcept the last 2 as an *experiment*?

That might be the only laughable thing ive seen here lol, besides that bud you posted :p
 
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