Is there a way to 100% kill pests in large no-till living soil pots?

Hello! So a couple of grows ago i gave up on living soil and decided to try growing with salts. Partly because i was sick of a mite infestation.

So the pots have been outside ever since with aloe vera on them, so no doubt they have new pests living in there now... However i'm tempted to bring them back in, as the worms living in there have made beautiful vermicompost out of the previous plants, but not sure if its possible, without bringing back old pest problems that were solved.

Any suggestions? Or do I have to make living soil from scratch?

theres going to be pests in them, you never take a plant outside the growroom unless it needs quaranteening. like you shower and change clothes every time you visit your grow room. you will bring in all kinds of mites n nasties

start afresh with new mother plants

Kinda figured as much... such a shame though! I might take some of the worms, put them into a covid style detention center for 2 weeks before joining the new pots

It is very possible to have a pest free living soil.

the key is useing nature, and the good guys of the insect and bug world. It really takes a whole holistic approach when dealing with living soils. Study the soil food web. Which beneficial bugs reduce pest pressure. The right time to apply sprays, and keeping soil clean. A rule of thumb for me is if you’re putting green manure down on pots it better be broken down and gone in less than a week. Otherwise becomes pest bank for mites and thrips. Work in cresting “living mulch” layer work on correct moisture levels for living soil that promotes full plant health to enable its own pest defense.

Finally the last though I have is proper id of pest is crucial to making these decisions. Your mite may well have no ability to survive without a host plant outside for a number of months. You just don’t know till you identity and research it’s reproductive cycles. For example common cannibus aphid cannot “survive in soil without a plant for more than 1 month. But then you learn they winter over on clover which was planted as ground cover around the whole greenhouse. Wtf. Get the flame thrower out i guess.

good luck!

You can sift the worms out to “re-use” them. If you want to take the time to do it, you can dump boiling water through the pots of soil to pasteurize it and kill off any critters. Then you can re-amend it, inoculate it with a microbe tea, and try to revitalize it. Anecdotally, it’s been working pretty well for me (I’m a cheap-skate and hate throwing stuff away).

edit : it’s more of a “soil recycling” method than “no-till”, but there’s no reason you can’t go forward with no-till after re-building your soil.

One thing that might help is a worm tube. I tried to use them outside but they might work better in a large pot. The worms went to them outside but there are so many worms in the garden it was hard to tell if they did any good.

gubblebum said:

Hello! So a couple of grows ago i gave up on living soil and decided to try growing with salts. Partly because i was sick of a mite infestation.

So the pots have been outside ever since with aloe vera on them, so no doubt they have new pests living in there now... However i'm tempted to bring them back in, as the worms living in there have made beautiful vermicompost out of the previous plants, but not sure if its possible, without bringing back old pest problems that were solved.

Any suggestions? Or do I have to make living soil from scratch?

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Start again you will save yourself problems in the long run

gubblebum said:

Hello! So a couple of grows ago i gave up on living soil and decided to try growing with salts. Partly because i was sick of a mite infestation.

So the pots have been outside ever since with aloe vera on them, so no doubt they have new pests living in there now... However i'm tempted to bring them back in, as the worms living in there have made beautiful vermicompost out of the previous plants, but not sure if its possible, without bringing back old pest problems that were solved.

Any suggestions? Or do I have to make living soil from scratch?

Click to expand...

Living soil is a challenge. For bugs, it's about fighting off the bad guys and encouraging the good - but the good will die without the bad. That pesky IPM.

It would be hard for any of us to advise on particulars without knowing more. Lots more. Like, too much more, maybe.

My living soil starts with a shovelfull of dirt and gets compost made from leaves and grass. Innoculated with Jobe's. In a SIP, the hypoapsis miles eat the fungus gnat larvae under a plastic cover. The cucumeris mites eat the spider mites, and the soil lice, pill bugs, fungus, and bacteria further break down my inputs. Spiders catch any stragglers.

It took me a few grows to get this balance in my climate and setup. Your balance would be similar, but likely the conditions and methods would be different.

With this setup, I don't need to do extra laundry. The soil defends itself and the plants.

Knock on wood!

The OP confused me ,,, your going back to salt nutes or going back to living soil??

if you plant onions in the dirt it will push away lots of insects.there is a shit tone of plants that work with other plants to remove flies butterflies mites......

amneziaHaze said:

if you plant onions in the dirt it will push away lots of insects.there is a shit tone of plants that work with other plants to remove flies butterflies mites......

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^^^^ this 100%. However if you’re after an easy life start again but take this advice

Plant mint or even grow a mint plant in your tent.

Repels lots of pests and you can make yourself a cup of tea.

Yea but gnats love mint

I get the OP now, he wants to bring outdoor pots inside again, (think that's what he meant) Neem Meal and/or a soil drench of some Azamax.