With regard to the value of cooking up a living soil for some amount of time before using it, I’m wondering how many weeks is a good suggestion to wait for those little microbes etc. to develop in the soil before using it? I’m also wondering; Does a warmer room temperature promote those living things that make up a living soil?
I have a big pile of retail brand pre-used (3x) Miracle/Rapid grow type soil amended with extra perilite, some bone meal, mushroom compost and worm castings. Tomorrow Amazon is delivering Happy Frog all-purpose (living) fertilizer. It’s been suggested to give those little microbes etc. some extra time to fully develop before making use of the soil. What do you think or have you experienced regarding the promotion of living soil? Your suggestions/advice will be greatly appreciated.
So i dont know alot about building soil. But i remember a video i watch a the guy was some kinda expert teaching a class right.
I remember him saying, “how to know when a soil is done cooking and ready to use” . “Its as simple as stick you arm in about to your elbow and it the soil is warm/hot then its still working and not ready to use” .
So I would think, if you mix it all up and the microbes come alive, it should begin to get warm, and at some point began to cool back down…
And I could have completely misunderstood what i remember watching also, someone will let us both know I’m sure
I grow in living soil and the co i buy my nutrients from recommends two to four weeks. I use solo cups to start my photoperiod seeds so I start cooking the soil on the same day as I drop the seeds and by the time they are ready to go into the pots it’s had enough time to cook
I’m just getting into this stuff. Idk about what you got cooking up. Sounds like your own recipe. But i bought into that subcool supersoil. I want to step away from it and find a better recipe but that mix takes like a month or 2. I split the difference and cooked mine for 6 weeks. In a tarp wrapped up and put into a trash can. I take it out once a week and mix it. I usually see that white moldy looking stuff by the first week. That’s good stuff.
I mixed Happy Frog Soil something-or-other and piled it up with a remote temperature gauge in the middle. I checked the next day and it remained 85 - 90 degrees for a couple more days. After I turned it a few hours ago, the internal temp of the pile began at 69 degrees. It’s only two hours later and inside the pile it’s now 80 degrees and rising. Thanks for the great info.
Just wanted to suggest one more ingredient to add: composting worms. If you can afford that 2 month cook time they’ll turn your old roots and kitchen waste into some beautiful compost too.
I was in the same boat, wondering what to do with my old soil and root balls. I’m on my second flower run with the recycled soil + worms and my plants are loving it.
Walmart is cheaper than Dollar Tree on disposable serving trays. I paid like $4 for 5-6 trays. Set ur oven to 400* and fill the trays with dirt. Make sure the dirt is wet, like moon sand. Cover it with foil and bake for about 25-30 mins. You want the temp to be 170-200* with a meat or candy thermometer.
When I did this, I didn’t notice any smell in my kitchen. If there was a smell, it wasn’t noticeable to me. Idk if this process kills good bacteria, I’d guess so, but it beats a guarantee of root issues. Just be super careful that you don’t cross ur clean dirt with the egg dirt. If ANY of the contaminated dirt is still in ur grow space, it’s not worth sterilizing out bad bacteria with the presence of it still growing in ur space, u kno
