Sterilize potting mix.

[senseijames]

G'day all, hope this isn't too much of a stupid question , but in a previous post I talked about my soil mix for this season, and in part of the mix I am using leaf mulch compost that I collected from a nearby creek bank, I have discovered that it has the dreaded CURL grubs in it, now I have sieved it to "fines", and was thinking about buying a cheap microwave to sterilize it to kill the eggs and other nasties in it before using it in my Bonsai Mix . What are your thoughts, has anyone out there Microwaved soil ( potting mix) before ???
James

[Gerard]

I have a friend who has been doing this for years, never tried it myself though. Its hard to justify the microwave cost.

[Jamie]

gday james

i have never heard or seen microwaved bonsai mix but i cant see it not working, the microwaves would smash just about anything in not to long so i cant see why it wouldnt work, i would wait for it to cool down for an hour or so before using it though.

if you need to buy a microwave check out the second hand shops or even the recycle centres at the local dump!

i wouldnt even feel sorry for the curl grubs, it would be interesting to see what happens though at a guess they would most likely explode.
(i know that sounds cruel, but insects/bugs dont actually feel pain or anything like that, they work on these things that tell them what to do (cant remember the name of the body part but its the goo you see when they splat on the window in the car, they only know what they need, eat, work, breed) so i wouldnt be to concerned about it all. even when you see the squirm when they lose a leg or something like that it is just the elictical current that goes through them.
its like when you see a group of ants going for scraps and one or two get stepped on and are still "alive" the rest of the other ants go at the injured one as not to waste..

sorry, i know that got a little off topic..

jamie

[Pup]

I have heard before of people sterilising their soil mix and using a Microwave to do it. Then one day there must have been some metal in the mix.
Because KAboom.

Doing it in the garage so Mum would not be annoyed was a great idea, the car needed a new bonnet and windscreen and left mudguard.

So be careful he has not tried it since he uses boiling water now. He must be clumsy as he has scalded himself a couple of times.

Me, I just use the clean components I buy. Like CRG Akadama and coco peat.

Cheers Pup

[Jester]

Hi Sensei, how are you? What you propose can be done. The process you are performing is pasteurisation. I researched the topic for you in a book by well respected horticulturalist Kevin Handreck and have extracted the following for you:

"Small amounts of mix for propagation can be pasteurised in a microwave oven. Add water to the mix so that it is moist enough to use. Fill a 4 litre ice cream container. Place this without the lid into the microwave on full power for 7-8 minutes. Take it out and place it into a cooler box for at least 30 minutes. The aim is to keep the temperature of the mix at or above 60 deg Celcius for at least 30 minutes. Most pathogens are killed at this temperature. Unfortunately, most beneficial micro-organisms are also killed. Storing the moist mix for several weeks will allow a buildup of beneficial micro-organisms"[/

Hope this helps

John

[simo_5]

the only thing is putting soil through the microwave process wouldnt just kill the bad organisms, plants do also rely on good organisms. i would suggest "dont use a microwave" its just a waste of time. p.s. i agree with pups last words that is what i suggest you go with.
cheers simo

[Jester]

Could'nt agree more, but did you read the last sentence in my post?

[senseijames]

Thanks for all the replies, lets think about this scenario, if I used only Diatomite, where are the beneficial organisms in that??...then you say ..." well they will be introduced when I fertilize the medium"... so I can't see the difference, If I sterilize the mulch and kill " All " organisms, when I fertilize then eventually they will build up again.. especially when I have added clean Old dried shredded Cow manure to the mix (12 months old)... what my aim is, is to kill the eggs of the Curl Grubs, and any other bugs that are in the mulch, along with any seeds that might be in there, i am not too worried about everything being sterile, because all inorganic potting mix is sterile anyways. So my findings are that there aren't too many people that sterilize organic mixes. Thanks all, for your opinions. Cheers
James

[senseijames]

Hi Sensei, how are you? What you propose can be done. The process you are performing is pasteurisation. I researched the topic for you in a book by well respected horticulturalist Kevin Handreck and have extracted the following for you:

"Small amounts of mix for propagation can be pasteurised in a microwave oven. Add water to the mix so that it is moist enough to use. Fill a 4 litre ice cream container. Place this without the lid into the microwave on full power for 7-8 minutes. Take it out and place it into a cooler box for at least 30 minutes. The aim is to keep the temperature of the mix at or above 60 deg Celcius for at least 30 minutes. Most pathogens are killed at this temperature. Unfortunately, most beneficial micro-organisms are also killed. Storing the moist mix for several weeks will allow a buildup of beneficial micro-organisms"[/

Hope this helps

John

Yeah I am good thanks John, good to hear from you again, cheers.
James

[Asus101]

A black plastic bag in the sun works... kills most stuff off.