sterilizing germination mix

[gsn]

I want to recycle some germination mix that I have used to germinate some previous seeds. The mix is 50/50 peat and perlite.

I know the peat can be heated in the oven, but what about the perlite? Would the heat cause the perlite to break down or cause any type of noxious fumes?

Also what temp would you heat it at,and for how long?

thanks,

[Kris]

Dear Scott  

i feel the best for of soil sterlisation will be through

natural means_

first wash the soil mix with plenty of fresh water with the

use of some form of net.allow the water to drain.

them allow the soil to dry in bright sun light in your

terrace.

after 3 day treat it with fingicide,if the soil has some ants

problem dust some ant control pesticide.air dry under the

sun.before sun set it must be brought inside.

do it for a week i.e placing the soil mix in sunlight.

then store in a well airtight barrel or containers for future use.

do this operation when the mercury reaches more than 104

degrees farenheat & above.

i hope this works for you !

i usually use this soil for repotting grown up plants & try often

not to use any old soil mix for new seed germination.

Love,

Kris.

[MattyB]

Scott, you can heat Perite no problem.  It's actually heated to like 1200 degrees when they make it so no worries there.  It's not styrofoam, it won't break down or melt.  I've switched to pure perlite that way I don't have to worry about sterilizing anything because it comes sterile.  But, in the past, when I used 50/50 peat and perlite I just got the medium to the right moisture then put it in a Pyrex bowl into the microwave for about 12 minutes (stiring once in the middle).  Then I dumped the sterilized medium into a sterile bucket and put the lid on.  I did this several times to fill up my bucket for future use.

[PalmBoy]

scott:

over here in st. cloud, us rednecks learned something a long time ago .... spend a few extra bucks, and dump the serl ...errr, growing medium ... you used for germinating .. and buy some more.

fungus and all the other "stuff" that floats around in that mix love to jump from seed variety to seed variety. for the 8 bucks it costs me for each bag of custom soil mix .... it's worth not having to deal with the headaches.

but, just my .02 worth!

PalmBoy

[Kris]

(PalmBoy @ Jan. 02 2007,20:23)

QUOTE

fungus and all the other "stuff" that floats around in that mix love to jump from seed variety to seed variety. for the 8 bucks it costs me for each bag of custom soil mix .... it's worth not having to deal with the headaches.

but, just my .02 worth!

PalmBoy

Very well said & it seems to me as a effective solution

too.

Kris.

[Bilbo]

Personally I use fresh compost every time which comes pre- sterilised and has a small amount of fert. Seeds dont require much fert anyway

The problem with sterilisation is that it can affect nutrients and fert in the mix.

on a large scale such as would be required on a nursery and there is no alternative but to make your own and sterilise it.

I find a John Innes seed compost with a little added perlite to keep it open to be superior to peat based composts.

Regardez

Jon

[Bennz]

I do everything 'wrong' here, but it works! I germinate and grow everything in sandy soil  with about 10-30% added composted pinebark. The soil is an old volcanic tephra, with texture reminiscent of beach sand. The pinebark is to replicate humus levels, higher for rainforest species, lower for dryland. I germinate and grow everything in the same media.

I never sterilise anything, and reuse everything. I have found that you can have a palm die of root rot, and sow seeds into the same media and same container without problems. The reason is very simple; in the natural cyle of soil life the 'bad' (from palm grower perspective!) organisms breed faster than the 'good' ones. But once the good guys build up enough, the soil is back into balance. If you have a plant die in the pot, the pathogen/whatever that did the damage is already in decline by the time the palm is rotting, and soon it wil be only the usual decay microorganism left. This is the natural cycle of life. When you think about it, it is actually more likely that a media that a plant has died in will be essentially sterile as far as new plantings go, than would a media that is new. Remember that a living healthy plant is resistant to naturally occuring organisms that focus on decaying dead matter, which would have replaced the original pathogen which did the damage.

Conclusion; sterilising the media is more likely top produce problems than solutions!

btw, this works, but I don't expect many people to agree with me!

Ben

[MattyB]

I've found that if you're using sealed containers and heat then you have to be sterile or your seeds/radicles will rot.  Bennz's method seems to work if you're just putting seeds in the dirt or an un covered pot.  The air and natural tasty goodness of nature seem to help keep things regulated.

[gsn]

Guys ,

Thanks for all the useful information!

Still not sure if I will sterilize it and reuse,throw it away and use new,or use it mixed with soil, in potting up  larger comtainers!

[Wai`anae Steve]

I just bought a small bag of spagnam moss SCOTT brand.  I opened it and there was mold growing in it already.

Same happened w/another brand from Lowes a few years ago.  What gives?????????????

[gsn]

Steve,

I too have purcahsed,peat moss that wasn't sterile,

Didn't have mold but had weeds growing in it!

That was another reason for asking the original question about sterlization!

[Howeadypsis]

For small amounts I use the microwave, full power for 2 minuters. Comes out steaming and smelling lovely! (I use the method for sterilizing substrate for my baby Tarantulas)

[Kris]

[Neofolis]

With my most recent seeds, I used 100% coir (coco peat), which I poured boiling RO water onto and left to stand until cool enough to squeeze out the water. The bucket went a bit of an odd shape for a while, but it seemed reasonalby successful and pretty quick, although probably not as sterile as some of the other techniques listed. I think in future I will use my normal mix of 1/3 perlite, 1/3 coir and 1/3 composted bark chips and treat it the same way. Coir on it's own holds a little too much water and not enough air for my liking.