Preparing soil

[Hebrewdiver]

hello farmers recently I brought some potting soil from lowe's and it turns out the soil was full of thrips and fungus gnats. When first transferring my seedlings into pots with the new soil everything was looking good except for the emergence of the gnats i added some sticky tape to the tent and got rid of a lot of the gnats. Then I began to notice the leaves were starting to have lots of brown stops and really looking eaten. I looked at the leaves through a scope and saw larvae. I mixed up some neem oil, bronner soap and some caption jack's dead bug powder into a spray and soak them real well. That seems to get rid of the problem, I also covered the soil with of the Captain Jacks powder. After that I got my loop and looked at the unused soil and there they were the root of my problem crawling around in the soil. Now its time to transfer some seedlings and I have gone and brought more soil this time from home depot. Should I bake the soil before putting into pots as I have been told that this will sterilize and get rid of any unwanted pest living in the soil? Any other thoughts on soil preparations before adding seeding

 

[SmokingWings]

Probably best to go to a grow shop for a proper potting soil. Do not buy based on the price and just to save money. If the place you live can have one or more of a Lowes and Home Depot store then there is a good chance you have grow shops or hydroponic stores in the area. They will have the potting soils that many here use and talk about. And, they will have the fertilizers that many here use.

 

[Trump]

Probably best to go to a grow shop for a proper potting soil. Do not buy based on the price and just to save money. If the place you live can have one or more of a Lowes and Home Depot store then there is a good chance you have grow shops or hydroponic stores in the area. They will have the potting soils that many here use and talk about. And, they will have the fertilizers that many here use.

Some of the big box stores like Lowes and HD will let you order cannabis specific soils like Fox Farm, Roots Organic, Happy Frog, etc. to pick up at their stores.

 

[SmokingWings]

Some of the big box stores like Lowes and HD will let you order cannabis specific soils like Fox Farm, Roots Organic, Happy Frog, etc. to pick up at their stores.

Did not know about their special ordering like that. Good to know.

 

[Trump]

Did not know about their special ordering like that. Good to know.

 

[bluter]

Should I bake the soil before putting into pots as I have been told that this will sterilize and get rid of any unwanted pest living in the soil? Any other thoughts on soil preparations before adding seeding

that's how it was done long before there was any such thing as a cannabis specific soil.

1 gallon at 350 for an hr min. it will kill the microbes off as well. you will need to water with an organic tea to get them back in if you rely on them to grow.

 

[SmokingWings]

Now its time to transfer some seedlings and I have gone and brought more soil this time from home depot. Should I bake the soil before putting into pots as I have been told that this will sterilize and get rid of any unwanted pest living in the soil?

Sterilizing the soil by heating it up is a real thing but there is more to it than just putting it into a hot oven.

Recommended temperatures range from 150F to 225 or a bit more. The lower range will take care of good and bad insects and often their eggs. At 150F many molds or mildews that are in the soil will be killed off including their spores. The higher the temperatures the more the sterilization until there is next to nothing living in the soil and it will take time for the beneficial micro-organisms to return. As @bluter mentions you will have to help or speed up that process with teas and products that include the spores.

There are down sides to using ovens. The soil will start give off an interesting and somewhat unpleasant smell until it cools off. Another is the limited amount of space available meaning more than one session to process a decent amount of soil.

Look up some of the other methods that gardeners have used. One is doing the heating in a BBQ grill. Still have the smells and several sessions but it is outside. Another is spreading the soil out on tarps and covering with a black tarp and letting the sun heat everything up.

 

[Vegan4life]

I have purchased Sohum soil from HD in the past.

 

[Vegan4life]

hello farmers recently I brought some potting soil from lowe's and it turns out the soil was full of thrips and fungus gnats. When first transferring my seedlings into pots with the new soil everything was looking good except for the emergence of the gnats i added some sticky tape to the tent and got rid of a lot of the gnats. Then I began to notice the leaves were starting to have lots of brown stops and really looking eaten. I looked at the leaves through a scope and saw larvae. I mixed up some neem oil, bronner soap and some caption jack's dead bug powder into a spray and soak them real well. That seems to get rid of the problem, I also covered the soil with of the Captain Jacks powder. After that I got my loop and looked at the unused soil and there they were the root of my problem crawling around in the soil. Now its time to transfer some seedlings and I have gone and brought more soil this time from home depot. Should I bake the soil before putting into pots as I have been told that this will sterilize and get rid of any unwanted pest living in the soil? Any other thoughts on soil preparations before adding seeding

You should look up "Coot's mix" . Real easy Living soil recipe, with simple amendments, no bottled nutes. You can also look up "Build a soil".