Absolutely. Hydrogen peroxide kills bacteria. Despite what some are posting, it didn’t distinguish between aerobic and anaerobic. It doesn’t know what bacteria are beneficial or harmful. Yes, there are some bacteria that are more sensitive to peroxide, but not necessarily the “bad” bacteria.
Yes! H2O2 is an oxidizer. It will kill bacteria and fungi. That’s why you put it in a cut; to kill potentially harmful microorganisms before they infect you. In plants, it can kill the essential nitrifying bacteria that converts nitrogen into a form usable by the roots. So, too much peroxide leads too essentially starving your plant.
Not true. All plants require nitrifying bacteria at the roots in order to use any form of nitrogen. There are no plants that can utilize soil nitrogen directly. This is basic plant biology. You can over load the soil with hydrogen peroxide (or any biocide) and it will affect the growth of that plant. The nitrogen cycle cannot complete.
Correct, it's not the entire picture. H2O2 does break down rather quickly, but there is a point where it becomes toxic. Most will never use enough peroxide to achieve the lethal concentration (hopefully). I use it to get rid of fungus gnat all the time. It is very effective and my go to additive along with DE. H2O2 takes care of the larva and some adults, but the DE takes care of the adults more efficiently. I don't want to debate this issue and was just answering the question regarding the effect of too much H2O2. There is a point where it can become toxic. Be well and happy growing.
Large scale commercial hydro grows historically used sodium hypochlorite, what you'll find in regular bleach. It's way safer and work better as a sterilizing agent and is a weaker oxidizer with longer residual effect compared to H2O2.
Read application rate and come back with that statement? I think you might bash what you don't understand? H2O2 is a stronger bleaching agent than bleach with shorter residual effect.
are you really advocating running bleach ?
100% serious! It's been used for decades commercially in hydro. 0.5-1ppm in Aero, 1-3ppm in DWC and coir. I currently run 1-2 residual chlorine. Adding 1-2ppm to anything going in to the reservoir.
missed my edit. i know folk who have used it for killing pathogens but not in a grow situation.
The need for using an oxidizer depends on if the grower use a water chiller or not? If not he will still struggle with pathogens like pythium root rot, it's not a matter of it but when will you experience problems in water cultures? If used correctly you actually clean and open up the root stomata for better nutrient uptake. Oxidizers are a part of many biological processes in nature and only the concentration makes the poison.
I run sterile hydro with a 20 gallon reservoir. The res temps vary from a 71 deg F (temp controlled with aquarium heater) low in the winter to a 78 - 84 deg F range during the summer. I dispense 3% peroxide continuously using the Sochting OxydatorThis is for soil (cheap). Once my seedling were ready for the big pot, I noticed the potting soil I bought was full of moisture gnats. I filled the pots and flushed them with off the shelf hydrogen peroxide 1:4 parts water. Let is sit for a couple days. It killed all the larva/eggs along with yellow sticky fly paper. Then transfered the seedlings in. They took off miraculously. Later in a few weeks there were some new bugs emerging. My pots sit on drip trays so on plain watering days I filled the trays with the same 1:4 mix and let the pot suck it up from below as well as from above. The added oxygen was greatly appreciated during growth. But the Fox Farm Ocean soil didn't need it. The loam and peat moss aerates well but I find it drains too much which means more frequent watering.
Wk 6.
