Re: [Perennials]Sterilizing soil
- Subject: Re: [Perennials]Sterilizing soil
- From: D* M*
- Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 11:01:34 -0500
>
> How to kill the weeds in the compost? I'd rather not use chemical
>herbicides. Could the weeds be killed by altering the pH, then restoring
>the pH before using the compost in the garden?
> Last week I made a simple solar cooker and used it to dye yarn and
>fiber. The liquid got too hot to touch, but never got close to boiling.
>I could make a larger and better-insulated cooker that would get hotter,
>but what temperature is necessary for sterilizing soil?
> Perhaps "sterile" is the wrong word here. I only need to kill the
>weeds, not the other organisms in the soil--although if it's all or
>nothing, I'd sterilize the whole works and not think twice about it.
I wouldn't fool around with the pH, since you might have to go pretty
high (or low) to really kill all the seeds, not to mention having to
carefully return it to a normal value. This would also leave some
type of chemical residue.
How large a quantity of soil do you need to process? For small
amounts, I use a pressure cooker or microwave (gives the kitchen a
nice, earthy smell!). I've never done any test regarding the exact
time or temperature necessary, but as you said, I don't think it's
necessary to actually sterilize the soil.
How do some of the rest of you deal with this (outside of purchasing
a pre-sterilized mix)?
--
Don Martinson
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
l*@execpc.com
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