JAP69's Blog

I was thinking there must be an easier way to sterilize the potting mix by other means than using an oven. All it needs is to be heated. I snooped around this morning sniffing out other methods. Came across other methods and I like this one as I can do a larger amount at once. Just buy a large metal garbage can, do what the instructions say and be done with it. I could set the can on concrete blocks and start a fire underneath using charcoal as a heat source. Charcoal would not create a lot of smoke either.  All you need to do is get the water boiling and maintain boiling temperature the required length of time. I like this metal barrel steaming method.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/homemade-soil-sterilizers-37986.html

Metal Barrel Steaming
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Sure would be easier than building an oven. getting an adequate heat source, dealing with temperature control. I was even thinking of buying a used electric stove with an oven. Seen one last night for $75.00. Where would I store it? Look like he!! sitting covered in the back yard. No room in the garage.

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See comment for another heat source.

Had about 5 seeds in the bunching onion tray that are up about 1/4 inch. Have about 4 seeds in a foot basin tray I got at the dollar store that have just sprouted overnight. I direct seeded them outside in the potting mix with sifted potting mix on top.

The ones in the foot basin bin should grow up as there is about 4 or 5 inches of potting mix in the tray. Have enough room in the tray for two more rows which I will plant the seed rows at intervals.

Might have some Lettuce for salad.

May just as well start the bunching onion seed outside in the squash box that has vermiculite in it rather than in the back room in little seed starting containers.

I mentioned that I threw away the 4 1/2" pot that had mold growing in the seed starting episode. I took a washed out soup can and started some more bunching onions in seed starting mix I had sifted from the potting mix and added vermiculite plus a pinch of bone meal. Water soaked that down and planted my seeds. That was a couple days ago. I go out this morning and it looks like mold growing again. Where the he!! did that come from. I thought for awhile and was thinking it comes from the water. I have two cups generally in the back room when I chew. One coffee and one water drinking from both. I figure I must be contaminating the water with the coffee when I drink from it. Coffee, sugar and milk tainting the water which is causing the mold to grow. I have been using the water cup to water the seed starting mix with.

Looks like I will trash that can of seeds started and start over using fresh tap water this time.

All the stuff growing on the patio deck garden are still alive. Until cold weather knocks out the summer crops with the nip in the air. The tomatoes grew up but did not leaf out too well or flower. Squash are stunted in growth from cool weather.

Took the bag of lumber scraps and a few other items to the recycling center this morning. Picked up today's number for mid and eve [971]. Got back and relaxed for awhile after checking what is growing and pruned some dead flower stems off of one plant. watered what needed water. Just stick a finger in the pot mix to test it. Relaxed some more.

Then I went out and put up the Halloween scarem stuff. Two big spider webs about four feet across with spiders on them. Full skeleton about three feet long. Made a grave cross and stuck that in the ground. Hung up a straw hat on the porch post. Stuck a broom in the flag support on a post and draped an old colored sheet over it to blow in the wind.

Maybe I will have the space alien "I" greet the trick or treaters at the door.

Planted some bunching onion seeds. Anyone ever read the ingredients on seed starting mix. Pretty much just peat, vermiculite and some ferlizer to give the wee little sproutings a jolt to get a move on and do their growing up act. I just sifted out the potting mix and added about 20% vermculite to the sifting.

Anyone know where I can find potato chip plant seeds?  Probably would take a high salt content soil to grow potato chips.  Been looking in the seed racks and can not find them at all.

Went out this morning and dead headed the pansies and pruned back the spent flowering stems. Chill in the air this morning.

Have a little more to do on the two containers I am assembling. Need to put in the vertical board for the octagon corners and cap them off. I will not be filling those boxes until about February. Then I will sort out the scrap box for any savers and take rest to the recycling center along with other items that need to go.

I may start some more bunching onion seeds today. The first bunch is pretty good size now and will need a crop following those.

Radishes and turnips were a total failure and they will be a no grow item. Might better just grow some herbs in that space.

Went out just now and the air temperature was chilly and the potting mix temperature has dropped considerably.

I already knew there would not be enough time for those plants to produce any vegetables getting into colder temperatures. As I mentioned I think earlier it was just a learning experience to gain better knowledge of what to do for a better season next year with those vegetable plants.
I will leave those plants in for awhile longer and think about using the containers for cool weather crops until I get the oven built to sanitize the potting mix for next year.

I was thinking about the compost juice bin I was going to do using the left over mushroom mix and black cow. I might better sanitize those two with the oven as well. Put it in like it is now could contaminate the compost juice with fungus. I would just be re contaminating the potting mix with the compost juice.

Still have the bunching onions doing well and I planted some lettuce seed yesterday.

Have the fall flowers to tend to also.

May go in the garage today and assemble the final two containers I have pre-cut. Take them out back to set on the deck to get them out of the garage,

I have been thinking about what to use for mulch for the top of the container. I was thinking about that wood mulch that takes a long time to decompose. 

I have been fascinated with lava rock recently. I was sitting in the back room a few days ago and seen a bucket that contained some lava rock from the grill we used when it was gas. I picked one up and found it to be light weight and porous. Of course they are good sized. I did not know they sold this stuff at garden centers in different sizes from lava sand up to lava stone. Shows you how much I have been in garden centers over the past years.

I think I will go with this for potting mix cover around the plants. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Vigoro-0-5-cu-ft-Decorative-Stone-Red-Lava-Rock-440897/100427379

I had transplanted the Siberian tomato into a five gallon bucket today. While I was out there today I picked up the sealed container that had the left over coffee grounds in it. Looked inside at the grounds and it had the same mold growing on it as the seed starting container I threw out. Remember I mentioned that I put coffee grounds in it.

After supper I was looking up what that mold was on the coffee grounds and came across this very informative article. Obviously nothing to be concerned about with the mold on the coffee grounds.

https://permies.com/t/45126/Coffee-Grounds

The vegetables are still alive. Put some high phosphate ferlizer [bone meal] on the peppers yesterday with a pinch on the tomatoes and squash between the rain showers.

A couple days ago I had filled one of the 4 1/2" pots with potting mix i had sifted and started some lettuce seeds in it. Looked at it yesterday and it had fungus mold growing on top. The saved pots could have been contaminated so I threw all the saved pots and the one I had started the seed in into the trash bin.

Found it on the first search.

Looks like 180 degrees core temperature for at least 30 minutes.

The oven I will build is a lot quicker for my situation with portable containers and container mix.

I would get kicked out of the house if I put container mix in the house oven. At least for a week.
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Tips To Sterilize Potting Soil, Garden Soil And Soil For Seeds

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/sterilizing-soil.htm

I think I have settled on a final recipe after the bottle settling test.

Bottom portion: about 8 or 9 inches deep.  50% potting mix, 50% perlite and water saving crystals.

Top portion: which will be about 7 inches deep. 80% potting mix, 20% vermiculite.

Seeing the containers and contents are portable rather than on the ground soil it may be simpler to do the heat treatment. I would not have hot enough outside temperature and enough direct sunlight before spring gardening season. I want to do it when the vegetables are done I have in them now.

I could purchase a metal tub like the old wash tubs and put the container mix in that depending on the size of the tub. Maybe put the tub in a three sided enclosure. Then I could put an electric space heater directing the heat to the tub and bring the container mix up to the required temperature and cook it for the length of time required . Be about the same thing as an oven without the door.

Maybe have a marshmallow roast for myself while I am tending to it.

Went out this morning and measured the results from test #1 which contained the potting mix,
mushroom mix and vermiculite with a couple handfuls of black cow I had sitting in the paint tray.
top flotation was 1/2 cup and the bottom settling contained the finer granules with vermiculite
had 1 1/2 cups.
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Test #2 had the mushroom compost. it had all settled to the bottom with no recognizable
layers about 1 1/2 cups there. Got that in the tray draining and will go out and feel
texture later.
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Started test #3 with the potting mix with 2 1/2 cups in test bottle.
Already seen flotation come to the top. Will let that settle until tonight.
checked test three @ 15:30 hrs
Top flotation test #3: 1 1/4 cup
bottom sediment: 1/4 cup fine particles

That 2 1/2 cups to start was dry mix.
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Looks like elimination of the mushroom compost & black cow is a must do.

I had a thought this morning on what to do with the left over mushroom compost and black cow which is fine grained I do not want to put in anymore containers. Might compact too much in the containers.

I have a 20 gallon plastic storage container with holes drilled in it that I had filled with dirt and dumped out. It sits empty in the garage. I will clean off the inner and outer portion of the container where the holes are and put duct tape on each side to seal it back up. I have the lid for it with no holes in it. I will take it outside and set it by the deck and put about ten gallons of water in it, then I will dump in about three gallons of mushroom compost and black cow mixed together. Stir it all up and let it set to digest adding raw vegetable scraps from the kitchen plus the coffee grounds. Stir it all up occasionally. What I will have when it digests into the water is liquid ferlizer to feed to the plants while they are growing. Maybe about one cup for each plant now and then.

Just add more mushroom compost and black cow when I see the liquid ferlizer getting weak.

I might just take the top portion of the cuke box that has the Potting mix, black cow, mushroom compost and vermiculite I just re done and dump that into the liquid ferlizer  container. Going to need to re do the cuke box again [third time around] with putting perlite in the bottom portion and do the top portion with the new blend of potting mix I settle on.

I was also reading last night the problems they have with these bagged nursery supplies is that they transport crop diseases and crop fungus's plus little live critters or egg cells in the mixture.

No doubt that is where my plant fungus's came from.