Letting soil "bake"?

I've been doing a lot of research on soil and amendments. What I'm having issue finding specifics on is letting your soil sit for 1-2 months for the organisms to do work and or let the soil cool.

Questions:

1. Best container?
2. Should the container have a lid?
3. Should the container have holes in the bottom? I ask this because I've read that you should water the soil.
4. How often should you water/til it?
5. Should this be outside in the sun, in a garage away from the elements, are colder months an issue?

Thanks!

I can appreciate caring so much about growing the perfect plant. But really - you can go get a bag of MG from your local Lowe's and do just fine. I mean - it's a weed, not an orchid. Go in peace my good man.

bioWheel said:

I can appreciate caring so much about growing the perfect plant. But really - you can go get a bag of MG from your local Lowe's and do just fine. I mean - it's a weed, not an orchid. Go in peace my good man.

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Hehe!, how rude.

bioWheel said:

I can appreciate caring so much about growing the perfect plant. But really - you can go get a bag of MG from your local Lowe's and do just fine. I mean - it's a weed, not an orchid. Go in peace my good man.

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Wow! That was super helpful... Kindof like saying why buy a Ferrari when a Ford Pinto can also get you from A to B...

Some people appreciate quality...

SpicySativa said:

Wow! That was super helpful... Kindof like saying why buy a Ferrari when a Ford Pinto can also get you from A to B...

Some people appreciate quality...

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True - but just because it's a 'boutique' soil doesn't mean shyt. Since I've used both the fancy mixes and MG brand I've seen the results. And they're the same.

Care to show some pictures? I find it hard ti believe miracle producing bud equal to a homeade supersoil

May11th said:

Care to show some pictures? I find it hard ti believe miracle producing bud equal to a homeade supersoil

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Really? And how could you know they were my pics? I mean, I could cut and paste from the High Times front page and tell you it was grown in sand. C'Mon man.

Have all 839 of your posts been this helpful?

Mg soil is great if you like mushrooms in your pots. You still have to amend it. Its still far better and cheaper to buy peat moss and lava rock.. You can get 6.6 cu ft of peat moss for $12 and 1 cft of lava rock for $6. Plus amendments ..

everyone that commented on this thread knows this.
.

Maxman and Fiddler said:

This is only my 12th post so question everything I say. I've run subcool's supersoil for 2 years and here's what I've learned (responses in red):
Questions:

1. Best container? Buy or construct a compost tumbler that easily turns your soil mix.
2. Should the container have a lid? Yes
3. Should the container have holes in the bottom? I ask this because I've read that you should water the soil. Yes
4. How often should you water/til it? Water until the entire mixture is wet...let cook (covered) for many weeks.
5. Should this be outside in the sun, in a garage away from the elements, are colder months an issue? Can be located anywhere with best "cooking" environment at a temperature above freezing. The idea is to let the microbial flora get established and the organic supplements equilibrate so you get appropriate ph buffering with balanced NPK levels. Cook as long as you can. P.S. - I'm no longer running super soil - it was awesome but consumed lots of space and energy...it was awesome though!

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Thanks man! Also thank you to the constructive feedback from others!

Too bad everyone is so upset about dirt. No mushrooms even with the 'wetter' Moisture Control soil hyroot.

Guys - there are gardens (indoor and out) everywhere across the US using Mg soils for Orchids, Dahlias, Geraniums, and the list goes on forever. Old ladies in Bumscrew Texas growing big, bad tomato plants and huge sunflowers. And they use MG.

I know it's great to think we're somehow separate from those 'old bags' and somehow we're growing aficionados where only the best will do. Bt it's just weed. A relatively easy plant to grow and that's why people can use all different kinds of dirt and still be successful.

we all understand MG is a type of supersoil, with time release nutes that grow a myriad of plants just great.

the beauty of making your own, is saving money, and understanding it.

i understand your points bio, but understand there are advantages to making your own supersoil.

not saying supersoil will yield better plants, but you can modify the formula how you like, perhaps with things local or other things, and help bring out the microbial balance in your soil

bioWheel said:

Too bad everyone is so upset about dirt. No mushrooms even with the 'wetter' Moisture Control soil hyroot.

Guys - there are gardens (indoor and out) everywhere across the US using Mg soils for Orchids, Dahlias, Geraniums, and the list goes on forever. Old ladies in Bumscrew Texas growing big, bad tomato plants and huge sunflowers. And they use MG.

I know it's great to think we're somehow separate from those 'old bags' and somehow we're growing aficionados where only the best will do. Bt it's just weed. A relatively easy plant to grow and that's why people can use all different kinds of dirt and still be successful.

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You realize you are in the organic section, right?

bioWheel said:

Too bad everyone is so upset about dirt. No mushrooms even with the 'wetter' Moisture Control soil hyroot.

Guys - there are gardens (indoor and out) everywhere across the US using Mg soils for Orchids, Dahlias, Geraniums, and the list goes on forever. Old ladies in Bumscrew Texas growing big, bad tomato plants and huge sunflowers. And they use MG.

I know it's great to think we're somehow separate from those 'old bags' and somehow we're growing aficionados where only the best will do. Bt it's just weed. A relatively easy plant to grow and that's why people can use all different kinds of dirt and still be successful.

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If we aren't striving to do better each round, what's the point?

I've grown various plants with MG soil (no, not MJ) and wasn't terribly happy with the results. Bland tomatoes, sickly greens, pest issues, seedling burning, etc, etc, etc. I had my share of reasons to look for something better. In an effort to keep improving my results, I started investing in "specialty" bagged soils like Fox Farms and Roots. Guess what? My results improved dramatically!

But, why not KEEP ON improving? So I started adding additional amendments to the bagged soils, and giving them time to compost... Guess what? My results continued to improve!

Stop there? Nope! Gotta keep on improving. Why not build a soil from scratch with only the ingredients I want? So I did... And (drum roll...) big surprise; the results continued to improve...

Then I learn about recycling my soil, and give it a shot. Once again, the results improved. No pest issues, no burning, nothin much other than water added, and zero waste soil to deal with...

So yeah, I could have stuck with the MG soil and done "just fine", but that's not how I do things. I think I can speak for everyone else here when I say that we come here and read in an effort to KEEP ON IMPROVING our gardens. Miracle grow got left in the dust long ago. It just didn't compare to the results I've seen since then...

bioWheel said:

Too bad everyone is so upset about dirt. No mushrooms even with the 'wetter' Moisture Control soil hyroot.

Guys - there are gardens (indoor and out) everywhere across the US using Mg soils for Orchids, Dahlias, Geraniums, and the list goes on forever. Old ladies in Bumscrew Texas growing big, bad tomato plants and huge sunflowers. And they use MG.

I know it's great to think we're somehow separate from those 'old bags' and somehow we're growing aficionados where only the best will do. Bt it's just weed. A relatively easy plant to grow and that's why people can use all different kinds of dirt and still be successful.

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If growing decent weed is your objective, then rock on with your Miracle Grow. If you're trying to up your game, and dial your plants in to their full genetic potential then I suspect your research will lead you to organic soils. I was skeptical about this too (and too lazy to try it) at one point, but becoming a caregiver for sick patients pushed me down this path. PLUS, I can now re-use my soil for 5,6,7+ runs. What's not to like about growing better weed, saving money, and not supporting a chemi-based company that contaminates our soil and water?

Spicy and Wandgrow - I hear you - all good points and can't argue with trying to improve. And - I believe you so maybe I haven't done enough grows to really know. Not sure about going organic. Hey MG makes an organic product - maybe... ah, forget it.

As my knowledge of organic soil grows, I have come up with another question about cooking your soil. I hear a lot of people say "to finish it up I watered it with a gallon of water and let it sit for x amount of time". Would it not be a good idea to water it with something like black strap molasses?

d33p said:

As my knowledge of organic soil grows, I have come up with another question about cooking your soil. I hear a lot of people say "to finish it up I watered it with a gallon of water and let it sit for x amount of time". Would it not be a good idea to water it with something like black strap molasses?

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This is hard for me to explain.... Yes, with molasses. Lol

Hey d33p - again, this is only my 20th post so don't take anything I say serious. I think there are two issues here. First is the water. When people add water to "cook" their soil, they are providing a moist environment that will promote the activation and catalyzation for many of the reactions necessary for the limes, dolamites, worm castings, epsom salts...to do what they do best. Pure limes and salts are too concentrated to grow directly into, however after many weeks of mixing into a moist soil, they equilibrate into concentrations that are beneficial the soil matrix. The second issue, adding black strap molasses, is specifically to feed the microbial flora of the soil. The plants can't use the molasses, the bacteria, fungi, and protozoan within the soil use the molasses and replicate to enhance the growth of the roots. Some of what I say may be correct, the rest is me not knowing what I don't know. SOIL is key to your grow....that's the bottom line.