Old bag of Happy Frog... Surprises inside - is it still usable?

N

NewGrower2011

Well-Known Member
So I bought some FFoF and a bag of Happy Frog that didn't get used for years... The FFoF was out in a shed and turned into a dry pile of dust over the multiple winters it endured. When it got used, it was mixed with other soil ingredients and fresh FFoF. Not a sign of a problem with those dry bags.

Tonight I went to finally use this HF bag that had set in the garage this same period of time - much more climate controlled but still subject to tons of dry air during the winter. When I cracked it open there were all types of mushrooms molding in the bag... You can tell it's definitely been very active at some point - it was kind of unexpected so I haven't fully opened it the rest of the way to check it out - I just sat it aside and decided to not use it; Just in case since dealing with an unknown.

So - is the funk actually good and just use the soil and include it in my soil or is it a throw it out deal or some other steps to get it back to a usable state... Or is it just a very very long cook time.
 
Mazer

Mazer

Well-Known Member
NewGrower2011 said:
So I bought some FFoF and a bag of Happy Frog that didn't get used for years... The FFoF was out in a shed and turned into a dry pile of dust over the multiple winters it endured. When it got used, it was mixed with other soil ingredients and fresh FFoF. Not a sign of a problem with those dry bags.

Tonight I went to finally use this HF bag that had set in the garage this same period of time - much more climate controlled but still subject to tons of dry air during the winter. When I cracked it open there were all types of mushrooms molding in the bag... You can tell it's definitely been very active at some point - it was kind of unexpected so I haven't fully opened it the rest of the way to check it out - I just sat it aside and decided to not use it; Just in case since dealing with an unknown.

So - is the funk actually good and just use the soil and include it in my soil or is it a throw it out deal or some other steps to get it back to a usable state... Or is it just a very very long cook time.
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Dear NewGrower2011
Your Soil is either gold or not so good. First, test the pH. Then try to sprout some pumpkin, tomato, clover seeds in it. If it works and the plant are growing healthy, the use it in for your more precious seeds/plants.
Otherwise, do not discard it. Never discard soil. It is a resource just like water, gold, petrol, water... Just use it for something less sensitive. Or in your garden, ornamental planters etc.

SoilConservationningly yours,
M
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
I'd use it. I put spent mushroom compost in my recycling mix all the time. Maybe add it to spent root balls. Should never need a longer cook time than 30 days and that's only if you add more stuff to it like bone meal or something.
 
N

NewGrower2011

Well-Known Member
Sounds good. I was cautiously optimistic... I can't really recall how long it sat under that work bench... measured in years at least for sure. It was my backup plan for any seedlings, etc and I worked off clones for a long stretch and simply didn't need it until now...
 
Mazer

Mazer

Well-Known Member
Richard Drysift said:
I'd use it. I put spent mushroom compost in my recycling mix all the time. Maybe add it to spent root balls. Should never need a longer cook time than 30 days and that's only if you add more stuff to it like bone meal or something.
Click to expand...
Dear Richard Drysift,
I have discovered the wonders of ROLS 378 days ago and I am still learning a lot. As I have neither tested my soil for pH nor anything else I am not sure how healthy it is but the girls do good in it.
Why would you not let the soil cook for more than 30 days? I happened to keep my soil (moistened and aerated every so often) for more than 60 days before replanting in it.
Could you possibly reduce the cooking time to say 15/20 days? I use no animal by-products beside worm compost.

SeedingThingsUpingly yours,
M
 
Richard Drysift

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
You can let your soil cook as long as you want but the idea behind doing it is to normalize the ph. Usually when you add a lot of raw organic material like soil amendments, minerals, compost and whatnot the ph tends to dip down a bit too acidic. You need a decent quality soil probe to know for sure but if you just let it set for 30 days it is usually long enough for soil microbes to begin breaking it down and for the ph to rise in to an available range for absorbtion. It really depends upon what you add; your mix could be usable in a short amount of time if you have let's say a bluelab soil probe to check what the actual ph is at the root zone. Once it gets above 6.5 ph the soil is ready to use.
Doesn't matter what you amend with either animal by products are ok; of couse that is a matter of choice but cooking the soil is simply to prevent lock out. I use chicken and cow manure myself along with EWC, crushed oyster shell, and fish bone meal but it takes awhile for all that to begin decomposition. That's why soil needs cook time. Sometimes if I need to reuse a mix in a hurry I will just add fresh EWC and use it right away. Compost doesn't really need cook time as it's already decomposed.
 
Go go n chill

Go go n chill

Well-Known Member
Richard Drysift said:
You can let your soil cook as long as you want but the idea behind doing it is to normalize the ph. Usually when you add a lot of raw organic material like soil amendments, minerals, compost and whatnot the ph tends to dip down a bit too acidic. You need a decent quality soil probe to know for sure but if you just let it set for 30 days it is usually long enough for soil microbes to begin breaking it down and for the ph to rise in to an available range for absorbtion. It really depends upon what you add; your mix could be usable in a short amount of time if you have let's say a bluelab soil probe to check what the actual ph is at the root zone. Once it gets above 6.5 ph the soil is ready to use.
Doesn't matter what you amend with either animal by products are ok; of couse that is a matter of choice but cooking the soil is simply to prevent lock out. I use chicken and cow manure myself along with EWC, crushed oyster shell, and fish bone meal but it takes awhile for all that to begin decomposition. That's why soil needs cook time. Sometimes if I need to reuse a mix in a hurry I will just add fresh EWC and use it right away. Compost doesn't really need cook time as it's already decomposed.
Click to expand...
Thx for the info
 
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