my soil went anaerobic

Well, my organic has been sitting for a week and smelled horrible and rotten, so im sure it has gone anaerobic. I put it in a bigger container and added some more pro-mix to absorb up some of the excess moisture. It doesnt stink too bad anymore, but im concerned if its usable. Im going to buy a kiddie pool and put it in that. Im going to add some composted manure. Ive been reading up, but get conflicting opinions. What do you guys think...ruined or can it be fixed?

Fixed - if it was ever broken at all.

Jerry

haha, thanks jer-bear. Simple enough. Im super new to this, so I didnt know if there could still be bad microbes left, or anything like that.

Aerobic bacteria dominate anaerobic bacteria - generally.

HTH

CQ

Use extra-large SmartPots to cook your soil and you'll be WAY ahead of the game as it relates to over-hydrated, anaerobic conditions.

Rubbermade should be marked with a 'Use With Caution' sticker for organic gardeners.

"Worthless" - IMHO

CQ

Good thinking comfrey. Im planning on growing with them, but I didnt think of cooking the soil with them.

Untreated burlap sacks (i.e. no Copper Sulfate treatment) works too. Get these from a coffee roaster - the bags that the coffee comes are untreated.

Hopefully

CQ

I bought 8 large, untreated burlap sacks to cook my last soil mix in. I soaked them down (drained well) and left them in the shade to "cook" for a month, out behind the shed.

I went to move one and it disintegrated in my hands. What a mess. I vote for the smartpot fabric. That burlap just rotted out on me too quick. I thought the same ting - breathe well, perfect. It was all good until they fell apart. It surprised me as it really hadnt been too long.

I'm gonna use my giant homemade smartpots next time.

jerry.

I bought 8 large, untreated burlap sacks to cook my last soil mix in. I soaked them down (drained well) and left them in the shade to "cook" for a month, out behind the shed.

I went to move one and it disintegrated in my hands. What a mess. I vote for the smartpot fabric. That burlap just rotted out on me too quick. I thought the same ting - breathe well, perfect. It was all good until they fell apart. It surprised me as it really hadnt been too long.

I'm gonna use my giant homemade smartpots next time.

jerry.

You must have found the pure raw bags. Yeah - they're made from plant material and are subject to 'composting' like anything else.

SmartPots = post-consumer plastics. Can't compost plastic......

CQ

What exactly is a smart pot? I've never seen one. I'm using a blow up ring kiddie pool lol

SmartPots

When you care enough to use the very best

i use recycled pallets, they are free and all you have to do is tie 4 together. they are perfect size for hot composting and they breathe well. i stick bamboo in the slots throughout the pile and that helps it stay aerobic. as the bamboo rots it leaves nice hollow spaces throughout.

i always get hot compost without problems and a quick turn around time usually.

thats one hell of an idea there, organicN40. I moved mine to a kiddie pool in a nice mound and mix it several times a day. I use a stick to poke holes in the mound as well, so it stays airated better. So far I the bad stuff hasent returned.

Chrontar, it was probably fine the whole time. Cooking soil can and usually does smell some - depending on what you have mixed in it can be downright yucky for a couple of days.

Like CQ said, luckily aerobic usually beats out the anaerobic microbes every time - if something actually is anaerobic, then just by aerating it for a few days usually "fixes" it.

Untreated burlap sacks (i.e. no Copper Sulfate treatment) works too. Get these from a coffee roaster - the bags that the coffee comes are untreated.

Hopefully

CQ

so....does the stinky foot smell from the burlap sacks mean it was treated or untreated?


because i found a pile of old burlap coffee bags from ghana and various places around south america......but every bag smelled like a foot.


just trying to figure out which ones to avoid






-OSUB

Why, the treated ones, of course...

*lol*

I'm such a smartass.

OSUB

The 'natural' stuff smells like old plant material - like hay or something. The treated stuff has a smell you should be familiar with in the horticulture industry - SpinOut

"Better living through modern chemistry" - Monsanto tag-line at their exhibit at Disneyland

SmartPots

When you care enough to use the very best

does anyone know how these compare to the phat sacks that htg supply sells? i'm guessing they're basically the same thing, right? i always try to go the cheap route, but if they're garbage i'd rather spend the extra dough on the good stuff.

They work - they're knock-offs of SmartPots out of China

They work - they're knock-offs of SmartPots out of China

in that case i'll go with the smart pots based on principle. never know what extra toxic goodies they put in the stuff from china and lord knows they have enough of our money already. thanks for the feedback.