Hey guys, had some new soil "cooking" inthe garage, and had to go away for a few days. Temps dropped down to near freezing while I was gone (mid-30's). Would this have "killed" my soil? Do the microbes die at those temps? Or am I just being paranoid? Soil is about 2.5 weeks old at this point. Seemed very healthy, had some "Santas's Beard" early on, smells wonderful!
They just go dormant until temps get warmer. 55-60F and above should be ok. The warmer the better. If you're getting Santas beard, I would assume things are ok.
water with warm water, maybe an act or EWC slurry if your concerned about viable micro herd numbers. Don't let it get that cold again. No worries.
Thanks guys. I moved the soil to a better location, was just worried that I'd have to mix up another SS which would push my timeline back (yet again). Oh well, seems like everything will be Ok. I've learned that *patience* is the most important "skill" in growing Cheers
bacteria dont die from cold, if they did the earth would be barren a long time ago. i dont think freezing can really hurt anything since even if not all survive they reproduce rapidly when it gets warmer.
This is a very timely question for me. Just mixed up a batch of soil today - east coast Philly here so temps in the 40-60s and I was wondering since I have a big ass tote outside of freshly mixed soils. Warmer is better for all around microbial and fungal growth is MY thought. Here's an easy read on it: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16329892 More in depth and relevant to what I was looking for here, different bacteria thrive and different temps... I kinda knew that since our compost bin doesn't stop composting even tho it freezes solid in the winter time. I've collected and stored compost from the bin right at thaw and also collected worm castings in late summer and vermi-compost in warm temps. They all look different and have a differing texture as well. This would be an excellent topic for more science. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1016/S0168-6...
A while back, I read about a guy who put a thermometer in his bin to monitor core temps. He mentioned a "trick" he did when he wanted it to heat up a bit. He took a quart of pelletized alfalfa (feed store grade) and poured a half gallon of boiling water into a bucket and after it turned into a steaming pile of alfalfa meal, he incorporated the steaming meal into his bins. I've done this with the alfalfa. Didn't think it was going to make a difference, but days later, my bins were toasty. Very warm. Science is neat!
This lady is no joke I be lurking feeding on the lil knowledge turds u drop lol SOLAR SPOT http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1334958-Jay's-Solar-Eclipse-Journeys-and-Organic-Adventures
Yeah that alfalfa will heat it up a bit SOLAR SPOT http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1334958-Jay's-Solar-Eclipse-Journeys-and-Organic-Adventures
thanks jay!! Feel free to join up! Lots of stuff has been discussed already. Everyone is just enjoying the new flowering plants!
I just keep my soil in Rubbermaid bins indoors that is plenty sufficient to keep the micro herd warm and happy