What up everyone. I am mixing up a batch of "Super Soil", and I'm basically following Subcool's recipe. He says to wet the soil mix and let it sit outside in the sun for 30 days, but I am a little hesitant to do this. I am a bit confused about the issue of leaving soil outside. I have read numerous thread about Fox Farm's soil being infested with root aphids or fungus gnats. People seem to say that the bug problem with Fox Farm's is due to their soil being stored outside either at HQ or at some point when being shipped to the store. I also see a lot of stores that do store their soil outside, and have read that you should not buy soil from stores that do not keep it indoors. Yet my local nursery sells mushroom compost that sits outside in a large pile and it seems that any sort of compost would have a chance of getting bugs unless your are composting indoors. It just would just seem like soil has to have been outside at some point and I question whether that truly is a cause for bug infestation. Any opinions on this issue would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advanced.
with a lid on it? if yes, then what is the point in keeping it outdoors... if no, then the problem of bugs, mold, etc still remain.
Agreed. It seems like the whole issue depends on whether the soil is near a large infestation of bugs. I would assume the less bugs the soil is around, the less of a chance their is of infestation. I just think why not store the soil inside in closed bins. The whole point of letting the soil cook, is letting it be exposed to the heat of the sun, which is still possible with lid on the container of soil.
I could only think of putting a clear plastic board over the bin, but then you would have to open the plastic lid every few hours for exchanging stale air with fresh air.