"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

"shazzbat" wrote
"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
Broadback wrote:
Thought I would make my own compost for my tubs and save a bit of
money.
However is there a practical way of sterilising fairly large amounts,
say about the amount that large shop bought bags contain?

I've heard that one way to do this is to use a steam generator (such as
a wallpaper stripper) to force the steam through the compost. No idea
if it works, or how much steam you would need for it to be fully
effective.

I must say that I've often wondered about the necessity of using
sterilised soil. I guess that if you are trying to germinate seeds,
then sterilised soil has the advantage that what comes up is what you
have sown, rather than a lot of weeds. But in terms of sterilisation to
remove bacteria and fungi, well, perhaps it does more harm than good.
Many plants require - or at least make use of - certain fungi to enable
healthy growth. If those are not present the plant will struggle.
Perhaps try using unsterilised compost and put it in a propagator for a
month before you put your seeds in. You could then pull up anything
which germinates, or grows from a piece of root, before putting in your
seeds.


Or you could microwave it.


I can just see the look on my wife's face if I suggested that! (That
"silly old sod" look)


It would work, though! For a small quantity. I'm not likely to be putting
my 2 4ft x 6ft compost heaps in my microwave any time soon, however, I'd be
bankrupted by the electricity bill..