Half-Baked

Have you ever baked something that tasted absolutely terrible? Well I did. It was completely inedible. What was it you may be asking? It was dirt. Yes, actual dirt - potting soil to be exact! All the soil that used to be in my large self-watering planter is now sitting elsewhere, waiting to be used. However, since it has been exposed to the elements for the last year, it may quite possibly have fungus, spores, left over plant disease, etc., etc., that could devestate my new little seedlings. I wanted to use this regular potting soil for the transplants in the four-inch pots. However, I didn't want to endanger them with the possible equivalent of plant plague, so I learned how to "steralize" soil. There is an actual recipe for this:

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Soil

Steralization

Soil

Large pan

Thermometer

Foil

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Place moist soil in pan and spread no more than four inches deep and cover tightly with foil. Place candy or meat thermometer in center and place in oven. When soil reaches 180 degrees, heat at this constant temperature for 30 minutes. Do not allow soil to go above 200 degrees, as plant toxins may be released at this high temperature.

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That's it! I've been told soil sometimes smells really bad when you do this, especially if it has certain "cow" fertalizer in it (if you know what I mean) but mine did not, and so it did not drive us out of the house!

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So I am now officially a soil chef. Lets hope my little transplants grow nice and healthy because of this. Of course, if you buy brand new soil, then you don't have to worry about this, or you could just live on the edge and take a chance with the old soil!

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Little fungus

growing among us

now you are no more

when i close the oven door