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Macomb County

I was asked if we add mircobes to our starting mix, won't they be killed when the pots heat-up in the sun? Our starts do get pretty warm in their pots before we transplant them. I've got a late start, so I'm lining my pots up in a row and placing sheet of white styrofoam in front of them to reflect heat and hopefully keep the soil in the pots cooler. Just in case.

When mircobes start dieing at 120 degrees, does that mean we should wait and add our mircobes to our planting holes when we transplant to be safe?

6/6/2011 11:22:18 AM

Bristol R.I. USA

I've been adding it to my plants without even thinking about it. I think its important to get it in to innoculate the soil. Asap.

6/6/2011 4:26:27 PM

Rapid City, SD

just my 2 cents here......we use a stearilized seed starting mix........so.........why add anything to the mix as it may cause you problems when starting seeds...we add microbes at the time the plant goes in the ground ONLY.

6/6/2011 5:47:24 PM

Pataskala,OH

There is no way the soil is going to exceed 120. If it does the plant would die. I think it is safe to use the microbes in the seed starting mix.

6/6/2011 6:05:18 PM

Bristol R.I. USA

I have a formula when it comes to myco and that formula is P=plenty. I use a ton of it.

6/6/2011 9:16:37 PM

Anamosa, IA [email protected]

Microbes can take heat. They are what heat up your compost pile and cause spontaneous combustion in hay that is baled up too green. When starting seeds, I put a mix of potting soil with Mico and Jobes Organics fertilizer with beneficial bacteria in the bottom half. The top half is sterilized Jiffy mix. The Jiffy mix prevents damping off at the soil line and the bottom gives the plant a good growth boost. My plants start out a lot quicker since I have been doing this.

6/7/2011 8:18:09 AM

Macomb County

This was one of those "out of the mouth of babes" question.
It threw me because I'd never thought about it. My curiousity/concern also is, whether the heat stresses our plants too and how can we tell?

6/7/2011 1:03:38 PM