I have been researching in to Victorian and Wartime garden practices when I stumbled across methods they used for sterilising soil/ spent compost to re-use for seed sowing compost . One of the biggest expenses of having an allotment seems to be the price of compost for seed sowing .
Cutting the story short basically you have to boil the soil for 30 minutes . I use a 20 brick ‘rocket stove’ at the allotment powered by dried weeds , wood and old newspapers but you can (and I have ) use one of those portable gas stoves that take gas cartridges and an old non-stick pan and lid.
The method is to fill the pan with soil / spent compost up to an inch from the rim .
Boil some water and add around 500ml of boiling water (it needs roughly to be the amount that would fill the empty pan up to a depth of one inch ) .
Add the boiling water to the soil/spent compost . Put the lid on the pan and simmer for 30 minutes.
Once cooled the sterilised mixture is ready to use for sowing.
Please note this is a seed sowing mixture and will contain no nutrients as seeds do not require nutrients to germinate .
Use your sieved home-made compost for potting on.
Also please don’t try this indoors – the mixture has an unpleasant odour that your family wont thank you for.
Boil some water and add around 500ml of boiling water (it needs roughly to be the amount that would fill the empty pan up to a depth of one inch ) .
Add the boiling water to the soil/spent compost . Put the lid on the pan and simmer for 30 minutes.
Once cooled the sterilised mixture is ready to use for sowing.
Please note this is a seed sowing mixture and will contain no nutrients as seeds do not require nutrients to germinate .
Use your sieved home-made compost for potting on.
Also please don’t try this indoors – the mixture has an unpleasant odour that your family wont thank you for.
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