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50 Comments
Hey I know I said Bacterium spores at 1:00 and I meant colonies. Bacteria are counted in CFU (colony forming units) , whereas fungi are counted in spores. Sorry for the confusion I caused!
Just an fyi, splashless bleach isn't recommended for sanitization because it's got a lower concentration of actual bleach in it compared to standard disinfecting bleach. So you might want to double check to make sure you're actually disinfecting it and not just thinking you did because you used a "bleach".
Thank you for sharing this info. Very helpful! I use food grade hydrogen peroxide diluted with water. ❤🌱
I converted to Bootstrap Farmer trays and pots a couple of years ago… love 'em! Washing them in the dishwasher is a game changer for me–what a revelation!!! Dumb question… do you use dishwasher detergent or will the hot wash & dry be enough to sanitize the pots and trays?
Thanks for sharing. I'll have to disagree. While not a bad idea, the critters are in the soil anyway. Cleaning the containers won't do much after you add the grow material. In all my years it's never made any difference.
Thanks!
What about 30% agricultural vinegar?
Recently learned that a lot of black plastic is recycled from electronics and the plastic contains bromine, which is not good for us to eat and can leach out of plastic. Are these trays made from recycled black plastic?
Soap doesnt sterilize. Alcohol works by lysing the cells and bleach kills. Heat in the dishwasher is what kills.
I'm glad there is an alternative method. I'm allergic to bleach.
I find it kind of relaxing to wash everything and begin the season clean 😊 a toothbrush, bottle brush, a regular brush for dishes, a nice podcast and towels to stack everything on… 😊
Bleach increases PH. Ozonated water might be a better choice, just don't breathe ozone.
Just a suggestion……with bleach and scrubbing and splashing, u really should be protecting ur clothes…..👍🏻
Have you done a controlled experiment where you sterilize some trays and leave others to test this? Just curious. It seems like any new soil you put in the trays might still contain fusarium, verticillium, or other bad guys no matter what you do to the trays.
I personally have never found the time investment of washing all my seed starting equipment to be worth it in terms of losing plants if i don't. If i had particular viral wilts or similar, i might do that tray specifically but I've found that if you're going to lose to dampening off, it's still going to happen because you probably are keeping that soil surface too wet and the bacteria are in the soil. Most disease other than that isn't happening until my plants are older and transplanted outside, not at the seedling stage while they're still in a pot. I do see myself washing them if there's algae growth etc that i just don't want to look at lol.
Am I the only one who thought damping off was just caused by overwatering? I haven’t sanitized my trays but will this year!
To each their own, but I personally prefer viewing the diseases as selection pressures that help to ensure that, by the time I am saving seed from my plants, I am saving from the hardiest, most resilient, and locally adapted plants possible.
Thanks for this important information! I will start doing this.
Can we do a video on tips for cleaning grow bags?
Would vinegar work also?
I don't always find this to be necessary, and I don't want to keep plants that are exceptionally vulnerable to infection. There's no protecting them from these things once they're outside, and it's more a matter of harmful vs. beneficial fungi in the soil. I use my own compost as starting mix, and I find it helps to let the beneficial microbes outcompete everything else. I first noticed this issue when I was using "sterile" store bought mix in clean trays, and the house mold colonized the mix and killed my seedlings. The next time, I used compost with native fungi and noticed inkcaps pinning in the soil when it got too damp, and the plants survived.
I have polystyrene floating trays – will the bleach or alcohol eat at the trays??
Why couldn't you just wash the trays and pots with soap and water then spray with alcohol from a spray bottle?
I don't think it's time efficient, given the amount of seeds a plant can give you, plus I don't use those annoying trays, I do use an open tray and put all the seeds in there, and once they grow about an inch I'll move them individually to their own pot. If I need to clean pots, I'll use the waterhose and if I suspect contamination, I'll just spray some peroxide and be done with it. We need simple solutions, our time is being consumed at the rate of fire burning, be wise people and God bless you.
Chlorine bleach is an alkaline solution not acidic.
Non-splash bleach is not recommended for sanitization. Read the fine print. There is a "disinfecting" formula that is not non-splash.You want to be sure the bottle says Disinfecting Bleach on it.
I have Bootstrap Farmer sets. I hose all debris off outside, then put the little pots and trays in dishwasher. They come out like new. I suppose you could put some bleach in washer too.
This is probably a dumb question but after washing the trays in bleach should they be rinsed off or is the bleach residue ok for the plants?
I usually clean the plastic first in my sink to get it fairly clean to start. It's nice to have a sink in the basement.
a good bottle brush would work great.
I like to use a bottle brush to clean mine.
I think a $2 Walmart brand baby bottle brush would work wonders on those containers!
I use a probiotic type cleanser, APC 500. Sold by teraganix. I do use an old toothbrush thats been run thru the dishwasher😅 i do use bootstrap farmer, love their stuff
I was just wondering how to do this. You must be a little bit magic ❤
i was not aware this was so important thank you! ill be cleaning my trays from now on! i love your channel! been watching for years on my other channel youve taught me so much! just started my own channel so hopefully i can help some new growers too! ❤
It’s probably just too humid and still inside the greenhouse. Get some air flowing in the greenhouse. It will help with reducing the fungi. You only need it humid before the seeds pop up. After that the seedlings need totally different care.
for larger pots I have a garden toilet brush, gets all the sides in the larger pots quicker. Also you can use Star San as its a no rinse sanitizer usually used in brewing. soak the item for 2-3 min, scrub if you wish then let it air dry. I do scrub to make them look better, but the star san will have killed everything.
I've done this for years, usually with the random cheapo pots I got from buying other seedlings through the year.
Last year, I trialed Sili Seedlings' silicone pots, and fell in love with them for the same reason – you can just rinse them and throw them in the dishwasher to sanitize. I don't know that I'll 100% grow only in their pots, because I like to give some plants away so I use cheapo pots for that, but they worked really well and were super easy to clean. The silicone material makes it super easy to get seedlings out without damaging the roots. Also, you can write on them in dry erase and it stays until you wipe it off with a little bit of rubbing alcohol.
I wish to know of my local nurseries do this. I always have issues with at least one petunias every year. But if I do this to my personal pots would this help prevent it
Bleach has a pH of ~12. It is alkaline; the exact opposite of acidic.
I wash with soap and water and spray with steramine. Food safe. Tablets store easier than big bottles of bleach.
Or use last years tooth brush. I use them for all kinds of things. Some 9f us do not have dishwashers and would have to clean by hand. Bought Bootstrap Farmer trays and cups and they are nice!
Thanks for the tip. I've had some seedling die-off last season and will definitely try your tray-cleaning hack. Just wanted to mention that, in addition to sterilized trays, I use seed-starting mix that is also soiless and sterile, thus minimizing the risk of any kooties infecting my seedlings. Happy gardening.👍
No chemical option:
As I transplant, I accumulate the used in a large bin with water, soaking them. Then I wash trays/pots with water & often a scrubby. Then I sit them all out in the sun & let the sun dry them & kill bacteria/fungus. Then I put them away for next yr/time. If the sun is very hot at that time, I watch how long I leave them out or run the risk of melting them.
Timely video. I was just cleaning up my outdoor area and collecting up everything in preparation for seed starting. Will do the bleach too. Do you need to rinse? Guess the foot of snow isn't enough. 😂
Omg I never even considered the dishwasher! Thank you for the tip. I do have those sturdy trays and cells.
I need to buy dishwasher safe seed starting pots.
At the end of season i power spray off my seedling equipment and let then sun dry. Im usually more worried about bacterial or fungal spores coming in with new soil or compost.
Luke how about vinegar. Can I sanitize with vinegar?
Awesome video. I have bleaching to do. But hey, just like the black spatulas, ladles, etc., these are black plastic, too. No heat! There's a risk of fumes in the air that are toxic when black plastic gets hot. Many articles on the internet. Gotta go!