Mildew?

I use two 5 gal. pots to grow. Those two pots had FF soil in them were sitting for about 4 months. Actually one pot was sitting for about 6 months because the plant that was in that one had been male and pulled. The other pot went on to produce a nice Skunk female. After it finished, I mixed in some more perlite, more dolomite lime , and some bone meal but decided on trying to reuse the FF ocean forest again and let the pots sit for awhile. But when I watered for the first time for another grow, before I put seedlings in, the soil put out this strong, sweetish, acrid mildew smell. I was thinking I should douse the pots with some hydrogen peroxide, or should I just scrap this soil and mix up some more fresh FF, dolomite, bone meal, and perlite?

If you're getting a smell like that, then I'd definitely toss it out and start fresh. By reusing soil, you sometimes also have to watch out for salt buildup from the previous grow, and pest eggs. Now it sounds like there might be a bacterial or fungal issue as well. I wouldn't risk it, just get your hands on some new soil.

Take care. :jointsmile:

What I came up with; I'm trying putting the pots into my chest freezer for a few days. Hopefully that'll cure the problem. That's my cheap-ass way out. I grew totally organic and used only fish emulsion in veg and molasses in flower. So there shouldn't be a huge salt build up. You're most likely right and I've thought about that, even cleaning the pots with alcohol after I dump em. It's probably best not to screw around and just go for what I know will work, like that. Do you think freezing is a good way or should I just dump 'em.

Well, to be completely honest, I don't know at what temperatures mildew, etc., will be neutralized. So I can't answer either way for sure. It would probably be an effective method for killing pests, as would heating up the soil excessively. But again, I don't know enough about mildew/mold to know what temperatures are needed to destroy it. Maybe Stinky can chime in and give you a better idea. Her profession enables her to know a whole lot more about this kind of thing than I ever could.

Spores don't die of cold. That's how you still get a fresh crop of mushrooms, mildew, soil mycos, etc. every spring, even in places where we have a hard freeze.
Throw the soil in your garden where the naturally occurring beneficials can do battle with the unwanted stuff, and start fresh.