Is my anaerobic soil fixed?

[CenTxBrandon]

I chitted some potatoes, and they're now dried and ready to plant. Only problem is, I discovered a couple of days ago that the soil I was planning on using (it was in grow pots at a 5 acre property that we just bought), is anaerobic.

The pots didn't have drain holes, and upon dumping it all out onto a tarp to fertilize and mix up well, it had this horrible smell. I know the previous owners had grown something in them, just not sure what.

I'm new to gardening, and this was just going to be kind of a test run for my first potato planting. The soil is still drying on the tarp. I'm just curious if that will fix the soil. There's a fair amount of mulch mixed in, and I have some hay that I can add. I'm just worried that if I don't get my chitted potatoes planted soon, they will go bad.

I suppose I could go buy new soil, but I hated to waste all that I have if it can be fixed. I have cloth grow bags to plant the potatoes in that will drain well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Susan BBPM]

I chitted some potatoes, and they're now dried and ready to plant. Only problem is, I discovered a couple of days ago that the soil I was planning on using (it was in grow pots at a 5 acre property that we just bought), is anaerobic.

The pots didn't have drain holes, and upon dumping it all out onto a tarp to fertilize and mix up well, it had this horrible smell. I know the previous owners had grown something in them, just not sure what.

I'm new to gardening, and this was just going to be kind of a test run for my first potato planting. The soil is still drying on the tarp. I'm just curious if that will fix the soil. There's a fair amount of mulch mixed in, and I have some hay that I can add. I'm just worried that if I don't get my chitted potatoes planted soon, they will go bad.

I suppose I could go buy new soil, but I hated to waste all that I have if it can be fixed. I have cloth grow bags to plant the potatoes in that will drain well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

One option (if you don't get a positive answer to your direct question) would be to buy a little bit of new potting compost to put at the bottom of your containers. That will allow the roots of the potatoes to grow into good soil. You could use the bad soil (improved with compost or whatever the pros on here recommend) to cover the potatoes.

I know people report great success with covering potatoes with anything from grass clippings to an old tarp. It seems to be the soil underneath them that matters.

By the time you harvest your potatoes your soil should be in good condition.

 

[CenTxBrandon]

One option (if you don't get a positive answer to your direct question) would be to buy a little bit of new potting compost to put at the bottom of your containers. That will allow the roots of the potatoes to grow into good soil. You could use the bad soil (improved with compost or whatever the pros on here recommend) to cover the potatoes.

I know people report great success with covering potatoes with anything from grass clippings to an old tarp. It seems to be the soil underneath them that matters.

By the time you harvest your potatoes your soil should be in good condition.

Thanks. I went ahead and planted, so we'll see. The soil was loose and fluffy, fairly dry, and had a MUCH less offensive odor. I added some worm castings. I guess time will tell. Not a huge problem if they don't produce. Almost no time, energy or money invested, as it was all stuff I already had on hand.

 

[Chuck]

If the soil was anaerobic for an extended period of time all of the soil microbes were killed due to lack of oxygen. If you cover the surface of the soil with a good compost and regularly pour on diluted molasses it will soon restore your soil. Otherwise the microbes cannot replenish themselves except through the worm castings and will stay in this condition for quite a period of time. If you used organic fertilizer this will also help replenish the micro-organisms. If you used a synthetic fertilizer it will not.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

amazing what a bit of drying out can do. I mix in a bit of ordinary garden soil in cases like that, it is full of microorganisms, and well mixed in they soon multiply, if it didn't drain the water won't have washed out the nutrients. Good luck.

 

[CenTxBrandon]

If the soil was anaerobic for an extended period of time all of the soil microbes were killed due to lack of oxygen. If you cover the surface of the soil with a good compost and regularly pour on diluted molasses it will soon restore your soil. Otherwise the microbes cannot replenish themselves except through the worm castings and will stay in this condition for quite a period of time. If you used organic fertilizer this will also help replenish the micro-organisms. If you used a synthetic fertilizer it will not.

I did mix in some organic fertilizer. Also, there was quite a bit of mulch already in it. Hopefully things turn out well.

 

[Chuck]

I did mix in some organic fertilizer. Also, there was quite a bit of mulch already in it. Hopefully things turn out well.

Just feed the microbes with molasses or any other carbohydrate. One cannot have too many.

 

[CenTxBrandon]

Just feed the microbes with molasses or any other carbohydrate. One cannot have too many.

Is regular molasses ok? I've read that it should be backstrap, unsulfered.

 

[Chuck]

Is regular molasses ok? I've read that it should be backstrap, unsulfered.

Any kind is OK. The only difference between any of the molasses is the addition of a small amount of sulfur as a preservative and the amount of sugar present. Molasses made from young sugarcane isn't as sweet naturally as horticultural molasses and sulfur is added to it. This is feed grade molasses for cattle. Blackstrap molasses is the best molasses of all but it is food grade for humans and much much more expensive. It is boiled 3 times and no sulfur is added. Horticultural molasses is boiled twice and no sulfur is added. Medina Ag. sells horticultural molasses all over Texas for about 12$ per gallon. Even if sulfur is added, one would have to use a LOT of molasses over a LONG period of time to change anything in the soil. Sulfur lowers soil Ph and lowering soil Ph here in Central Texas is nothing but wishful thinking. Molasses has a large amount of trace minerals in it but what we actually use it for is to increase the numbers of soil microbes.

 

[CenTxBrandon]

Any kind is OK. The only difference between any of the molasses is the addition of a small amount of sulfur as a preservative and the amount of sugar present. Molasses made from young sugarcane isn't as sweet naturally as horticultural molasses and sulfur is added to it. This is feed grade molasses for cattle. Blackstrap molasses is the best molasses of all but it is food grade for humans and much much more expensive. It is boiled 3 times and no sulfur is added. Horticultural molasses is boiled twice and no sulfur is added. Medina Ag. sells horticultural molasses all over Texas for about 12$ per gallon. Even if sulfur is added, one would have to use a LOT of molasses over a LONG period of time to change anything in the soil. Sulfur lowers soil Ph and lowering soil Ph here in Central Texas is nothing but wishful thinking. Molasses has a large amount of trace minerals in it but what we actually use it for is to increase the numbers of soil microbes.

Thanks alot, my friend. Fantastic info. I appreciate it!

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Molasses is a specialty thing here in UK and pretty dear to go pouring into the ground. I think most of our sugar is from sugar beet, and is white sugar, would that do any good do you think?

 

[Chuck]

Molasses is a specialty thing here in UK and pretty dear to go pouring into the ground. I think most of our sugar is from sugar beet, and is white sugar, would that do any good do you think?

Yes, any carbohydrate or sugar is great. Many decades ago before I found out about molasses there was a soft drink bottling company, Dr Pepper, in Austin Texas and one of the employees there was friends with my dad. He gave my dad the left over, almost empty, jugs of syrup which was mostly sugar. There would be a pint or quart left in the bottom of the jug. We had an enormous compost pile and one of my chores was to pour this stuff over the pile and to dilute it with water while still in the jug. I would then pour it on the plants. Worked great. I have since also used stale beer which works pretty good too.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Yes, any carbohydrate or sugar is great. Many decades ago before I found out about molasses there was a soft drink bottling company, Dr Pepper, in Austin Texas and one of the employees there was friends with my dad. He gave my dad the left over, almost empty, jugs of syrup which was mostly sugar. There would be a pint or quart left in the bottom of the jug. We had an enormous compost pile and one of my chores was to pour this stuff over the pile and to dilute it with water while still in the jug. I would then pour it on the plants. Worked great. I have since also used stale beer which works pretty good too.

I'm glad about that, as I added a bit of sugar to my bags of stuff from the bottom of the hedge, it's mostly broken up small twigs and leaves, very dry, and as I was putting some water in I thought 'Why not?' . When I say very dry, a twenty five liter black bag took a gallon of water, folded the top over and stood it in the sun, left for twenty four hours and it was damp through, but not wet.