Disinfecting and cleaning equipment

[monkeyboy]

I've transplanted all the remaining veg into the raised beds. The propagator is now empty. The plastic pots I've used for potting up are all empty. The only remaining pots in use are the ones holding the jalapeno and padron peppers, and the bottomless ones for the tomatoes.

What should I do to ensure the pots and propagator equipment is clean and free from disease?

Can I reuse capillary matting or should I just chuck it away (especially as I've got metres of the stuff)?

[mothhawk]

if your plants were healthy when you planted them out there is not likely to be disease in your pots. I swill the compost off plant pots and seed trays in the water butt and leave in the sun to dry. That's as much as I ever do, life's too short to fuss about sterilising pots.

[Small pumpkin]

Agree with mothhark 100%.
I would rinse and dry the matting. I like to get two years out of it.

[veggiechicken]

I let the compost in the pots dry, then brush it off into another pot for topping up plants.
A swill in a bucket if they're lucky.
As Mothhawk says..........life's too short etc.

[Penellype]

In his fascinating and excellent book "Gardening Myths and Misconceptions", Charles Dowding says that it is not necessary to sterilize pots and equipment. He says he never even brushes or cleans any of his trays or pots between uses and simply refills them with new compost, 3 or 4 times a year.

I rinse out pots that I want to put away to store, because I like my stored pots and the boxes I keep them in to be reasonably clean. If I have had a bad infestation of aphids and want to reuse the pot and compost fairly quickly I pour boiling water over it to kill any stray aphids. Other than that, I avoid planting the same type of crop straight away in the same pot of compost, and that's about it.

[Chestnut]

I clean in cold water, bit of a scrub with an old washing up brush to get rid of any bits of debris.

When I acquired a load of second hand pots, i put all the washed pots in disinfectant for ten mins, then rinsed them- just to minimise my chances of unwittingly introduced some infection.

[Bren In Pots]

A swill in a bucket if they're lucky.
As Mothhawk says..........life's too short etc.

That's what my plant pots get, only because they stack better if there's less compost stuck to them.

[DannyK]

I find capillary matting, which has been in place for years, useful source of begonia sutherlandii and a hardy begonia. Just scrape moss off it occasionally. Expecting to find some rooted fuchsia procumbens today.

[monkeyboy]

Thanks for the advice. I'll give all the pots a brush down and rinse out for next time.

[Jimmy]

In spring before the potting season I fill a bucket with Jayes fluid.
Each night I pop some trays and pots in to soak. The next night I turn the trays over to do both ends.
Dump them in GH to dry and do another batch.
Works for me
Jimmy

[ESBkevin]

Back in the days of clay pots and garden boys in training, there was a need to wash the pots which absorbed all sorts and the ability to get them washed cheaply with child labour.
Modern plastic pots and cell trays absorbe nothing nasty and so a quick swill in water will render them fit to reuse.