This week we’ve been getting on with the Steam Sterilization programme. Before we can get this seasons new crops into the ground we have to clean the soil to make sure that it is free from weeds and disease.
We do this by chaining a giant sheet over the gound and using super heated steam pumped into it at 220 degrees. It takes about 4 or 5 hours to steam one sheet which covers two planting beds. The super heated steam penetrates to a depth of 25 to 30cm heating the soil to 85 to 90 degrees.
Whilst this is the best way to prepare a house for planting it comes at a cost with the boiler which creates the steam being run on ever increasingly expensive oil.
