is it possible to sterilize sand with household bleach and use it as a substrate to germinate seeds?
Do not do it. You will need long washing with excessive volume of sterile water to remove chlorine from the sterilized sand.
Polarisation holds the best possibility to sterilize sand or soil for that matter...
Infact , sand will not hold that much chloride to tightly compared to any other soil particles like clay or loam.So in that condition , flushing chloride out of sand will not be that difficult...
That's the reason, soil soil polarisation is still considered by far the best. But it remains to be seen , can we make soil solarisation effective during winter..??
Heating sand on a large scale may not be feasible compared to other options..
Solarization has the advantage that there is no sterilant afterwards that might be toxic to seeds. Put it in a box with a transparent lid in the sun, and it will heat up to pasteurization temperature. Alternately pipe steam through it.
Depending on what you are planting, residual bacteria and fungi might not prevent germination, but sterile media, or sterile media inoculated with beneficial mycorrhizae and good bacteria, are safest.
Anyone having data on changes on soil microbiome in response to different methods of solarisation , may share his experiences ...
Thanks all. Very important answeres! I think heating in an oven is the easiest.
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