I read an article a while back on turf scenery that mentioned baking dirt (from the backyard, gardening center- wherever) at 400 degrees for an hour to sterilize it and use as turf on your layout. Anyone ever try this before? Would it work with sand also? Would either of these hold some kind of spray paint or something similar so I could use it as ballast or even grass?
Baking dirt is mostly to destroy organics that might cause mold or mildew growth on the layout. Yes it works and dries the dirt too, making it easier to apply.
Tilden
No I haven’t![:P]
I used dirt from my garden sifted when it was bone dry during the summer. I merely added some plaster of paris to it to make it hard to move around once set, and used a light yellow glue mixture as a wetter once I had it in place and groomed the way I wanted. So far, after a full year, I have no creepy crawlies or weird coloured thingies emerging from the yard where it is placed. I didn’t bother microwaving it or baking it.
I am an agronomist/soil scientist and the lab where my soil samples go is about 1,500 miles away, so I grind the samples down and screen them (2mm mesh screen) as they would at the lab (they’re dried first). Out of about a 1 1/2 lb. soil sample the lab needs about 1/3 of a cup, so that’s all I send them. That makes for lots of nicely ground, fine soil left over. I will use this on my scenery base. I don’t think baking the soil is necessary unless you’re in a basement where the humidity would stimulate microbial growth. The glue as a set for your soil will also discourage any “creepy crawlies” too!. Ground soil is generally too fine to use as track ballast, I would think.
This thread is not about what I thought it was at all!
When I saw the title “Baking Dirt” I thought someone else had tried my sister’s cooking!
[:P][:o)]
I definetly should not read these forums at work… posts like this make me laugh so loudly that all my office mates think i am insane. 
If using sand for track ballast - I’d be worried about the fine grains sneaking into locomotive mechanisms. Perhaps if it’s not loose and used away from trackage ( ie; beach, farm, roadways) and loose stuff vacuumed up.
Mud pie for Thanksgiving?
The biggest problem with using sand or rock for ballast is the sound amplification factor if it is glued down, because it acts like a drum head.
Oh how I love the smell of baking dirt in the morning.
I have used potting dirt meant for cactus as it comes quite dry. I sift it but had not thought I needed to bake it. Seems to me time in a microwave would do the same thing.
Dave Nelson
Charles, that may very well be. I had anticipated this potential problem when I was considering my plywood yard. I decided to overlay it entirely with a layer of 1/8" yellow vinyl underlay for flooring. I glued it to the plywood, and then had a smooth, but quiet, surface on which to harden my plaster/real dirt mixture. I am pleased to say that is was one of the smartest things I thought of while building the layout.
If you are going to use material from the environment as scenic material on your layout, especially near the tracks, you may want to pass a magnet through the material, eg., soil or sand, to remove any small particles of magnetic material. If these small particles of magnetic material get near your locos motors, they’ll be attracted by its magnet and be pulled into the mechanism causing a lot of problems. This is also the reason you should never use steel wool to clean your rails.
Bob
I’ve used dirt from our garden and flower beds without baking it and never had any creepy-crawlies come out of it. It won’t hurt to bake it though. I’ve also used potting soil which is already sterilized.
This may just be me, but if aren’t wearing latex gloves (all those little nicks and cuts from other projects) and a mask I would bake it… at least something like an alcohol treatment before you use it. You never know what the last dog, cat or whatever was there and what was done there. I’m more concerned about what short term creepy crawlers that I may get exposed to than what might occur under all that glue sometime down the road. Nothing says I told you so like a good staff (sp?) infection
ratled
Brunton.
You do realize that you are a, “Dead Man Walking”, if your sister ever sees this thread. [#oops]
Blue Flamer.