Beeman, I'm sure the bleach probably kills most good and bad bacteria but the effect is very short term. I was just hoping it would give my plants a short time in which to establish themselves before the fusarium begins its nefarious work. I have no doubt that the fusarium will move back into the area as well as beneficials because it doesn't take long for earthworms to move back in. My biggest concern would be a build up of salts from the reactions of various things in the soil with the sodium hypochlorite. So far I am seeing no signs of salt poisoning; but it could be a problem with repeated applications.
I thought in the spring I might try adding something like Root Sheild after a few days to give the soil a head start with the beneficial organisms and see if it makes any difference. One of the most remarkable things is the difference in bacterial wilt which usually kills most of my seedlings set out during the mid summer heat before the fusarium can even have a chance to kill them. I have a huge amount of spare seedlings this summer that I usually run out of by mid August because of all the replacements I have to make.
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