Can I re-use my soil?

[keith1975]

I assume its a bad idea, if not impossible die to the soil being full of roots when you finish growing with a container.

Is there a way to re use?
Or should i throw the soil away and buy new ones?
If i throw it away, can i just chuck outside somewhere or should i be worried about plants sprouting up?

 

[MochaBud]

I assume its a bad idea, if not impossible die to the soil being full of roots when you finish growing with a container.

Is there a way to re use?
Or should i throw the soil away and buy new ones?
If i throw it away, can i just chuck outside somewhere or should i be worried about plants sprouting up?

What type of soil are you using? If not Organic I would toss it. I use OLS so I can reuse my soil over and over again, that's why I use it...of corse after the first use it's called ROLS (reusable organic living soil) Peace and good luck

 

[keith1975]

I think i might be using that. Will double check. But then do you just plant and ignore the previous roots?

 

[GrizzWald]

I reuse.. organic soil.. add a few amendments, keep basic, some garden lime rock dust gypsum de.. I use gogo juice but cannazyme will break down roots and add some goodness...

 

[Blew Hiller]

Look into vermicomposting...can easily revitalize used soil and roots will get broken down.

 

[Conradino23]

You should reuse it and keep reusing it over and over.

 

[JimSaskFarmer]

I grow organic in soil in 5gal Rubbermaid type containers when i harvest i pull the stem and the first inch or two of roots out sprinkle 1/4 cup Gaia Green power bloom fertilizer which has all the good stuff my plants love on top, water well with some soluble humic then cover it up for a few weeks and let the fungi do its thing and its all good to go another round. You could add some earth worm castings or compost if you find the volume of soil has gone down but i find the Gaia Green has everything the plants and soil need as far as food is concerned.

 

[BudGinger]

I think if you've used it for one grow, and you cut it with some fresh soil and mix you should be okay.

 

[HydroponicFireman]

Yes, you can re-use your soil.

Just look at how many times farmers they re-use soil when growing all types of crops outdoors!

 

[goofyfoot]

I have always re-used my soil as the old roots leave air pockets as they decompose. It is already active with microbes and as long as the last plants didn`t suck .........

 

[Mort7161]

I have always re-used my soil as the old roots leave air pockets as they decompose. It is already active with microbes and as long as the last plants didn`t suck .........

Is a no-till soil ok for seedlings or is there a soil just for seedlings I'm using jiffy peat blocks to start then can they go straight in soil

 

[Blew Hiller]

Is a no-till soil ok for seedlings or is there a soil just for seedlings I'm using jiffy peat blocks to start then can they go straight in soil

Same soil for seedlings.

 

[bobrown14]

Is a no-till soil ok for seedlings or is there a soil just for seedlings I'm using jiffy peat blocks to start then can they go straight in soil

Yes that's how I do it.

To the OP - the roots left over from the first grow and each grow after contain lots of nutrients that were taken up by the live plant before you harvested.

So yes the roots are good. You can leave them in there, they will compost during the next grow and the next plant will use them for plant food as the microbes and fungi break them down provided they are not killed off by chemical fertilizers.

Roots work with micro-organisms in the soil. There is a give and take process happening. Root give out root exudate to the micro-organisms and depending on what exudate is on the plate, the micro-herd give nutrients to the roots. Once the plant in chopped there's no more hand shake happening and the micro-herd quickly consume the old dead roots.

I run no-till and use soil over and over and over been doing it for years now. The more the soil get used the better it gets. Eventually you will get to a point where all you need to do is water the plants and foiler (IPM) for pests and a treat for the ladies.

Starting out with a proper mix is important and part of that is using a proper compost/vermi-compost as part of the mix.

"Get your compost right and not much else to worry about." CC

 

[Edzzed]

Farmers use the word rototiller quite often. Not too sure why, Ask them.

 

[Blew Hiller]

Farmers use the word rototiller quite often. Not too sure why, Ask them.

Tines that radiate off an axis penetrate and turn the soil...rotary tilling..."rototill".

The argument of "no-tillers" is that you are destroying the beneficial, fragile ecosystem on the top 3-6" inches of soil. Not really sure if the term "no till" accurately applies in potting soil for cannabis (since it is constantly remixed)...but also not interested in picking a fight with some zealot here either

 

[bobrown14]

Same i-deer there @Blew Hiller

A lot of growers running no-till get pretty serious about it with several hundred gallon soil bins - I've seen the bins on wheels with automated movement of the bins.

idea is to chop and plant another plant close to the old plant. The microbes eat up the old root ball in a few weeks. Many no-till gardeners make use of worms to constantly improve the soil by growing cover crops and active composting in the container. AKA companion crops. Farmers do this.

No-till for a farmer is also to help keep the top soil from washing away. This helps the streams and rivers so they don't get clogged with silt, and improves water quality.

We have found that decaying plant matter does a great job to help soil tilth this in turn improves yields and lessens the need to use fertilizer and mechanical means to improve soil.

No-till for a farmer is letting the old crop residue and roots compost in place and plant a cover crop. Sometimes I see them spread manure on the no-till fields in the fall. 1-2 punch. Sucks for neighbors if they raise hogs on corn. ahem ahem...



It works the same in a container. The bigger the better of course.

I run 1 cu ft containers and just transplant from a #3 pot with the same soil in it and scrape out enough for #3 root ball to fit in and put that soil I scraped out into a tub and it goes into the next plant that I up-pot. That tub has about 1.5 cu ft of soil in it and is the same soil as all the flowering and veg plants are using.
I mixed it in 2016. lol

The last 10 runs or so has been nothing but water and before that a few ACT.

I throw some worm castings in there and maybe some Bokashi in the tub every 2x a year with of course Malted Barley ground fine.

 

[Mort7161]

Very helpful information there thanks

 

[keith1975]

I just harvested one plant. When i pulled it out of the pot, ALL the sand came with. The whole thing is just one big block of roots. I dont see the point in salvaging it. Maybe some of the autos who’s roots don’t grow that much, but I certainly dont see myself re-using a photoperiod plant’s soil that is 6 months old.

 

[GrizzWald]

you haven't giving a reason as too why it can't be reused.. lots reuse and some have explained why and how, it's up to you whether you want to use the information you asked for or not, lol..

 

[keith1975]

you haven't giving a reason as too why it can't be reused.. lots reuse and some have explained why and how, it's up to you whether you want to use the information you asked for or not, lol..

Right, sorry. Thanks for the feedback. I will for sure use the advice for the autos and attempt to re-use the soil in those cases! But it looks like going forward, I might as well buy a new bag of dirt each time I do a new plant.