is there a way to replenish / reuse old soil?

S

Smoke 14g Blunts

Member
i am no hardcore grower myself, but i have just learned a shit load from reading top to bottom of these posts. ohsogreen and goldenganja13, you both have much knowledge to be spread out through all the pupils (like myself) on this site. i just joined yesterday and about 4 days ago a friend told me about the site. i have learned 50+ new things that i did not know in the past 48 hours. i just wanted to say thanks to people like you that my 1st out door grow is going very sucsessful so far.. everytime i have a problem or concern i look it up on here and wal-lah! problem solved! just saying much love to edge-U-cators like yourselves..:peace:
 
spiked1

spiked1

Well-Known Member
I can relate to this, I now live in a small country town and also lost my drivers license, so when I buy soil it's not a good selection and I also have to carry it a mile or so home.
Now I put my old soil in a 20 gallon container and add chicken and cow manure, plus a fair serving of AN Tarantula and Pirahna, plus some mushroom compost to get things going, and let it sit outside for a month or 2.
I also have my own worm farm going which I mix in before re-potting.
I still use new soil at first, but when I put them on 12/12 I repot and use my amended soil.
So far results are better than expected.
If I had the resources things may be done differently.:peace:
 
Sparky4u

Sparky4u

Active Member
Thanks for this controversial thread.
Farmers do rotate crops to keep balance, like corn and soybeans for example.
Keeping track of how greedy the current and previous grow is, you should/could plant some strains that have reverse/different characteristics. And reblending/conditioning it all up after each healthy use makes a lot of sense when it comes to operating costs, and it seems like it could ripen the soil to multiple times richer than anything you can buy at a store. eEriching the soil with each grow in exactly the way it needs.

Lots/most all products operate on profit margins. Usually in the corporate world its "How little does it take to make a big profit" type capitalistic mentality.

If you can statistically prove "conditioned or aged"soil improves like wine, you could technically even harvest your soil for a profit ;-)

Thanks for the education
 
donkeyote

donkeyote

Active Member
You don't need a degree in botany to be able to figure out how to reuse soil. It's not any harder than growing good bud in the first place. It might not be feasible for some people for simple space/mess reasons, but don't discourage people from trying it simply because 'it's too hard', that's fucking lame. People have amazing grows using coco and perlite which are completely inert for Christ's sake, as long as the old soil isn't diseased or pest ridden, it's good to go with a few slight amendments. It's actually advantageous if the old soil has a good healthy microbial population, then you don't have to work your ass off establishing a new colony.
 
indyman

indyman

Active Member
alot of pros reuse there soil ed rosenthal is one of them,So i use to follow the guys that have gone through it all,like thousands of grow under there belt and i can tell u that most of them reuse there soil indoor and outdoor,just look into it ur self,TRUE FACT!!
 
Comando

Comando

Member
Ohsogreen said:
I've been reusing some of the same soil I started with over 11 years ago. The people who push the " Just Say No to Reusing Soil " are the guys wanting to sell you new soil every grow. IMO that's a complete waste of money.
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Let's be honest, do farmers or even home gardeners, avoid using the same soil to grow new crops, of course not.
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Take the soil from your finished grow and put it in a compost barrel, add browns & greens (leaves & grass clippings), left over kitchen waste (no dairy, meat or spicy foods), moisten & turn weekly. Throw in a cup of High Nitrogen Bat Guano or three cups of Rabbit Manure to keep the tribe of micro-beasties alive & kicking. With a source of N, they will reproduce & bio-convert all the insoluble NPK in the left over soil into soluble NPK, plus make the soil more friable.
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In 14 to 28 days, if turned weekly, you have a good base to mix your own soil for the next run. Use this compost as follows: New soil mix : 50 percent compost you just finished, 30 percent peat moss or well rinsed coco coir, 10 percent perlite, and 10 percent worm castings.
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This mix will be mellow enought to start seedlings in with no risk of burning.
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Then feed your plants later using wholesum organic fertilizer teas : Read - Making Tea is E-Z & cheap thread......
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There is not reason to ever scrap used soil, it can & should be recycled indefinately - just like in nature.
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Hope this helps....
Keep it Real....Organic......
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Click to expand...
HAHAHAHAHA......I was reading this with scepticism till I saw that it was from OHSO....Seeing as how I am a proud user of BMO (JUST SHOWED UP TODAY YAAAYY!!) and that is mostly attributed to OHSO I am going to go ahead and assume this probably works...In fact already started my soil recycling....Something did sound kind of stupid about throwing away dirt???? Kudos and keep it real... you know the rest...haha
 
Spanishfly

Spanishfly

Well-Known Member
arizona jim said:
iv always heard NO on reusing soil.
Click to expand...
You have HEARD no but have you ever DONE it? Like most people here definitely NOT.

Of course you can re-use soil - farmers do it EVERY year.

And I recycle mine - soil with roots goes into my composter, gets mixed with green and brown materials as they become available - after a year or so a rich brown humus come out, full of humic acid and beneficial microbes - gets refreshed with manures, perlite and limestone - brilliant nutritious growing medium.
 
M

madodah

Well-Known Member
donkeyote said:
You don't need a degree in botany to be able to figure out how to reuse soil. It's not any harder than growing good bud in the first place. It might not be feasible for some people for simple space/mess reasons, but don't discourage people from trying it simply because 'it's too hard', that's fucking lame. People have amazing grows using coco and perlite which are completely inert for Christ's sake, as long as the old soil isn't diseased or pest ridden, it's good to go with a few slight amendments. It's actually advantageous if the old soil has a good healthy microbial population, then you don't have to work your ass off establishing a new colony.
Click to expand...
That's assuming they haven't been using chemicals which equal dead soil.
 
MrBaker

MrBaker

Well-Known Member
madodah said:
That's assuming they haven't been using chemicals which equal dead soil.
Click to expand...
Soil that has been used with chemically synthesized nutrients can be recycled. Some people actually rinse the soil with the chemical residues, other people just compost it with active bacteria ans fungi. I prefer the latter, and it really does clean up the soil.
 
NickNasty

NickNasty

Well-Known Member
I just want everyone to know I have been reusing my soil for over a year now and have had almost no problems. I have found that you need to add more peat or coco coir + more perlite to your mix to lighten it up a bit but other than that I have been using the 3 little birds recipe and my results are actually better then they were with straight Fox Farm Ocean Forest and If I have to feed them it is maybe one time during flower. Instead of the 100+$ I was spending per grow I am now down to like 15$ of additives for each grow. And I have learned a lot about organics and what plants need in the process. I just want to thank the people who helped me in this thread and suggest all soil growers who have the space to compost their soil to try it, it will save you money and you will learn more about your plants and soil in the process.

Sincerely,
NickNasty originally Nickbbad
 
CourageToGrow

CourageToGrow

Well-Known Member
Just was reading this one today and thought it could use a bump since it hasnt been front and center in a few years. Good information and its important to know that this is an option for people.
 
Relaxed

Relaxed

Well-Known Member
Heck yes reuse soil. Add some guano and domolite to resfresh as well as maybe some perlite. After multiple uses just throw it in the garden outside and start over. The yard annuals/perennials thank you.
 
Elvis1

Elvis1

Member
I use Blackjack Products at American agriculture and plant my next crop directly into the last crop soil,the beneficial seem to eat the old roots and replenish the soil Blackjack is all about,the living soil approach.I only use the soil twice then into the compost pile,saves soil and money.I use pro mix with mychorizea.In 18 gallon totes.
 
GrnMn

GrnMn

Active Member
I reused soil for over a decade. The only thing I ever did to neutralize was wash the salts out, and add a bit of compost and more perlite. I never had issues, I am an avid believer in chemical nutrients (anything the plant takes up is chemical, organic or not). Composting is great, but people do tend to think too hard about stuff that is really not important.
 
poisonedpeople

poisonedpeople

Member
Wow, and wow! What a resource for information. Congrats on all contributions; this web page is worth framing and saving as a PDF file! Yes, of course soil can be built back up. Just mimic nature as is essentially the approach of these authors.

My fixation is to go this way and especially to avoid/prohibit the use of toxic chemical products on all counts. As I've noted elsewhere in this forum, Roundup ("Glyphosate" and similar) are deadly to soil health and micro and macroflora health. Organic preparations should be used always.

See: http://poisonedpeople.com & http://poisoningandlegalaction.com.au.
 
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