Recycling Soil ? Please help need advice

Finally, confirmation of what we've been saying for years from a hydroponics retailer..
From my own reading, I've come across some fleeting studies involving complex molecule uptake, but the bast majority of verifiable studies involve carb dumping for soil critters

let me simplify this a bit for you guys, froma guy that used to think that u should always get new soil. You can reuse soil, you need to flush it with a flush solution meant for getting rid of salts for harvesting from advanced or other nutrients companies. Second, there are some left over roots, you need to completely dry out your soil after you flush it then mix in dolomite as a ph buffer and calcium hydroxide powder to give roots oxygen while decomposing the old roots. Add a teaspoon per 3 gallon bucket and 2 tables spoons of dolomite lime per 3 gallon bucket. This can be a pain in the ass and some guys just dont want to do it. The other thing i have noticed when using reused soil is that alot of nutrients stay inthe soil, and if you have a good formula for ur feeding regime then this could throw it of a little bit. I like to use perlite in the bottom of my pots because perlite lets the roots breathe and its doesnt hld onto salts as much as black soil . sometimes u have so much fertilizer left over that u basically got to feed it some nitrogen here and there and the new plants show a timny bit of leaf burn and keep growing like nuts. There is a guy on here that reuses his soil and has great yields but i would suggest to lower your ppm feeding as the soil already holds alot of nutes. By how much it all depends on what the plants tell you. Although i have reused soil with no calcium peroxide or dolomite with good results but i mixed it with some new soil half and half . If you flush it out properly and de salt the medium i dont c why u cant reuse soil.

You don't need to flush it with chelating agents etc.. Warm water would be more than sufficient if plants could live in there before..

NewGrowth said:

OK a found the quote, it is from and interview with Lawrence Brooke the founder of General Hydroponics. Third issue of Urban Garden page 20.

I took a picture of the article, it mentions studies from the University of California. I'll try to find them, if anybody know about these studies or has links I would greatly appreciate them.

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Good read, thanks for sharing.

I wonder if GH sells products as hyped and sold by other such vendors, with the vitamins, enzymes, and other stuff.

I'd like to see real world field studies that show that vitamins and enzymes introduced to the roots have any real world value. The plant manufacturers it's own hormones, vitamins, enzymes, proteins, etc. The vendor is out to make a buck any way he can, and if (like AN) he can hype that his product has some miracle stuff and will double your production, then that's what he'll do. Like previously mentioned, this industry is not regulated.

As an aside, you start using hydroxides and you'll sharply increase your pH. Also, acids are used to create salts that can be flushed from whatever, not bases. You must have an environment of soluble salts (nitrates, sulfates, phosphates) to be able to flush them out of the soil.

Tio

Thing is, the OP just wants a quick solution to try for another plant this season, so they wouldn't be in for any extended growing period assuming he even lives in a climate where its attemptable..

born2killspam said:

Thing is, the OP just wants a quick solution to try for another plant this season, so they wouldn't be in for any extended growing period assuming he even lives in a climate where its attemptable..

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If that was directed at what I said there definitely is a time factor in play before the used soil would again be ready to be reused but if you got the impression that it was used for outdoors growing, which I may have wrongly assumed by you having said; "so they wouldn't be in for any extended growing period assuming he even lives in a climate where its attemptable." While I did allow my old soil to be flushed and naturally regenerated outdoors the soil itself was used for indoor grows, not outdoor grows.
　
What I did in the DISTANT past is not for everyone and I am NOT claiming it is the best or telling anyone to do the same. I only shared what I used to do and what worked perfectly well for me.

Maybe there is someone out there in a similar situation to what I used to be, and then maybe not. But if so they may benefit from the info.

Regardless I shared it just in case.

I got the outdoor impression because the OP said he knew it was already a 'little' late.. I wasn't really directing that at any user, I just felt that the thread kind of got hijacked by ppl posting indepth general procedures and opinions, when I think the OP was really asking "Can I get away with using old soil, and what are some quick and easy replenishments I can toss in??"
For the record I agree with your composting cycle 100%, but I don't even know if that should be considered reusing soil..
I actually harvested my base-dirt from certain forest & meadow areas.. Thats definately not for everyone either, but somehow I never got bugged out once in like 25-30 crops (indoor as well)..
I never reused that though, and by second crop I had a surplus so I was using soil that had been weathering (covered) in an old boat..

Gardening is all about degrees and factors, reusing soil is a part of that equation. It's OK as long as you recognize some of the issues I pointed out. I've recycled soil, but I also know what to look for, have been doing this long enough to where a toss of this and that and I'm good to go. BUT, for most growers, throwing this and that into some used soil like the Birds stated is like playing roulette, you don't know what you'll end with, you're just playing a guessing game. I doubt if anyone recycling soil has ever done a complete analysis on it with most not even knowing what the final pH is. I know from years of gardening experience that just soil borne fungus such as phytophora can be a problem. Again, I'd rather dump it into my outdoor veggie garden or add it to the compost pile. Then, you could use say.....50% compost and add stuff to it like peat, vermiculite and perlite.

Tio

I would not reuse my ocean forest but if I had to I think some hygrozhyme to feed on the dead roots and sm-90 would make it fine.

I'm glad after reading some of the replys to this post pro recycling of the soil, because, I do it. Just out of cheapness mostly,take out the root ball, and mix the rest, I don't use alot of nutes, kind of for that reason also. I went nute crazy early in my growing days and saw soil really look toxic of sorts. You could tell by looking at it you wouldnt want to use it again. But like whats said on here, if it cleaned, flushed reasonalbly. It seems to be ok and is working out for me, so...

I have grown just about every way you can over the years. In the end I have grown lazy and ran out of places to dump the promix.

2 years ago I decided to grow in raised beds 4 x 4 x 12". I use 50/50 coco and promix/sunshine. I only use organic ferts. Pure Blend Pro, Liquid Karma. CalMax and Growzyme. I use it at 1/2 recomended and feed till the final 2 weeks then they get water. When I pull them out of the dirt I remove the root ball and any majour roots. I use my hands to turn over all the dirt and brake it up. I put the new plants in and repeat. I do use a Co2 generator.

Results

I love it and I get more tonnage. LMAO

I get 15 to 25 % more than I ever have. I never have plants dry out and I water them every 5 to 7 days.

I am on my 9th grow with the same dirt.


The only down side is if you feed then too much you can't flush. You just have to wait till next time to give just water.

Not trying to budge in and update this post but let me tell you guys, there was this old veteren in humbolt county who recycles dirt, theres a step to step way on doing it. takes 3 weeks, kinda like having 3 diffrent outpost piles, you gotta swich them around and clean them every 3 weeks tho, message me if you want to know any tips about recycling dirt, cause I do it, and it works good, definitely worm castings mixing in there. Gotta clean the dirt and flush it out tho...