Is soil medium re-useable? Real dumb question but, does the plant use it all up or how many times can it be re-used? Indefinitely? Getting close to my first "rotation" so, I need to conserve where I can.
I reuse my soil when I can. The plant, depending on how long it has been in the soil, does use up some or most of the nutrient value, but most people feed their plants too much as it is, so it shouldn't be a problem. If you want to know the principle behind it all, look up "crop rotation". Farmers rotate crops because the plants WILL eventually use up nutrients while others will "fertilize" the soil. This is harder to do in pots, but I'm sure you don't want to grow cow peas in the pots instead, as we all would, you want to get on with the next rotation. If you are going to start from seed in soil, I'd leave it like it is until the seedling is 2-3 weeks old before you start feeding. There will still be enough good stuff in there to support life when the seed uses up it's stored "energy". People use soilless mixes all the time, so I don't see why you couldn't use soil indefinitely. Are you doing organic? If so, I'd recommend adding some Great White or making a compost tea.
Yeah it is, why wouldn't be?, but first let me say, I have never reused it indoors, I save it up, then use it outside. Here is my common sense,I’m assuming you flushed the soil to remove High Concentration Of Synthetic Bloom nutrients before harvest, if so,then I would dry it really well, break it apart, removing as many roots as I could, mix it with some lime, then add back any amendments that you want if your growing organically! Like I said I have never reused it indoors but soil is soil new or used. I am really interested in what others have to say here, oh yeah, if you had some kind of fungal or root problem, I wouldn’t reuse it anywhere but outside and only after a really good winter freeze.
I am always interested in "Common sense" answers....so when you said: Had me very confused... it is really common sense to feed your plants to the end, and never over feed... so I and most I know, never flush, and harvest, and dry the right way, so no flush...read these two threads... http://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/516184-trichomes-harvesting.html http://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/514841-perfect-cure-every-time.html Now to the OP: Amend your soil... when you re-use... I re-use mine... add nutes/perilite/vermiculite... re mix... let dry on a saucer [snow saucer] mix using new soil with the old, never 100% old soil... Good Luck to both....
Well it appears obvious to me you know those two threads that you are suggested I read, one has 413 posts and the other 187. Care to narrow it down a little for me to the ones that talk about reusing the soil and also the ones that say it would be alright to plant a seeding in soil that contains nutrients with a PPM runoff reading as high as 1500 to 2000. Thanks M8
Reusing soil is better and cheaper than buying new soil. I would recommend going organic. It is easier than mixing nutes and ph'ing water. You do all the work in advance. The reason I went back to organic is it is the easiest way to grow. Telling people you only grow organic then looking down at them over your nose is fun too. stolen from the Organics section: ReUse Soil RECIPE #4 Three Little Birds Method 40 gallons used soil 4 cups alfalfa meal 4 cups bone meal 4 cups kelp meal 4 cups powdered dolomite lime 30 pound bag of earthworm castings . . . That’s the basic recipe . . . However we also like to use 4 cups of Greensand 4 cups of Rock Phosphate 4 cups of diatomaceous earth Recycle soil Growing Medium My 100% Organic “$uperb” $oil Mix Each 10-12 gallon batch of reclaimed, recycled, Fox Farms Ocean Forest Base soil I reconditioned w/ 3 Gallons(48 cups) Mushroom Compost 2 Gallons(32 cups) Ancient Forest Compost, 2 1/2 Gallons(40 cups) Red Wiggler castings + 8cups* 10 cups Perlite* 1 cup Hi-Cal Lime, 1 cup Algamin Kelp Meal 1-0-2 ½ cup Indonesian Hi-P Bat Guano .5-12-.2 ½ cup Espoma Tomato Tone 3-4-6 ½ cup Azomite 1 cup Greensand 0-0-0.1 3 cup Glacial Rock Dust* 11tsp Mycorrhizae spores.
While doing more research, I ran across a YouTube video: Introduction to indoor growing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxV7n8vz7rk) and the advise was to NOT re-use soil medium!(35mins 55 sec.) There's more potential for carrying over disease and nute. lock as well as left over vegetation (roots)? I dunno, might be just as simple as buying more.
