Soil: Can you re-use it after a grow?
- Thread starter Dr.RR
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Anjinsan
Well-Known Member
Hey guys,
might be a dumb question but can you re-use the soil you used if you cleaned out all the roots from the previous grow?
Reason I'm askin is cuz I use FF Ocean Forest and that would be rather expensive to keep buying big bags of!!
I'm cheap too.
I dump off the top 1/2 of the dirt...remove the roots...and refill the other 1/2 with fresh dirt. Mix well with hands...np that I've seen.
capecodkid
Active Member
Stop being cheap!!! Get some new bags of ffof. The soil pays for itself.
AquafinaOrbit
Well-Known Member
It's not being cheap, its cutting down on expenses which is always a good idea if it doesn't effect quality. Yeah though I reuse my soil. Usually clean it, flush it, and if it was sitting outside then I cook it to kill and bugs. Adding things like fresh worm castings wouldn't hurt but personally I just need my soil to take care of aeration and water retention, nutrients I can handle myself.
midwestmaster
Active Member
you can reuse it just fine lol u just have to recondition it with some additives like some manure and worm castings bat guano bone and blood meal and maybe some dolimite lime 2 equal things out . just till it up and add all that stuff and mix it up real good and presto all the soil is doing is giving the roots a home and since ur last grow the soil hasnt changed except for maybe not having any nutes left
beginnerbloomer
Well-Known Member
I re-used my soil mostly through laziness and impatients mostly,i had the soil sittin out covered with a tarp & cooked it off for a couple weeks.
Added sum perlite & organic xtra....good as gold mate! plants are a couple months old and thriving,i havent noticed any negative affects so far,not even any spidermites as yet.
Added sum perlite & organic xtra....good as gold mate! plants are a couple months old and thriving,i havent noticed any negative affects so far,not even any spidermites as yet.
PainWrek
Active Member
don't seem to have that problem. i pay 10 dollars for organic soil. ends up filling about 7-8 three gallon bags.
but i've heard of people cleaning out roots and remixing with fresh soil and having no problems affecting yield and growth.
check out raiderman's grows on this site. he recycles like so and grows amazing plants.
but i've heard of people cleaning out roots and remixing with fresh soil and having no problems affecting yield and growth.
check out raiderman's grows on this site. he recycles like so and grows amazing plants.
I've read you're supposed to bake it to kill any bugs. This last time I mixed 2/3 new FFOF, 1/6 old FFOF that I had just used until males showed up in it last time, and 1/6 of some sort of Canadian organic stuff.
I figured that since new FFOF is so "hot," that using the old stuff and the Canadian organic stuff would cool it off a bit.
I got bugs--fungus gnats. I killed them with a single treatment of $28-a-little-jar Gnatrol.
I think I'll use new FFOF next time; maybe mix it with what I have left of the Canadian organic stuff. I only need enough for eight three gallon pots--that's all that'll fit in my cabinet.
I figured that since new FFOF is so "hot," that using the old stuff and the Canadian organic stuff would cool it off a bit.
I got bugs--fungus gnats. I killed them with a single treatment of $28-a-little-jar Gnatrol.
I think I'll use new FFOF next time; maybe mix it with what I have left of the Canadian organic stuff. I only need enough for eight three gallon pots--that's all that'll fit in my cabinet.
hounddog44
Member
Bake for how long? Post a link if you got one.
Dradden
Well-Known Member
Your rolling the dice if you do. You might do it succesfully for awhile but it will get you sooner or later and when it does it's going to be a pain in the ass. You can bake it to kill bugs but their are spores that can survive up to 500 Deg C and can lay dormant for up to 2 years. Powdery mildew can stay dormant for up to a year before it bites you in the ass. Soil is 1 thing you should not scrimp on.
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