Recycling used potting soil

[Shellyann36]

You and me both! I used to say the same thing about earthquakes in California; at least with a hurricane you have some warning and you can get out of the way of it if necessary. Hurricanes are destructive in their own way, but as long as there is no tidal surge or threat of an overflown river, you can more or less ride one out inside your home.

So very true. Have you noticed the weather patterns getting worse over the years? I know I certainly have. Mother Nature is angry at us it seems and we had all better start listening to her. Concerning earth quakes, have you seen all of the fault lines all over the US? I was kind of shocked to find that even here in NC we have several fault lines.

 

[Shellyann36]

You and me both! I used to say the same thing about earthquakes in California; at least with a hurricane you have some warning and you can get out of the way of it if necessary. Hurricanes are destructive in their own way, but as long as there is no tidal surge or threat of an overflown river, you can more or less ride one out inside your home.

So very true. Have you noticed the weather patterns getting worse over the years? I know I certainly have. Mother Nature is angry at us it seems and we had all better start listening to her. Concerning earth quakes, have you seen all of the fault lines all over the US? I was kind of shocked to find that even here in NC we have several fault lines.

 

[ChanellG]

You know, it's funny you should mention that. To me the summers feel hotter and there seemed to be an uptake in storms recently, but the forecasters are always insisting it's in our imaginations. I learned about the fault lines near me after I lived in Los Angeles briefly. I've been telling people for years now that we could just as easily have earthquakes in the gulf and tsunamis, but no one seems to be concerned.

 

[firelily99]

I've never had a problem with recycling old soil. I pull what ever plant was in it out, if the plant died I put it in the compost heap. The soil I throw into the flower beds even in winter when I dump it on to of the snow.

 

[ChanellG]

So far I haven't had any trouble either, though I do discard dead plants with questionable health and leave pots out in the sun for a while before recycling old soil in one of my compost bins depending on how long the plant lived in the pot. If I had recently repotted something and it perished of "natural" causes (too much sun, too much eaten away by some critter...) I will immediately reuse that soil.

 

[Giny]

wow i just asked something very similar. 3 big self watering planters that i planted in last year and i want to add the soil to my big raised garden bed. I had planted 1 with cucumber 1 with squash and 1 with bell pepper. Only the cucumber did well. Pepper dies and squash did horribly.

 

[grouie]

I normally put the used soil in my compost pit.

 

[Smartmom]

I will be honest, I am one of those recycling people. I love to recycle anything that I can. If I have a plant that has died, I will reuse the potting soil as long as I know that there is nothing in the soil that caused the plant to die. For example when my tomato plants are through baring tomatoes, I will use the soil over. I make sure that the soil looks nice by removing old roots and weeds and simple repot the soil.

 

[Pat]

I was given a jade plant that had so many bugs in the soil I just threw the pot and soil in the trash, I didn't try to use either the pot or the soil. I usually recycle both but the amount of bugs in the soil killed the plant and I did not want them to spread to my other plants.

 

[ChanellG]

wow i just asked something very similar. 3 big self watering planters that i planted in last year and i want to add the soil to my big raised garden bed. I had planted 1 with cucumber 1 with squash and 1 with bell pepper. Only the cucumber did well. Pepper dies and squash did horribly.

You have to be careful when reusing soil for food plants. Some things add something to the soil that can be harmful or inhibit the growth of other things. Look into crop rotation so that you can safely use your soil again. I generally use soil that had a food plant in a pot for an ornamental flowering plant so I avoid that kind of issue.

 

[ChanellG]

I will be honest, I am one of those recycling people. I love to recycle anything that I can. If I have a plant that has died, I will reuse the potting soil as long as I know that there is nothing in the soil that caused the plant to die. For example when my tomato plants are through baring tomatoes, I will use the soil over. I make sure that the soil looks nice by removing old roots and weeds and simple repot the soil.

You have to be careful with anything that can get blight; it's good to leave the soil out in the sun for a while before reusing it. I know someone who uses his soil immediately, but he pours a diluted peroxide solution in the soil to get rid of any nasties. Tomatoes are one of those plants you should rotate, I think.

 

[ChanellG]

I was given a jade plant that had so many bugs in the soil I just threw the pot and soil in the trash, I didn't try to use either the pot or the soil. I usually recycle both but the amount of bugs in the soil killed the plant and I did not want them to spread to my other plants.

Good idea. Some bugs, like spider mites are difficult to get rid of. However, in the future you could take the jade plant out of the soil, rinse it off well in a pan, treat it for the bugs and then repot it in new soil. You could then take the old soil and set the pot in a bucket of soapy water (use blue dawn) for a bit to soak. If it's flying bugs, spray (soap) first.

 

[Corzhens]

This weekend we had a big pot with good soil that was left by a lemon plant that died after pests attacked the roots. We left that pot of soil as is for now and this coming weekend we are going to recondition it by mixing with compost and dried leaves. Then we will let the mixture stand for another week before we use the soil for another pot or a planting material mix.

 

[ChanellG]

This weekend we had a big pot with good soil that was left by a lemon plant that died after pests attacked the roots...

Have you done anything to rid the soil of the pests that destroyed the lemon plant? I wouldn't reuse that soil for a while until you are sure it is pest free. You wouldn't want the problem to spread and cause the loss of any of your other plants.

 

[Corzhens]

Have you done anything to rid the soil of the pests that destroyed the lemon plant? I wouldn't reuse that soil for a while until you are sure it is pest free. You wouldn't want the problem to spread and cause the loss of any of your other plants.

You are right, we will not reuse that soil for now until we are sure there is no more pests. It is rainy season here so we are letting that pot of soil get the rain and sunshine sometimes, that's a natural way of cleansing it. But I think we have to scatter the soil on the ground for better results. At least the pests would come out if they are still there.