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I want to discuss reusing soil.
I am planning to switch to Sunshine 4.
I know some reuse soil, most do not.
I am toying with the idea of drilling holes in the bottom of a 55 gallon plastic barrel, filling it full my used soil, flushing it real good with water, and then reusing it.
Tell me why this is a bad idea.
I am planning to switch to Sunshine 4.
I know some reuse soil, most do not.
I am toying with the idea of drilling holes in the bottom of a 55 gallon plastic barrel, filling it full my used soil, flushing it real good with water, and then reusing it.
Tell me why this is a bad idea.
I reuse soi all the time for my veggies. I just mix fresh soil in with it.
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Reusing soil is a good idea no matter how it is sliced
when I till up my garden every year , I am reusing the soil.
I do amend the soil with nutrients every year so there is that
when I till up my garden every year , I am reusing the soil.
I do amend the soil with nutrients every year so there is that
I have reused sunshine mix in a pinch.
Does well for two and a half runs then the salt buildup in the peat starts causing probs.
Your mileage may vary wildly depending on your feeds.
Does well for two and a half runs then the salt buildup in the peat starts causing probs.
Your mileage may vary wildly depending on your feeds.
So, you don’t think leaving it in a barrel for a couple months, all the while flushing water through it, will totally rid the soil of salts?
I am figuring to use 3 barrels.
Once one is full of dirt, I will flush water through it on a regular basis until I have the 2nd barrel filled with dirt. Once the 2nd barrel is full of dirt, I will start using soil from the first barrel, begin flushing the 2nd barrel, and the 3rd barrel will then begin getting filled with dirt.
Actually, it will probably take me about 6 months to fill up one barrel with dirt.
KGB
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Better to sit it outside in a barrel with the sun beating down on it for a month or two. Heats the soil and kills any pathogens or that’s my understanding. I plan on reusing mine also
Then again I am sparing with fertilizer
Black plastic bags is the best
I’ve reused my soil with good luck but wouldn’t expose it to outside. I usually mix it up in a clean wheel barrel in the garage adding new soil and or nutrients and bring it the tent from there. Had too many bugs get in the inside tent and soil is an easy ride in. But yes I’ve had good luck with reusing soil and adding nutrients
My dog has fleas
I know that one…
One time at band camp......................
Good Night Boys LOL
KGB
Well-Known Member
As per the movie “Joe’s Apartment” our fleas forced us to get two dogs
I never did anything special to re-use my soil. Just mixed fresh soil with it and used it. Never had any problems.
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I ran into an issue when I tried reusing soil. I don’t check/monitor pH but started getting crispy leaves along with spotting that I assumed were probably due to pH. I checked the pH of the run off and it was low(I think in the mid-5’s). After reading up on it, peat when it degrades goes acidic. That being said, letting it ‘rest’ outside and flushing it may help but I can’t see how it would counter the degradation of the peat. Amending the soil may counter the drop in pH depending on which amendments you add. As subby pointed out, bugs could be a problem. As for reusing soil outside, that is a different animal. Kinda like loading in the ocean, the pH drop is probably diluted and spread throughout the garden. I also would mention that even outside, eventually soil loses its viability. That is why old time farmers did crop rotation and let fields go to fallow and also probably a big reason fruits and vegetables today have drastically lower nutrient content than even 50 years ago.
I always mix about 50/50 with new soil. After a few times I will spread it in my yard. My grass loves it.
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My wife does the same thing.
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My vegetable garden was started on land that was fill from a neighbors pool installation. Barren doesn’t begin to describe it. 15 years later the soil is starting to look good and my plants have fruits that taste pretty good. I amended the heck out of it when I first started it and dump leaves, grass clippings, compost and my used grow soil in the enclosure. I don’t grow like a lot of indoor folks here do though and I know good soil ain’t cheap(and cheap soil ain’t good) so I understand wanting to reuse soil. And my experience is just anecdotal. The soil could have gone acidic for other reasons and had I monitored the pH, maybe I would not have had the issue.
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