Should i reuse potting soil

Besides adding nutrients that plants need , both the fresh potting soil and compost will help keep the mix from compacting. Reuse your clean potting soil in containers for vegetables , flowers, houseplants, or whatever you'd like to grow. If you're not up for sterilizing and refreshing old potting soil, you still can put it to use instead of throwing it out. It can be dumped directly out of your containers and into established beds and borders.

I like to use mine in my raised beds or wherever I need to fill in holes or eroded areas in my yard. It can also be mixed into compost piles. The old potting soil you reuse can help you save money for what all gardeners want: more plants. By Lynn Coulter Updated October 21, Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission. Save Pin FB More.

Comments Add Comment. When potting soil becomes compacted, plants cannot develop healthy roots and water may pool on top and drain poorly.

This is because compacted soil lacks pore space. You can, and should, manually fluff up use potting soil. If your plants suffered from disease, it is important to dispose of your potting soil and not attempt to reuse it. There are a wide variety of plant pathogens and many of them can survive in soil for several years. This is one reason it is important to practice crop rotation.

Tomatoes are prone to an incredible number of diseases and disorders. Some of these diseases can cross over and also infect pepper plants. The bracissa family crops like broccoli and cabbage are also susceptible to diseases that can remain in the soil for years. Alternaria leaf spot , for example, can transmit through soil and plant debris. Do not compost diseased soil.

Instead, get rid of it completely. The one exception is if you have a worm compost bin. Cornell researchers found that vermicompost can suppress plant diseases in soil. There are ways to pasteurize and solarize soil to kill nematodes, weed seeds, and other pathogens. However, solarization works best on clay and heavier soils. You can bake soil to kill most pathogens, but this is impractical on a large scale for most people.

That is why I recommend simply tossing diseased soil. I have a step-by-step process to help you recharge your potting soil. Peat moss is sphagnum moss that has been compressed, submerged under water for many years, and partially decomposed. It forms at a rate of one inch every years, which makes it seem like a handy renewable resource.

Unfortunately, peat moss degrades quickly. In just one or two years, it decomposes and your potting looses looses its light airiness and becomes compact and challenging for plants to grow in. Read more about peat bogs in the Smithsonian Magazine. Amazingly, peatlands store x more carbon that tropical forests! Harvesting peat moss releases carbon dioxide. These emissions are magnified if the harvested peatlands catch fire. Instead of adding peat moss, or purchasing new potting soil that uses peat moss, use coconut coir to rejuvenate your potting soil.

Coconut coir is a renewable product and it last longer than peat moss in your potting soil. Coconut coir is a byproduct of the coconut industry and is comprised of coconut husk dust and short fibers.

Approximately 12 million pounds are produced a year. Spread your soil out on your tarp or plastic sheet. To prep the box, I used a trowel to turn my soil. The mixture is an organic blend of bone meal, feather meal, poultry manure, and other stuff that smells a little funny but will return to the soil the nutrients that it might have lost.

I gently separated some of the root bulbs from the mass to be able to fit them into my narrow box. So many flowering bulbs, so many ways to use them effectively in a flower bed or container garden.

And read more at:. Search for:. Blend well. Above: I added about a cup and half of plant food to my soil and mix it well.