Recycling organic soil

[floralheart]

What's your technique? your style? your policy?

5 parts topsoil, 2 parts perlite, 1 part vermiculite and 1 part peat moss. That's me. I go for overall color and feel on the hands with that last part of the 10 part mix.


I'm new to organics. I'm using Alaskan fish emulsion 5-1-1 (this one) for seedling and veg. Another Alaskan fish emulsion for bloom. Maybe Neptune's Harvest for bloom. Fish or fish and seaweed. I'm new to receipes. Keeping it simple to start.

I'm using 7 gallon buckets. I will definitely recycle soil with the 25 gallon containers I'd like to use in the future. All life starts in party cups. Because life is a party. If you want it to be.

All that dirt. I might mix 30% new soil to the old soil. Cycle some of the old soil outside and add fresh black dirt and amendments back in with fresh mix.

Thinking of new soil for the seedlings and recycled soil for the veg and bloom.



I'm new to organics and come from Miracle Grow, Shultz and similar synthetics.

So what's your world like soil and recycling wise?


I'm going to find out, but I'd like to hear from seasoned veteran organic growers since this is my first run with organics.

I have heard that I can recycle the soil because of the nature of the fertilizer and that it's harmless.


I can taste the nuances of chemical fertilizer burn in imported pot and outdoor amateur grown alike. Perfect pot tastes perfect. It amazes me that some pot is so hot and so poorly fertilized. I can taste it. Can't you? I don't want that. We don't want that.


Fresh dirt is also a good idea for new growth. I've recycled soil in the past and I've also started fresh with every grow, even in the dead of winter, so I'd like to hear your opinion on recycling or about your recycling activities. Especially as a newbie to organics.

 

[quadracer]

I'm to the point where I don't bother letting the soil cool or reclaim anything. When a plant is done, soil goes into a big bucket, some compost is added, and then the soil is put into a container and something else is planted. Simple. Works pretty well, but I feed everything compost tea too so that helps.

 

[BurnOne]

I always add fresh worm castings, 2 tbs./gal. powdered dolomite lime and some fresh perlite. Sift the root balls out and reuse it immediately.
Burn1

 

[Kaneh]

I always add fresh worm castings, 2 tbs./gal. powdered dolomite lime and some fresh perlite. Sift the root balls out and reuse it immediately.
Burn1

Fresh Perlite? why?
Does it break down or something?


I'm recycling my soil for second time soon, and my plan is to ad lots of stuff!

- compost
- worm castings
- perlite/vermiculite or volcanic pebles if needed (there's plenty allready)
- composted chicken manure/kelp pellets
- vinasse/apatite pellets
- bat guano
- lime
- ash
- granular molasse (looks like microbes are crazy for this stuff, made from sugarbeet)

- compost for 3-4 weeks> until I need the soil. Maybe I add half of ferts after composting.

These are my plans at this point, I don't have any experience with this mix. SO I'M NOT ADVICING ANYONE!!!

Original soil was not very good, so I'm still trying to get it better and basicly throwing in everything I got! LOL

 

[BurnOne]

Perlite is for drainage. It can become clogged after it's used. Perlite is always good.
Burn1

 

[Kaneh]

It can become clogged after it's used.
Burn1

Ah, good to know.

 

[DocLeaf]

What's your technique? your style? your policy?

Technique : sometimes mix old substrates 50/50 with fresh ones.. and guano

Style : Freestyle! Playing about with coco / soil / compost / wormcast... mixing it up

Policy : Only use old substrates we know the condition of,, never mix infected soil with fresh soil,, usually remove the top layer of 2nd hand substrates and add it to the compost-bin.

 

[Owl Mirror]

Perlite is for drainage. It can become clogged after it's used. Perlite is always good.
Burn1

Can it be removed by filling a bucket with water and your soil?
My thought is the Perlite would float to the top and you could sift it off.
Then dry the soil out and reuse.

 

[BurnOne]

Can it be removed by filling a bucket with water and your soil?
My thought is the Perlite would float to the top and you could sift it off.
Then dry the soil out and reuse.

Too much work.
Burn1

 

[Yeti]

I have used organics and soilless mediums throughout my experience. I started with one rubbermaid that I constructed for worms to exist in. I went to a fishing bait store and bought a pack of red wrigglers (about 24 worms). I also throw worms in whenever I find them outside. I throw my used soil in to the bin after a harvest. I put a piece of cardboard on top to keep moist and provide food for them, and occasionally chop up the knuckle from a lettuce head and throw that in too for them and all other microorganisms to feed on.

My plants love it. I feed occasionally when signs of deficiency show with heavy feeders, but rarely have to. When it comes time to throw the soil back into the worm bin, there are often still worms chillin among the heavy bright healthy roots. Three months in a pot. What a life.

In my experience it is easier to control recycled soil nutrients and pH then fresh from the bag soils.

Hope that helped,
Yeti

 

[JackTheGrower]

The process of active composting is a great tool in maintaining a volume of "soil."

So add materials you want, like kelp meal, bone meal, azomite, green sand, greens and browns and what not, and hot compost it..

That's what I do. 8 years + same "soil"

 

[Denial N Error]

I've been experimenting indoor with re-used soil lately.. it seems to be working great.. I made a bit extra soil for my outdoor so I decided to try it out indoors, on my 2nd re-use run of it now.. Its Pro-Mix HP+EWC+Perlite+Blood Meal+Bone Meal+Gypsum+Greensand.. The only thing I have added between runs is a small amount of blood and bone.. So far nothing but water.. and they love it.

 

[jaykush]

to me there is one reason we recycle soil, to improve the soil over time. we do this by incorporating organic matter, minerals, and other organic materials over time. we increase the diversity of soil organisms to do there job at feeding the plant with the diversity of materials you have added to the soil ( they do all the work given you help give them a good start and materials to work with). those looking to recycle there soil should be concentrated on building the best soil they can, put aside the thoughts of guano teas and rich nutrient liquids for now ( except compost tea, you can never have too much CT )

the better the base mix the better off you will be in the long run. i prefer to have compost based soil mixes vs peat in soil recycling.

PS: go through the organic fanatic collective sticky. everything you need is in there or in the links posted in there. some of it may seem pointless the first time around, but give it a chance it will catch on.

 

[ocean99]

Is there a different protocol for soil amended with dry ferts?

Lotsa good info in here, thanks.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Is there a different protocol for soil amended with dry ferts?

Lotsa good info in here, thanks.

Ask 10 organic gardeners get ten different answers..

What dry ferts?


If I have soil that I grew in and used "formulaic products" I had bought I, would still be okay.. Or even soil I used miracle grow in..

As long as I was sure it wasn't toxic for anything I would add materials and compost it.

I'm not against formulaic products in growing; it's that my style is to go "Granddad" with the old school amendments.

Once I am growing with the soil biology over straight feeding of ions then it's all good to me..

Organic soil is very forgiving..

 

[THC123]

well iv'e noticed that if you reuse your soil for the third time only adding worm casting/comost(noi new soil ) and other usual amendments that you do notice a difference.

So after the second time recycling i strongly recommend adding fresh soil50%


My frisian dew in my outdoor topic is growing in recycled soil , it's big healthy but not as beautiful as plants in fresh soil

any1 else notice this??

 

[Kaneh]

well iv'e noticed that if you reuse your soil for the third time only adding worm casting/comost(noi new soil ) and other usual amendments that you do notice a difference.

So after the second time recycling i strongly recommend adding fresh soil50%


My frisian dew in my outdoor topic is growing in recycled soil , it's big healthy but not as beautiful as plants in fresh soil

any1 else notice this??

I quess it depends what kind of soil you start with and what you ad later. (ferts, teas, FPEs, Lactos, etc)
I have strong feeling my soil is just getting better, but it wasn't any fancy expensive organic stuff, just basic cheapo garden soil. ...Well I quess half of it is now my own compost.

 

[THC123]

well just regular universal potting soil

 

[fyawomban365]

Ive been reusing my soil simply because I cant afford not too. Every time I finish a 5 gal bag I sift and add more perlite,peat moss. To make two 5 gal bags. If you have some nice mycor build up you can spread them around and give them a lilltle bit of the old environment there used to plus room to grow in. I also think the new girls planted in this mix finnish off any left overs.

 

[fyawomban365]

I def noticed a differnece when I reused a thrid time without adding nutes. I wouldnt recommend recycling without ammending. The point is more to keep the beneficials in use.