Re-using same container/soil

[Buddah Watcha]

Had to squeeze a grow in, didn't have any soil cooked and ready, was lazy and what I did was remove the old root ball after harvest, sprinkle a little EWC and transplant another plant to the same container. I did break the old roots a little bit.

I'm mid flowering, I have fed a bit of fish emulsion after transplanting and put on the flower room a few days after... So far I have fed some liquid karma with molasses twice and top dressed some EWC and things look fantastic... Plant seems to not have minded at all the old roots that were in the container...

I think I'll be able to go the whole grow with maybe another liquid karma/ewc/molasses feeding before harvest. I'm growing a blue dream/g13 strain which usually goes to week 11/12.

Any of you guys have any experience on re-using the old soil this way?! I feel like as long as there is living activity on the soil, nutrients are just not as important. I'm thinking maybe I'll even be able to do a whole run with just some molasses and ewc slurry every watering... What do you guys think?!

 

[festivus]

I tried reusing soil recently and ended up with a gnat infestation. While I really would like to recycle my soil (and save some $$) I won't try it again. It's just too risky. Even if the soil was clean, I would blame it for any outbreaks that might happen.

I would re-use it for an outdoor grow though.

 

[greenpinky]

O ya I used to reuse my soil three times.. but I got the thrips and stoped, sucks cuz like u I cook my soil too, so I have been working overtime cookin... but I killed those bastards so now I just reveg my girls three times but good luck, it'll be fine

 

[Montana]

....as long as you add more living matter like compost and manure you can re-use it forever.........you guys who got thrips and gnats probably didn't add new compost, topsoil or manure?.......

"sterile"......causes problems.......not the other way around......

So hey instead of using liquid Karma why not just use a compost tea with some molasses in it that you made yourself?......maybe throw in some slow release ferts like rock phos that won't burn and has no need to cook into your rootball soil.........

 

[supermanlives]

i re use all soil . sometimes i rip out a plant and put another one right in like you did. this works just fine with a living soil.

 

[Iron_Lion]

I tried reusing soil recently and ended up with a gnat infestation. While I really would like to recycle my soil (and save some $$) I won't try it again. It's just too risky. Even if the soil was clean, I would blame it for any outbreaks that might happen.

I would re-use it for an outdoor grow though.

FWIW you can get gnats and bugs from brand new soil. It has taken me quite a few grows to get a soil mix that worked real well, too much of something or too little can lead to problems.

Soil recycling saves money but it is a lot more physical work and is very time consuming to do over 100 gallons.

Gnats are an easy fix if you catch them early.

 

[Buddah Watcha]

....as long as you add more living matter like compost and manure you can re-use it forever.........you guys who got thrips and gnats probably didn't add new compost, topsoil or manure?.......

"sterile"......causes problems.......not the other way around......

So hey instead of using liquid Karma why not just use a compost tea with some molasses in it that you made yourself?......maybe throw in some slow release ferts like rock phos that won't burn and has no need to cook into your rootball soil.........

Thanks for stopping by guys...

I agree that I could replace the LK with something else, however it is available to me at the moment and I might as well use it up, and it makes it easy for a quick feeding!

Do you guys know if the living activity in the soil feeds off the old roots?

 

[Buddah Watcha]

FWIW you can get gnats and bugs from brand new soil. It has taken me quite a few grows to get a soil mix that worked real well, too much of something or too little can lead to problems.

Soil recycling saves money but it is a lot more physical work and is very time consuming to do over 100 gallons.

Gnats are an easy fix if you catch them early.

Iron, the way I did it could actually be very time saving... Just rip a 5x5" hole from the old pot, throw in half a cup of EWC in the hole, and transplant the new plant to it... I'm having good success with this and wondering if people use this way too, and if there are downfalls to it too... Maybe just add some top dress with some food if plants are heavy feeders...

 

[Iron_Lion]

Iron, the way I did it could actually be very time saving... Just rip a 5x5" hole from the old pot, throw in half a cup of EWC in the hole, and transplant the new plant to it... I'm having good success with this and wondering if people use this way too, and if there are downfalls to it too... Maybe just add some top dress with some food if plants are heavy feeders...

The "indoor no till soil bed" thread right below this one is all about this concept.

Im too much of a control freak to just rip one out and plant, plus I get build up on the outside of my bags from my heavy mineral content water so I need a fresh planting container every grow.

To answer your question above, the soil bacteria will dissolve the old roots just like they dissolve the materials in compost.

 

[Buddah Watcha]

The "indoor no till soil bed" thread right below this one is all about this concept.

Im too much of a control freak to just rip one out and plant, plus I get build up on the outside of my bags from my heavy mineral content water so I need a fresh planting container every grow.

To answer your question above, the soil bacteria will dissolve the old roots just like they dissolve the materials in compost.

Thanks, i'll def check that thread when I get a chance.

Good thing you mention the salt built up... I guess I did notice some white stain on the side of the smart pot... But so far I don't think it has caused any deficiencies from it... I'll try to snap some pictures when I get home.

 

[zeppelindood]

Tried it in my younger days... only use fresh Pro-Mix with a self blend of Scott's potting soil and Perlite for years now.

 

[Iron_Lion]

Good thing you mention the salt built up... I guess I did notice some white stain on the side of the smart pot... But so far I don't think it has caused any deficiencies from it... I'll try to snap some pictures when I get home.

thats not salts, its like calcium, magnesium or lime if anything. either way it clogs my bags.

 

[mad librettist]

seems to me that people are a bit strange with the logic here.

If you get bugs in "used" (lol) soil, it's because you re-used it. So if you get bugs in a brand new mix, does that count against new mixes?

In other words 99% of infestations are due to people using new medium, since 99% of you are using new media every grow?



I think the gnat issue is pretty easy to decipher. You are going from a big water transpiring plant to just decomposing root mass. You need some kind of helper to break down the roots. Don't make the conditions such that fungus gnats become your only helper. I submit that a no-till container artist might consider a living mulch with deep enough roots to ensure continuity of physical properties.

 

[Iron_Lion]

seems to me that people are a bit strange with the logic here.

If you get bugs in "used" (lol) soil, it's because you re-used it. So if you get bugs in a brand new mix, does that count against new mixes?

In other words 99% of infestations are due to people using new medium, since 99% of you are using new media every grow?



I think the gnat issue is pretty easy to decipher. You are going from a big water transpiring plant to just decomposing root mass. You need some kind of helper to break down the roots. Don't make the conditions such that fungus gnats become your only helper. I submit that a no-till container artist might consider a living mulch with deep enough roots to ensure continuity of physical properties.

Riddle me this....

Im on 3rd or 4th gen soil, I have a room sealed off from other parts of the house. My soil is contained in said room in bins with covers and one day out of no where I had gnats.

I dont bring foreign cuts in and I dont have any infected house plants, where could the damn things have come from? lol

Its like they just appeared out of thin air

 

[vonforne]

They have only began to understand ML.

Here is something I tell people who are learning from me about a Living soil.............

When you build an engine you need all of the parts for it to run well......building a living soil is the same. You must incorporate all of the parts that you can for it to run well. It is that simple.

And for all the new peoples information...........no bug is bad. They are all a part of the soil food web. If you produce a healthy living soil you will have both predator and prey contained within.

Stop sterilizing your soil.

V

 

[Montana]

Any soil you buy from the store....unless it's EWC or specifically a pre-made living soil.......is dead....it has no life........plants need life......bug infestations is your hint that somewhere along the way your methods are out of balance.....strong healthy plants don't need band aid fixes like bug sprays.......learn and read about plant health as opposed to reading and learning about how to deal with problems like bugs......

 

[vonforne]

Its like they just appeared out of thin air

air vents or they were dormant. Insects do do that you know. They can lay dormant for years.

Stop thinking science and think nature. Man is just beginning to understand the 450 billion year old machine called the Earth.

 

[greenpinky]

Lol ya that's true I got bugs from a clone from a friend. But bugs come from outside sources. Like soil outside pots and even shoes... so I'm sterile now and I can reuse soil... but I figured it would be better to build my outside garden with it.. o ya and I make my own. Soil 100% no cheater posion. O ya and montana I hope u use a mask with ur mix.... all the antinnnamicies and other mices in ur non sterile mix can be worse then asposots... sorry for da spelling

 

[mad librettist]

fungus gnats are everywhere. I lost some very precious mushrooms to them this year when I tried drying them in my flower tent, I don't have a gnat problem, but I have gnats in the system. Right next to that system, I put a hanging mass of fungus flesh. Gnats came and did what they do - ate and got laid and done laid. Because the shrooms dried too slowly to prevent gnats, but too fast for the gnats to develop fully, I wound up with masses of dried fungus gnat larvae.

sorry to take you down this tangent, but think of your giant dead root mass the same as those hanging shrooms. If you put out a gnat smorgasbord and a bunch of empty chairs, you will get a gnat convention. Is this a bad thing in nature? Hardly! It's how matter gets processed. Gnats, slugs, worms, and others all lend a hand. Is this bad in your indoor grow? Yeah, it's not good to have infestations of any one thing.

 

[Iron_Lion]

air vents or they were dormant. Insects do do that you know. They can lay dormant for years.

My money is on the air vent as the gnats were in my veg closet only. I waged war with the vacuum hose, let things dry up and and hit everything with dunks for good measure and the gnats are gone.

I did a little research on gnats and it said prolonged wet soil conditions and soil surface that comes in contact with dead leaf or plant material are the perfect environment for gnats to thrive, just an FYI for peeps that wonder why they have them.

If you get gnats really bad it's because you have improper gardening practices that need some tweaking.