help reusing soil

blooper · Nov 23, 2015

earlier this year i filled 80gallon pots with soil lightly amended with a bunch of different meals and worm castings/compost.

worked great, lovin outdoor organics but this is new to me and i'm already preparing for next summer and have a few questions.

most threads talk about a no-till method. i dug the stumps out because they were rotting and i figured it might attract pests and noticed most of the roots are still pretty thick and run deep into the bottom of the pot.

it makes more sense to me to turn each pot every week or two like a compost heap but if there's a reason not to, i'll just leave it alone.

besides turning the soil and trying to get everything left in the pot composted, is there anything else to do? the pots are still where they were because they are way too heavy to move and i have nowhere to put the soil so it makes sense to just leave them where they are going to be next season anyway.

should i be tilling or not? if not, should i be keeping it wet and continually adding compost/casting teas? it's already freezing at night so i'm not sure how alive the soil is.

helpful input appreciated :tiphat:

Buddyy · Nov 23, 2015

hello Blooper, I'll have a shot at an answer. Because you have the soil prepared for next season i.e. like 6 months away I think it will be fine regardless of what you do because you have time on your side. The microorganisms will go dormant when it freezes and dries too much and then when spring comes around the soil will heat up and you will water it with compost tea and it will come back to life. A month or 2 is plenty to let it cook. If you want to keep the microbes alive and soil decomposing you should keep it temps above 10 deg c. and moist.
Don't be scared to leave to roots to decompose and don't be scared of bugs. Bugs are good. Nature is good and in the great outdoors nature usually keeps things in check.
Just leave the pots alone all winter and when spring comes around bring the soil to life by adding compost tea.....or bring the pots inside and keep them warm and moist....IMO I think bringing them inside is a waste of time.....I would concentrate more on sourcing quality worm castings, like make a worm bin as to make your own.
good luck

VortexPower420 · Nov 23, 2015

^ yea that...

Leave the pots as they are. Two things I would do to the pots is to add amendments now and to mulch.

Adding them now will allow the amendment to break down the first chance they get is spring. The mulch will protect you soil from the elements a little and microbes like shelter from the storm.

In the future the best thing to do after the chop is plant a cover crop. It could be anything. Nature hates a vacuum. Mother nature wants the soil covers at all times. It helps to keep everything active and will slow down leaching from fall and spring rains.

As soon as you can in the spring hit them with a cover crop at first thaw. This will help wake up your soil and get it cycling the nutrients.

Just think. How does mother nature do this.

Things grow, on the fall they die. Seeds drop so do the plants on to the ground come fall ( mulch). Come spring the seeds come to life and the microbes breakdown all the plant matter from last year. The ground is never bare except when we get involved.

Simple whn you follow tge masters lead.

Microbeman · Nov 23, 2015

a cover crop at first thaw. This will help wake up your soil and get it cycling the nutrients.

Yes!
If you use a perennial, something like red clover, then it will keep the motor running longer and supply N.

blooper · Nov 26, 2015

do i turn the cover crop back into the soil? i guess it's the no-till aspect that confuses me because i've learned with healthy compost it has to be turned every so often. reading into cover crops it sounds like people are allowing things like clover to grow underneath cannabis rather than turning it back into the soil or just removing it. might just be overthinking this. there is a good bit of time between now and planting so hopefully with a little help it will mostly take care of itself.

VortexPower420 · Nov 26, 2015

Chop and drop is all you need. Look at it more like a worm bin. Keep the worms happy it sething always on the soil to feed the and house them.

St. Phatty · Nov 27, 2015

VortexPower420 said:
Chop and drop is all you need. Look at it more like a worm bin. Keep the worms happy it sething always on the soil to feed the and house them.

That's what I was going to say.

To let the worms & bugs restore the soil for you.

As long as it has good drainage and doesn't go abiotic (smelly) on you.

If you are doing restore-in-place, I would add red-worms to each pot - when it is warm enough.

If you are putting all the soil masses in one pile, it lends itself more to hot composting. If the ingredients are mixed right and of good particle size (chopped up small), it'll heat up as soon as it's wet. Courtesy of the local bacteria.

blooper · May 8, 2016

nature rocks! did the job for me. i guess birds and/or the wind dropped a variety of seeds onto each pot so i ended up with a cover crop of clover and dandelion soon as it warmed up a bit. i decided to use larger pots this season so i dug the soil and greens out and into the new pots and low and behold, the roots had been well decomposed and i still have another month at least for the fresh soil and amendments to cook before planting. lots of mycelium too so it would seem the soil is most definitely in good health. thanks for the help everyone! looking forward to another season outdoors :tiphat:

blooper · May 12, 2016

AZOMITE. didn't want to start a new thread because there are so many but i have a question regarding amending used soil. i've dug through just about every thread i can find concerning the application rate of azomite (only mineral powder i can source in the big bags) and can't seem to get a straight answer. per gallon i've seen people say anywhere from 1 to 10 tablespoons. some people say it's impossible to over-do but last time i took that sort of advice i ended up ruining an entire crop due to adding too many amendments i couldn't exactly flush out of the soil and considering this is one of them, figured i'd ask and see what people actually experienced in using azomite in living soil are using. as always, i appreciate any help!

Microbeman · May 13, 2016

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=190365

A local mix (i.e. Naomi's Mineral Mix) is a combination of glacial rock dust, Azomite, soft rock phosphate, greensand (snerk) and limestone and in equal amounts (by volume).

1 cup to each 1 c.f. of potting soil and add another cup of the glacial rock dust.

RE: Bentonite

Check out the properties of bentonite vs. Azomite and see for yourself how much a difference there actually is. Zilch! Nada! Nothing! Like I said, Azomite has a strong marketing brigade.

But across the country (and around the world) there are local rock deposits which are supposed to end hunger in the Third World, eradicate genital warts, cure testicular cancer, stop the heartbreak of psoriasis, etc.

BTW - some folks buy into the Azomite deal so much that they ingest it. An interesting concept to be sure given the high levels of aluminum that volcanic rock dusts (in general) contain. It's also mixed with clays and applied to the skin at high-end spas.

Ahem......................

CC

That's what I always said. I use 1 heaping cup of rock dusts per contractor's wheelbarrow.

CANNABEST · May 18, 2016

Any difference with indoor reusing soil?

Indoor soil will be reusing it every 3 months, so nature do not have the time to naturally break down. I have heard of using enzyme to break down roots, but anyone have any recommendation?

colitasnow · May 18, 2016

I just let the pots dry out then shake it back into the bag it came in minus the stalk and roots. The roots have to removed, pots and soil dry as a bone so no chance of mold or odor. I've only used roots organics and its reusable for several grows. For me, the whole point is to spend as little money as possible. RootsOrganics the 707 type was best, but its not around much, now t's called Original type. Make it last.

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help reusing soil

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