If you let your spare dirt dry out does it go bad?

jonnynobody

Well-Known Member
This could be a stupid question but I'm asking anyways....I have a small 2 tent grow going in a spare bedroom and I commonly find myself with half a bag of expensive dirt ($20+/bag) sitting in my big plastic tote container for weeks at a time before I have the chance to use it up which eventually dries out quite thoroughly. If you leave the lid on, the high moisture content in the dirt causes mold to grow which is why the lid is off and the dirt is drying out, so my question is - can dirt with a lot of organic shit in it go bad if it's dried out for an extended period of time?

That ocean forest is some pricey shit and I'd like to salvage every pinch of dirt I can...
 
Well, IMO, the first thing you should do is stop buying 'boutique' dirt. Consider purchasing potting soil from your local Lowe's or HD and you'll be fine. That said - the peat or coir in your mix will eventually break down but that's going to take a long time. Just pop the container lid from time-to-time and stir around a bit. It should last a growing season no problem.
 
Re-hydrate and stir as they've said. Throw some clover on top if you want to get things back in action fast. Nothing like live roots to get the microbe party started.
 
Re-hydrate and stir as they've said. Throw some clover on top if you want to get things back in action fast. Nothing like live roots to get the microbe party started.

i second this. its more accurate to say that soil microbes go dormant than to say the soil goes "bad". i mix my soil in large batches and like to water it with AACT when it starts to get bone dry.
 
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