Recycling Soil ? Please help need advice

I had to kill a male last week and now I'm hoping to squeeze in 1 extra seed this year using "his" old soil, which brings me to my questions

1.) Is it safe to use the soil that a male grew out of, or will left over pollen possibly polinate a future female?

2.) Also whats the best way to replinish/recycle soil to reuse it? I've got xtra seabird guano, dolomite lime, wormcasting(1pound), epsom salt, greensand, and perlite but no sphag. moss just wondering if anyone has any ideas?

3.) Finally, I've been sifting through the old soil and I see lots of left behind roots. I removed the root ball but alot of the smaller roots just ripped and stayed in the soil. Is it okay to leave these in the soil?

I figure they have Nutes in them and when they decompose shouldn't those nutes go back into my soil?

Any advice would be great, this is my first grow, and I'm know its lil late for a seed to get planted but I figure better late than never. I just germinated my pick and she's almost ready to be put in her 1 gal. starter home. I plan on giving her a boost of 20-24 hour flourescent light to help her catch up for a few weeks, and then hardin her off to the outdoors.

i used the soil that i used from my males to fill in/level the top soil from waterings. I tryed to pick out the roots though because i think they can rot and cause problems.

pick roots out and flush

Thanks guys I appreciate the reply's, I posted the same question in the Advanced grow tech. forum and got 2 answers saying to never use old soil for any reason. So now Im just torn as to who's advice to follow.

I guess I'll just have to wait for more opinion's or just make up my mind on own.

I don't know how much of a difference it makes but heres the recipe I use.

3 parts Canadian sphagnum peat mix, coco coir or pro-mix
1 part large, chunky perlite
1 part worm castings
1/2 cup greensand
1/2 cup dolomite lime
1/3 cup Peruvian seabird guano
1/4 cup Epsom salts
Hand mixed and in 5 Gal buckets with holes

Compost the used medium and use the finished compost as a key component in fresh medium.

Pull the big roots out. Use beneficial bacteria/fungi and Enzymes to break down whats left. Then Reuse If you run beneficials and enzymes during the entire grow cycle and have a good flush you can reuse with little issues at all. Ive been using mine for almost a year

I just recently re-sized the pots again for flowing time and was a little short of soil. I just went over to last years pile and filled the wheelbarrow.

Arsenal420.... The used soil would benefit most from being composted. The small feeder roots left in your used soil mix, could act as a food source for bad bacteria. Plus the soil mix itself, has a reduced level of nutrients in it, used up by the male as he grew.
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Adding beneficial bacteria (which produce enzymes), will breakdown the leftover roots and generally improve the soil. Since you have worm castings, you have beneficial bacteria and fungi in them. Mix in 10 percent worm castings, moisten and let the leftover soil compost. Later, it wil make a great base soil to build on.
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Hope this helps....
Keep it Real....Organic......
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I also have done the same thing as you. I removed the male plant. The root system was fairly small. Hopefully it will work ok.

hehe, theres people who buy all new soil every time?!? jeezus, combine that with wasting your money on advanced nutes and driving to the store for distilled water and you might as well be buying weed.

Arsenal420 said:

Thanks guys I appreciate the reply's, I posted the same question in the Advanced grow tech. forum and got 2 answers saying to never use old soil for any reason. So now Im just torn as to who's advice to follow.

I guess I'll just have to wait for more opinion's or just make up my mind on own.

I don't know how much of a difference it makes but heres the recipe I use.

3 parts Canadian sphagnum peat mix, coco coir or pro-mix
1 part large, chunky perlite
1 part worm castings
1/2 cup greensand
1/2 cup dolomite lime
1/3 cup Peruvian seabird guano
1/4 cup Epsom salts
Hand mixed and in 5 Gal buckets with holes

Click to expand...

This is basic gardening common knowledge; Never re-use for for any reason.

Soil accumulates toxic salt buildup though normal watering and fertilization, and those salts will kill (or at best stunt) young plants.

Junk in junk out

Green Cross said:

This is basic gardening common knowledge; Never re-use for for any reason.

Soil accumulates toxic salt buildup though normal watering and fertilization, and those salts will kill (or at best stunt) young plants.

Junk in junk out

Click to expand...

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Green Cross...... The forest floor is covered with dead leaves, leaf mold and the soil contains dead roots from plants that did not make it. However, the entire forest continues on, why ? Simple, the soil food web. Composting that never stops.
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Beneficial products like Bio-zyme or Super Plant Tonic, even High Nitrogen Bat Guano are full of beneficial bacteria, which will bio-remediate soil.
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Compost rocks and used soil should never be discarded, it should always be recycled.
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I've been using the same soil for many years, with great sucess. Just consider the recycled composted soil, compost when you're finished. A base to build on.
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Keep it Real....Organic......
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Ohsogreen said:

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Green Cross...... The forest floor is covered with dead leaves, leaf mold and the soil contains dead roots from plants that did not make it. However, the entire forest continues on, why ? Simple, the soil food web. Composting that never stops.
.
Beneficial products like Bio-zyme or Super Plant Tonic, even High Nitrogen Bat Guano are full of beneficial bacteria, which will bio-remediate soil.
.
Compost rocks and used soil should never be discarded, it should always be recycled.
.
I've been using the same soil for many years, with great sucess. Just consider the recycled composted soil, compost when you're finished. A base to build on.
.
Keep it Real....Organic......
.
.

Click to expand...

my god, i bet some of these guys are even throwing it in the trash. sending perfectly good dirt to the landfills.

SlikWiLL13 said:

my god, i bet some of these guys are even throwing it in the trash. sending perfectly good dirt to the landfills.

Click to expand...

Oh So is the man on recycled soil and composting. I have been recycling the same soil for years. Once the plant is finished, whether it be flower, shrub, tree or one of my girls, the dirt goes back to the compost pile. I have never had a problem that I related to the soil being reused. That being said I would not just put a new plant in old soil without it going through the composting stage again.