Reusing soil...anybody else do it?

I was just wondering if anybody reused there soil very much, i have been doing it, usually use it about 3 times or so(complete cycles), adding new perlite & vermiculite, each time..But lately i've been wondering if it has been affecting my leeching, by keeping old mineral deposit stored in the soil, because i leech for 3 weeks & i still can taste, trace amounts of fertilizers, i'm wondering if this is because of the old soil, i'm using...? Any imput? on this i'd appreciate.

so your growing organically then, is that right?? im asking because if so, reusing your soil is a very good thing. If you recycle all of the reuseable soil, youll save money, and youll havenutrient rich soil to start your seedlings/clones out in. I dont personally do it, because i use FF ocean forest, and its cheap enough to where i dont have to sit and pick roots out of my leftover soil after each grow. but then again, ill be goin organic soon, so its something i need to start thinkin about

I do... but first I give it a good flush (in case it has any excess salts).

Re-use here!

Don't right away. I let it rest with some compost mixed in for a few months.

i was told never to..but id love to save some $...

maybe i'll flush and try on a few plants next go round

Why would you want to?The stuff is cheap.Many organic growers use p mix in composts then re-use.The only time I re-use is to reveg by simply flushing then applying a high N topdressing.

Rix said:

Why would you want to?The stuff is cheap.Many organic growers use p mix in composts then re-use.The only time I re-use is to reveg by simply flushing then applying a high N topdressing.

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Well because it's winter here most all the soil is stored outside in stores(but not all) & finding unfrozen stuff is hard too do...
& it's kind of a pain in the ass, if you have 12 or so gigantic pots!!
you don't want to be seen hauling in bag after bag of soil in the middle of winter..that would be rather suspisious...

i just want to know if anyone thinks, it affects the leeching process..?

I use Canna Coco and I reuse all the time. I will take about 2 bags of old to 1 bag of new and mix up real good. Works great.

I wouldn't assume that it looks suspicious buying indoor potting soil in the winter. Even if they are suspicious, what are they going to do? Pay with cash and walk out.

An alternative if you are worried, when you buy your soil, go to the plant section and buy yourself a nice house plant. There are some really nice house plants that take toxins out of the air. Rubber plants and snake plants are some that work well and are pretty cheap.

I bought two giant bags of soil today and this is the second time I was there in two weeks buying soil. Just be relaxed and act like your picking up a box of nails, it's no big deal. If you start acting suspicious and looking over your shoulder shopping for soil, you're just bringing heat to yourself. Grow ops aren't the only use for it.

Oh, I don't bother reusing either. The way I look at it is, since I'm not buying from a dealer, I'm saving plenty of money to warrant the $30-$40 per cycle.

Don't reuse soil. It is a great way to transfer pests and diseases and like you said it still takes like their is fertilizer build up. You should just be buying new soil with fresh nutrients in it. Your plants will thank you for it and your harvest will be greater if you just buy new soil each cycle.

I'm gonna recycle my babies tomorrow. I'm gonna use a 25% used to 75% new ratio. Will let you know how it goes.

dublin420 said:

Don't reuse soil. It is a great way to transfer pests and diseases and like you said it still takes like their is fertilizer build up. You should just be buying new soil with fresh nutrients in it. Your plants will thank you for it and your harvest will be greater if you just buy new soil each cycle.

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This is 50/50 true and false. It is a great way to transfer pests if your soil is already contaminated, but I'd hope one would be smart enough to know that if their soil is infested with fungal gnats or something, to not use it again. As far as buying new soil with fresh nutrients in it; yes, they are "fresh nutrients," but there are other options:

As long as you flush your soil well at the end of the previous harvest, and some even say you can/should flush your soil before reusing it, but after displacing it from the root ball. In addition to this, if you use an enzyme such as Hygrozyme, it allows the soil-borne bacteria to break down old root mass, and turn it into usable food for the roots. With that being said, I have never done this, but have heard from many that this works just as well to recondition soil.