How do you recycle your soil to use again

I've got about 100 gallons of veg and canna soil from last year, I'm planning on amending it and adding a few goodies in along the way to get things really lively, gonna be building a greenhouse real soon and am planning to go full living soil in 6 30 gal smart pots, then do 2 sandstone raised beds in there as well for onions,lettuce,broccoli carrots and other assorted edibles no salts
 

Willie

🍓 Crush Genetics 🍓
I've got about 100 gallons of veg and canna soil from last year, I'm planning on amending it and adding a few goodies in along the way to get things really lively, gonna be building a greenhouse real soon and am planning to go full living soil in 6 30 gal smart pots, then do 2 sandstone raised beds in there as well for onions,lettuce,broccoli carrots and other assorted edibles no salts

Consider cover cropping that 100 gallons of soil. Amazing benefits develop. Plant them in fall, they are done by spring.....just in time for repotting or a new bed :)


Meanwhile I'm wondering what time the rabbit store opens up............attaboy Jewels. :)
 
It's currently in trashcans awaiting processing, I'm planning on running come cover crops once I get to growing, but as the situation sits now itll get heavily amended and then itll rest for about a month before use
 

Jewels

Tilts at Tables
I snuck out all of the light and fluffy stuff for my next WTF flower run. Not sure how much dirt fits in a wheelbarrow but I got a couple of those.
I hit an impenetrable band of Frost. I just stole what I could.
20210123_171017.jpg
Cleaning out old balls.
20210205_105617_HDR.jpg
In order of operation :
~I turn I spent pail upside down on the red grate.
~They ended up being frozen solid , so I had to beat the sides of the pails with a brick. Made in Canada "Ropak' I got really rough with it and I didn't break one.
~blade and chop balls in order to separate brick chips and hydroton.
~ continue adding hardwood chips and Bunny dung
~ wait for spring.

Remember these Goofy bastard's??
20200928_113452_HDR.jpg


20200928_114528_HDR.jpg

That is how a really stingy guy can grow semi Hydro phonic with only two litres of expensive hydroton , inside a 4 gallon pail.
I got the benefits of big with the advantage of frugal. 20210205_105555_HDR.jpg
I am going to step out on a limb and call it a success.
20210205_105633_HDR.jpg

I am also going to go out on a limb and totally dispel the myth of how dangerous organic inputs are in hydroponic systems.

View attachment 20210205_105657.mp4


20210205_105824.jpg
I had soaked those bricks over spring in the pond. The Roots impregnated themselves directly into the surface. Cleaning them was a breeze when they were frozen solid.
If I get ambitious I am going to Pack and Stack that soil in , like sawdust in an ice house. I have a giant pile of brick rubble and if I layer them in I can keep the water running through my stack
 

Jewels

Tilts at Tables
but I gotta ask...

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Are these like, the jelly bean flavors you don't like or something?

I have a shiny quarter for whomever can tell me what this is.
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Capture+_2021-02-05-23-46-53.png
Capture+_2021-02-05-23-47-08.png
 

Capt's Farm

CHOOSE YOUR TITLE
Ok I just pull the plants turn the soil.. add food .mix.. pull any long roots..add so ash for Fire place and a little DE..
Mix pot all in a hr..............
Last yr I got new soil about half of what was needed...
I run everything in used soil after feb... and still got beans....

If I wasn't in a hurry I would let it sit a week or 2 and then use it outside..but you could reuse inside.....

There's a lot of good info here...like the composting you all do..but takes to long if you need it Now...
Again just my 2 cents

But don't let anyone tell you,
you can't use , reused soil in 30 mins cause I have been doing this since I'm 8 yrs old with my mother....
 

Capt's Farm

CHOOSE YOUR TITLE
Honestly I don't understand why you all have a problem with it...
The way most you grow..your flushing your soil every water... by the time you flush for plants, cut and trim.
The soil you're using just needs food..the same as when the plant was in it.. so why don't you just keep going...???
The way you guy's run numbers of feed you want to control your own plants more then the earth system...
Just add food a d keep rocking...
Honestly I don't get it....
 

Capt's Farm

CHOOSE YOUR TITLE
I snuck out all of the light and fluffy stuff for my next WTF flower run. Not sure how much dirt fits in a wheelbarrow but I got a couple of those.
I hit an impenetrable band of Frost. I just stole what I could.
View attachment 51806
Cleaning out old balls.
View attachment 51807
In order of operation :
~I turn I spent pail upside down on the red grate.
~They ended up being frozen solid , so I had to beat the sides of the pails with a brick. Made in Canada "Ropak' I got really rough with it and I didn't break one.
~blade and chop balls in order to separate brick chips and hydroton.
~ continue adding hardwood chips and Bunny dung
~ wait for spring.

Remember these Goofy bastard's??
View attachment 51808


View attachment 51809

That is how a really stingy guy can grow semi Hydro phonic with only two litres of expensive hydroton , inside a 4 gallon pail.
I got the benefits of big with the advantage of frugal. View attachment 51810
I am going to step out on a limb and call it a success.
View attachment 51811

I am also going to go out on a limb and totally dispel the myth of how dangerous organic inputs are in hydroponic systems.

View attachment 51812


View attachment 51813
I had soaked those bricks over spring in the pond. The Roots impregnated themselves directly into the surface. Cleaning them was a breeze when they were frozen solid.
If I get ambitious I am going to Pack and Stack that soil in , like sawdust in an ice house. I have a giant pile of brick rubble and if I layer them in I can keep the water running through my stack
Now that's dyi...Great work...
We don't like each other......
But good work.....
 
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Jewels

Tilts at Tables
Life is too short to hold a grudge, and we will both continue making this a better place by keeping an open heart.

I do appreciate the buffer space that I was given, and I respect you for that.


We don't like each other.....
But ,,,, we do Capt. ?
I was caught at an impasse, defending a principal.

Impasse

noun​

a position or situation from which there is no escape; deadlock.

You were defending a friend.
I can be the first to call that admirable.
 

Ramjet159

pHeno pHisher
I try and create as much of my own organic material as possible . I empty my used pots back into my compost heap and turn it in to re energise it and create a majority of my liquid fertiliser from tips I picked up from my mother who is a mad gardener . You can save a ton of money on crap you can if keen and practical make yourself . Admittedly not everyone has the time or space for this . C2E4F777-3752-4BB6-A169-B12DB9BBB778.jpeg 1A11B00E-6A06-4CC9-A84D-C846084AF13C.jpeg
 

Highsince76

In Bloom
I've been reusing my soils for a while now. Biggest mistake I've made is putting in to much on recyles. I used to toss it into my garden or flower beds but quit doing that. Tossing out that rich, beautiful looking dirt just seemed wasteful, not to mention pricey. I just grow in a 4 x 4. I'd hate to think about replacing it all every run in a larger area like some of you guys. It don't help when everything I need or use has to be ordered and delivered. Unfriendly area, no hydro stores, the funny looks and lying at the local nursery, forces me to amazon and the likes.

The way I see it, like @Capt's Farm mentioned, how you use or grow in your soil makes a difference on how you need/should recycle. If your using salts, or synthetic nutes you wouldn't need to add much or do as much. Pull out the main rootball, add a little more aeration (perlite, pumice, lava rock), a little more peat or coir, till you get the consistency you desire and your done. Reason you may need more peat or coir is because it's breaking down with age and cycles, and more less turning itself into humus or compost. Hence...more peat and some more aeration to compensate. Or you could go 50% recycled soil 50% new.

Organic or living soil is a little more involved. Adding back your nutritional amendments can be a little bit of a guessing game. Some go as far as getting soil tests, see what it lacks or has to much of. I've never personally. A good rule of thumb is add 1/4 - 1/2 of nutritional amendments from a good super soil recipe back in. Most will say it's better to go light than heavy. You can always add, but it's a bitch to take away. If you've been topdressing heavy on your previous grow, go on the light side. If you would notice hungry looking plants, you can always go heavier on topdressings and use some fish hydrolysate untill those top dressings start breaking down and can be utilized. Leave most of them roots in there. I'm also becoming a believer in not adding much compost or ewc back into it after your initial mix. Your decaying peat/coir, roots, topdressings, and mulch from your last grow fill that need. IDK. I'll be the first to say, I'm far from an expert but works well for me.
 

Skunky Dunk Farms

Cannabinoid Receptor
Ok, let me just throw in my knickle.
I use a lot of soil. Last round was 17 bags and 3 cu ft perlite.
So i do recycle a bit. I use organic nutes, i say "organic" with a grain of salt so to speak lol.
Last round was all new soil, so i just finished harvesting and will now pull half of each bag and transfer to black trash bags and and throw out back next to our compost pile where a dozen other bags from last 2 rounds have been sitting. They will all get tilled into our veg garden after this next cold snap. After 6 years of this our garden soil is starting to resemble a forest floor!
I will add approx. 10 bags of new soil to this used batch. I also ammend all this as i mix with humic/fulvic/kelp in granular form as well as multiple guanos, mycos and a bit of gypsum.
As im using HF and OF, adding this stuff heats it up a bit but its also actually cut 50% with the used soil.
I just water this in and let it sit for 7 to 10 days before i drop 1 gal veggers into it.
 

Jewels

Tilts at Tables
wouldn't need to add much or do as much. Pull out the main rootball, add a little more aeration (perlite, pumice, lava rock), a little more peat or coir, till you get the consistency you desire and your done. Reason you may need more peat or coir is because it's breaking down with age and cycles, and more less turning itself into humus or compost. Hence...more peat and some more aeration to compensate. Or you could go 50% recycled soil 50% new
I think this is spot-on for me.
And compaction be damned ,,, Part of me would also like to believe that that plant got right down and ate some of that dirt, and that's why it's not there anymore.

I do not have the skill for patience to relearn growing with a bunch of random dudes / new soil every time.

Working in bulk is an attempt to achieve consistency and eliminate variables. ( sneak a little in, sneak a little out ) I'm struggling to keep everything else in the groove I want to work with consistent inputs every time.

Following 76'ers dictum- I am just fluffing it up and running it through again.

Still I would be neglecting my duties if I did not step out and mention that it is bunny dung , for the win.
They are essentially gut processing Timothy Hay for me all day long. They do get some compressed pellet and that is also fortified with vitamins and minerals.
 
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