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Renew used potting soil
Old habits die hard, especially when it comes to gardening. At a time when recycling is considered a must rather than a movement, many gardening books still recommend replacing potting soil with fresh material annually. Wow, what a waste of valuable material. I’ve talked to growers at dozens of public and private gardens across the country, and they all reuse their potting soil from year to year. The caveat of course is a devastating disease that wipes out an entire pot, but that’s a rarity. It has happened to me. Forgetting to water doesn’t count.
To re-energize my potting soil I empty the contents of the container on a large tarp or work surface. I use the back of shovel or a garden fork to break up, mix and remove any vegetation from pile. This “waste” is added to the compost pile or dug into the veggie garden or holding bed.
When empty, pots with a whitish crust of salts around the edges should be scrubbed with a brush and washed with a bleach solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water, plus a few drops of dish soap and then rinsed.
Next, I mix the used container soil with fresh potting soil or compost at a rate of 2 parts used to 1 part fresh material and then dump it back in the pot.
When working with large containers, such as oak barrels, I take out about half the soil and break up what’s left with a garden fork. Fluffing the lower layer of potting soil helps to reduce compaction and improve drainage.
This year, I’m using the new premium compost, OrganiMax ( available only in southern Michigan; next year national), to enrich my potting soil. Along with top-grade compost, it’s laced with soil microbes, kelp and a host of other goodies, which I think will make my container gardens rock. It will be better than the original potting soil.
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