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Yes, soil can be reused. Some of the best indoor growers I know reuse their soil and they say it gets better every time. It's not easy though. I know 1 guy who literally takes a screen and sifts all the roots out of the soil, which can take a loooong time if you got a good sized grow going.
Quote: hawksapprentice said: No! You don't want to reuse it. The roots will start to rot, which in a closed system is not ideal. So I use it for my outdoor beds.
So, Hawk, what about the roots from a cut-down hermie or male in a multi-plant per pot setup? I haven't seen any negative consequences yet from this. Then again, perhaps it's my lack of vision that stops me from seeing?
I'm going to have to disagree with anyone who says soil can't be reused! This is pure nonsense. If you couldn't reuse soil, would the earth and all that had lived on it be dead? NO because Root Decay is an essential part of the life cycle.
To Reuse your soil and soilless mediums, Simply Compost it for a month at a temp of 70 degrees Fer. with all the usual amendments that you put in your soil along with lime to help break down old roots and buffer the soil for an easier to manage PH % I realize that since this post was started a lot has changed in Marijuana cultivation. But let's stop the spread of misinformation on this and all other Canna related sites. Some People are New to growing and want responsible and correct answers to their questions. These types of sites are known to be filled with way too much mis-information.
Please Respond to my poll on this subject
Did you even read the entire thread?
-------------------- Dude she isn't as young as she use to be.
Quote: Hawksresurrection said: Did you even read the entire thread?
Why would we not want as many opinions on this as possible?
Um ok?
I made my response because he quoted only one response, and even in that response it states you can. Then other responses I also stated that soil could be reused. Hence my question
-------------------- Dude she isn't as young as she use to be.
Soil can be reused. Soilless can also be reused but I most definitely don't recommend that as peat breaks down it becomes more dense which means it's going to hold less air. People do reuse their peat with success too.
Hawk is correct as far as the roots go. They will rot and will be a breeding ground for anaerobic bacteria. Which will further cause root rot in your next crop.
You would want to remove as many roots as possible but screening/sifting isn't necessary if you use an enzyme product and or AACT (actively aerated compost tea, this is going to have a ton of bacteria that will be helpful in the breakdown of roots, and will also insure you have a healthy soil microbially speaking). Application of either will speed up the breakdown of roots and will use them to the benefit of the soil (by them becoming bio-available nutrients).
You also need to replenish the soil of nutrients and minerals. This can be done with a blend of lime (for pH), kelp (K and trace minerals), alfalfa meal(N-mostly, P, K, and trace minerals), etc. I believe people use something like 1/3 of a cup lime, and a full cup of kelp and alfalfa per cu ft of soil with success. There's a lot of factors that will come into play such as pot size, strain and even phenotype selection, veg time, and even light intensity which will determine how many nutrients your plants will make use of in the course of their life time.
One method I've used in the past to reuse soil is to use 1/2 fresh soil and 1/2 reused soil using "minimal" amendments. The soil overall would be a bit lighter on nutrients but the cost overall is greatly reduced. There's also a lot less guess work. I'm not a soil person but this would be a great start to reusing your soil. As you gain a feel for it you could use less and less fresh soil. Personally I use coco coir as my growing medium or other hydroponic mediums, I can reuse coco for years but choose to buy new coco each spring and take the old stuff outdoors.
I love organic buds but with soil I get half the yield I do growing with coco. The bugs too, I can't stand bugs in soil. The quality difference for me is minimal especially with resins. I'm done with indoor soil. Aquaponics is the future.
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