Re use soil

LLanier

Active Member
Hey guys,

Stupid question but I rather be safe.

Had a plant start to hermi on me so I cut it down and got rid of it.

Will I be able to re use the soil without it possibly ruining a new grow ?
 

spek9

Well-Known Member
I never re-use my soil indoors. I do however put it into my compost bin, or into separate bins for mixing into the outdoor plants when they go out. I feel that the dead and dying root remnants can attract pests as it rots.
 

LLanier

Active Member
That makes sense, I would re use it for an outdoor grow but unfortunately I am unable to with my damn neighbors lol. Guess I will use it for a vegetable garden out back .
 

Kassiopeija

Well-Known Member
soil gets gradually better overtime because of its continouing downbreak, so itll get a finer structure and hold more weight in water.
organic can be reammended with countless stuff, it just needs some rest in warmth & also moist.
 

spek9

Well-Known Member
That makes sense, I would re use it for an outdoor grow but unfortunately I am unable to with my damn neighbors lol. Guess I will use it for a vegetable garden out back .
I don't have neighbours where I am, but that's what I use it for. It goes into my greenhouse where I grow kale, tomatoes, potatoes and strawberries. No outdoor cannabis this year. I'm using all of my space for food only. Who knows what's going to happen over the next year or so.

Besides, I've got a freezer full of vacuum sealed cannabis anyhow with a perpetual grow in full swing.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
You can't pass on a hermie by reusing the soil.

I reuse soil. But I have 50 pound bags of amendments like earthworm castings, alfalfa, kelp, crab meal, azomite, etc... I amend the soil, put it in bags, and let it set for a couple months. I bought all that stuff because I was going to switch over to water only organic growing. In my haste I planted into the first batch I made after just a couple weeks. It was the worst grow I had in years. So if you do reuse it make sure to add stuff back to it and then let it sit and "cook" for a decent amount of time. I currently have some clones growing in some reused soil that I amended and has sat outside in the greenhouse for about 4 months. The plants are doing great.

I'd also point out that if you've been overfeeding your plants with a dozen bottles of products the soil could have excess salt buildups and such. But soil from a properly fed grow can be reused and many people constantly recycle their soil never throwing any of it away and have been simply amending to the same soil for years.
 

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
I reused all my soil for my 1st year of growing. If you are using salt based nutrients then you just need to give the soil a decent flush with a chelation to help pull the salts out of the water. When I did this I flushed all my plants with Flawless Finish from Advanced Nutrients.
 

LLanier

Active Member
You can't pass on a hermie by reusing the soil.

I reuse soil. But I have 50 pound bags of amendments like earthworm castings, alfalfa, kelp, crab meal, azomite, etc... I amend the soil, put it in bags, and let it set for a couple months. I bought all that stuff because I was going to switch over to water only organic growing. In my haste I planted into the first batch I made after just a couple weeks. It was the worst grow I had in years. So if you do reuse it make sure to add stuff back to it and then let it sit and "cook" for a decent amount of time. I currently have some clones growing in some reused soil that I amended and has sat outside in the greenhouse for about 4 months. The plants are doing great.

I'd also point out that if you've been overfeeding your plants with a dozen bottles of products the soil could have excess salt buildups and such. But soil from a properly fed grow can be reused and many people constantly recycle their soil never throwing any of it away and have been simply amending to the same soil for years.
Thank you! I was sure it couldent be passed on but I've been wrong before by assuming lol.

Good dirt is expensive, I was planning on screening the soil out and removing as many roots as possible.

Yeah I'm kinda bummed about the hermi but im also happy I caught it early on before any of them bananas opened up and ruined the other 3 plants.
 

spek9

Well-Known Member
You can't pass on a hermie by reusing the soil.

I reuse soil. But I have 50 pound bags of amendments like earthworm castings, alfalfa, kelp, crab meal, azomite, etc... I amend the soil, put it in bags, and let it set for a couple months. I bought all that stuff because I was going to switch over to water only organic growing. In my haste I planted into the first batch I made after just a couple weeks. It was the worst grow I had in years. So if you do reuse it make sure to add stuff back to it and then let it sit and "cook" for a decent amount of time. I currently have some clones growing in some reused soil that I amended and has sat outside in the greenhouse for about 4 months. The plants are doing great.

I'd also point out that if you've been overfeeding your plants with a dozen bottles of products the soil could have excess salt buildups and such. But soil from a properly fed grow can be reused and many people constantly recycle their soil never throwing any of it away and have been simply amending to the same soil for years.
I've been meaning for years to try the rebuilding of soil with amendments and such. Perhaps it's time I act on it.

I just literally mix it in with other soil meant for outside use.

The one time I did re-use soil for an indoor grow years ago, I got an aphid infestation. I've never had one before or since, so that's my hesitation. On a harvest 3/4lb every five week perpetual, bugs would throw a huge wrench into the process ;)
 

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
The one time I did re-use soil for an indoor grow years ago, I got an aphid infestation. I've never had one before or since, so that's my hesitation.
I can't see how reusing soil could cause that unless you brought the soil outside or brought in an infested clone (or brought them in on your clothes).
 

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
Thank you! I was sure it couldent be passed on but I've been wrong before by assuming lol.

Good dirt is expensive, I was planning on screening the soil out and removing as many roots as possible.

Yeah I'm kinda bummed about the hermi but im also happy I caught it early on before any of them bananas opened up and ruined the other 3 plants.
No need to remove the roots. They will break down and just add nutrition to the soil. People who do no-till leave the entire root ball in there before planing the next round.
 

spek9

Well-Known Member
I can't see how reusing soil could cause that unless you brought the soil outside or brought in an infested clone (or brought them in on your clothes).
I assumed it was the rotting of the dead roots that weren't removed from the soil before using it in new pots attracted the pests. Again, I can't conclusively say this is what happened, but it was the only different variable.
 

Ulookinatmepal

New Member
I'd use fresh soil, or if not- I'd seperate the root material out and save what I can, then reconstitute it, back to the original volume, with a mixture of good quality peat moss compost and pearlite, ratio of 3:1 and maybe mix in some worm castings and bone meal, and then give it all a drenching with some fish emulsion. Yummy! :)

I had regular Hermies on my first couple of grows and found that my setup wasn't completely light-tight. Fixing this, coupled with starting seeds in small pots rather than their final pots means that I ain't seen any male flowers for ages. Even when they were present, I caught them early and castrated them before they popped. Gutted you lost a lady pal :,(
 

LLanier

Active Member
I'd use fresh soil, or if not- I'd seperate the root material out and save what I can, then reconstitute it, back to the original volume, with a mixture of good quality peat moss compost and pearlite, ratio of 3:1 and maybe mix in some worm castings and bone meal, and then give it all a drenching with some fish emulsion. Yummy! :)

I had regular Hermies on my first couple of grows and found that my setup wasn't completely light-tight. Fixing this, coupled with starting seeds in small pots rather than their final pots means that I ain't seen any male flowers for ages. Even when they were present, I caught them early and castrated them before they popped. Gutted you lost a lady pal :,(
Yeah with my gorilla tent, I have to leave the flap in the back open or the tent walls suck in . When its lights out I shut the light off in my room as well. The other 3 plants are fine so far, now I'm kind if sketched about light lol
 

LLanier

Active Member
Maybe just maybe it was genetics . Maybe it's because I had a rough start with that plant.

Now there wasent pods on every node, but I did find 3 or 4 spots that had flowers and balls . I just hope the other plants will be okay. The balls were still youngish and closed so we will see
 

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
Yeah with my gorilla tent, I have to leave the flap in the back open or the tent walls suck in . When its lights out I shut the light off in my room as well. The other 3 plants are fine so far, now I'm kind if sketched about light lol
The walls should suck in a little. Negative air pressure keeps the smell out of the house. If they pull in too much then you can make a brace half way up on all sides to prevent the sides from coming in too much. I’m surprised tents don’t just come with them.
 

spek9

Well-Known Member
The walls should suck in a little. Negative air pressure keeps the smell out of the house. If they pull in too much then you can make a brace half way up on all sides to prevent the sides from coming in too much. I’m surprised tents don’t just come with them.
That's what exhaust fan variable speed switches are used for. Spin down the speed of the fan to the point you have slight negative airflow in the tent without the tent trying to suck in the surrounding carpet and curtains ;)
 

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
That's what exhaust fan variable speed switches are used for. Spin down the speed of the fan to the point you have slight negative airflow in the tent without the tent trying to suck in the surrounding carpet and curtains ;)
I like a little negative pressure, but not so much that the fan is struggling.
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
I used the same FFOF for 3 straight rounds before tuning it into no-till. No need to take the roots out. The microbes will break them down and turn them back to usable nutrients. I just cut the stem off close to the soil, and let it sit moist for at least a month. By then the main stem piece will pull right out since all it's roots have been decomposed. Then just pop another plant in. Only organic nutes though.
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
The walls should suck in a little. Negative air pressure keeps the smell out of the house. If they pull in too much then you can make a brace half way up on all sides to prevent the sides from coming in too much. I’m surprised tents don’t just come with them.
I actually prefer positive pressure in my veg tent since it's only 2x4 ft, so by having positive pressure the plants have more room. With 2 15 gal, 2 3 gal, and a couple 1 gal, I need all the room I can get, lol.
 
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