How to Reuse Old Potting Soil

Are you wondering if you can still reuse old potting soil? Turns out you can! Yes, you can recycle depleted potting soil, but you need to take a few steps to make it better since old potting soils no longer have enough nutrients for your new plants. Also, the mix can be filled with roots, pests, weeds, and diseases. That is why you have to check and revitalize the soil. You can save money by reusing old potting soil instead of buying new soil all the time.

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I have found an informative YouTube video that will teach you how to reuse old potting soil. Scott Head has shared four methods for recycling. They are all easy to understand and follow. You will surely find them useful and will help answer all your questions. He has explained detailed instructions on how to do it in the video below. Give those potting soil a second chance. Hopefully, these tips and tricks will help you to do it properly.

For more gardening tips, check these out: 5 Life-Saving Gardening Hacks That You Must Know, 5 Spring Gardening Mistakes to Avoid, 31 DIY Tips for Spring Gardening

1 – Just re-use as is + regular feeding

While most soils are depleted by the plants that grow in them. Usually, they are not fully depleted for a number of seasons. He suggests you put one layer of compost for each time you plant on them.

Pots are smaller samples and sometimes, they can fill up with roots and zap the soil of its nutrition. This is not recommended. If you are going to plant directly on old potting soil, stay on top of those plants as they grow with a very regular and very good water-soluble fertilizing regimen.

2 – Refresh with new soil (50/50)

Add some fresh potting soil to your old potting soil. A 50/50 mix is recommended but do whatever you got. The fresh one will help revitalize the soil. Use water-soluble fertilizers.

3 –  Add compost to soil (1:3)

If you add compost to your depleted mix, you are putting organic material into your soil that the bacteria and fungal life in that soil can go to work on. A ratio of three part soil to one part fresh compost works well. Let it sit for a few weeks.

If you want to do it quick, you can take compost tea and water the soil with it.

4 – Compost and amendments

Fertilizers will give your plants the nutrients it needs. You can use Azomite or kelp meal. For the best potting mix that you are going to revitalize, put some slow release fertilizer.

How to Reuse Old Potting Soil