soil Previous Seasons Potted Soil

Streamer

Streamer

Won't be long before I transfer my new seedlings to last seasons containers.    Would it be best to leave the soil in the pot and plant directly in to it.  Or should I empty the soil from the pots and loosen it up/remix before transplanting the new crop?     I didn't want to disturb that soil just in case it would harm any good "stuff" that has accrued over the past season.  As always, TIA.   :)
 
I am going to dump my soil and add some amendments and then fill the containers back up. First year doing this, so I hope I get similar results as last year.
 
I have a garden area but I do plant in 5 gallon buckets as well......I will empty my buckets into the garden and flowerbed areas and start with new soil every year in my pails....I figure most of the goodies in the buckets have been used up and need fresh soil.....The old soil gets tilled into the garden with manure and any other things I add to fertilize the soil.
 
ColdSmoke said:
dump it out in a wheel barrow and mix in some compost and you'll be good to go
Click to expand...
 
I was just typing the same thing when this posted! :) I do like a 50/50 mixture, old soil and new compost (with some extra perlite, etc). For the larger pots and cloth bags (10gal+), I often just scoop out a big portion in the middle and fill with amended soil. This also depends on how fertile, or not, you think your soil may be.
 
Yes I'm going to recycle all my container soil and add some of my compost I made along with some potting soil mix I purchased.
 
Same here. I've used the same soil for 3 seasons now with no problems. I dump it all out on a tarp and add compost, perlite, worn castings, rcw and whatever else I want. The good thing is, if I want to increase the garden size I add some bails of peat. I water with compost tea most of the season. I'm no expert. Just my 2-3 cents. Good luck.
 
The past three years I have bought new potting mix for my containers.
 
I dumped the previous years potting mix into my raised bed and RotoTilled it in thoroughly.
 
It has really helped the heavy clay-based natural soil in my raised bed become an excellent growing medium.
 
I have used Sta-Green MoistureMax, Fox Farms Ocean Forest, Fox Farms Happy Frog, Pro-Mix BX, Dr.Earth All Purpose Planting Mix, and Miracle Grow Moisture Control Potting Mix, some individually, some in various combinations.
 
I would guess in the three years I have added about a cubic yard to my raised bed. Yes, it does tend to spill over the sides, but it disappears into the lawn.
 
This year, I am setting up a 100 gallon BigBagBed and ten 10 gallon fabric grow bags, which in all will require approximately one cubic yard of potting mix.
 
I intend to go with a mixture of 3 bales of Pro-Mix General Purpose (expanded to 4 cubic feet each; 12 cubic feet), 5 bags of Happy Frog (two cubic feet each; 10 cubic feet), and 4 bags of Ocean Forest (1.5 cubic feet each; 6 cubic feet).
 
The past two years I have dumped the old container soil back into my raised bed for exactly the same reason as alkhall, I want to add some decent potting mix to my super clay soil. Between the soil and shredded leaves I am finally getting to a spot where my raised beds drain well and function properly. 
 
I don't see any reason why you can't do what everyone else says and just re-amend the soil, that's probably the route I'll eventually go. 
 
TW
 
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