What to do with container soil each year?

[Joz]

Can one reuse soil in containers?

Should one amend with new compost each year, and reuse? Compost all old container soil annually (wish I had room to do so)?

This came up in the Price per Pound thread in the General Discussion forum, and I don't see any obvious discussion in this here container forum.

Thanks....

[cthomato]

I reuse mine. I dump it into 18-gallon totes, break it up and mix in organic amendments. I throw in a slow release fertilizer at planting.

Chris

[nctomatoman]

I dump it into a pile and we reuse it to mulch our flower beds, transplant perennial flowers into it, etc. There are way too many diseases down here in the humid south, so I use bleached pots and fresh mix each season for my tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.

[mdvpc]

I live in the dry southwest, so I reuse it for about 3 years. Every spring if I am reusing, I dump everything out, mix in some perlite and compost and put it back in the pot after the pot has been cleaned.

[joesgarden]

In the past, I have used the old potting soil in my garlic beds. This year I am experimenting with reusing it for potting hot peppers, snow peas, and flowers, as well as Japanese maples and live oaks. So far, so good. I have no diseases and plant growth is very good.

My recipe: I dump about twenty gallons of used potting soil in a wheelbarrow and bust it up. Then I add two cups of pelletized lime and two cups of 10-10-10 pelletized fertilizer and mix it all up. This goes directly into the pots.

I have a huge oyster steamer that I have used to steam quantities of used potting soil prior to adding the lime and fertilizer. I figure an hour at 240 F should kill almost everything. So far, I have seen no difference between the steamed and unsteamed mixes with my current selection of plants. However, I plan to continue this experiment next year. I may even begin growing a few tomato plants in the steamed mix.

Like Craig, I have always started with bleached pots and new mix every year. The risk of disease is just too high with our high heat and humidity.

Joe

[timcunningham]

I reuse it, add some more organic matter (compost, manure, etc..) I live in the south too and haven't had too much trouble with diseases to justify the expense of getting new soil. As long as I add some new organic matter and some happy earthworms, I think the good organisms fight the bad ones to a stalemate. Of course time may prove me wrong and one year my reused soil will be a diaster, if so I will let you guys know.

[MikeInCypress]

I had reused my container soil the last two years. So this year I added fertilizer, some epsom salts, and topped off the containers with fresh soil. I had the worstoutbreak of early blight ever. Then to top it off my daconil was probably too old for effectiveness. End result low yields and nasty looking plants. For fall all containers will be emptied, cloroxed and have fresh new promix. Plus now I have a source for 5 gal buckets so I will be using more of them for the indeterminates.

Michael.

[valereee]

I'm planning to dump it into my herb garden, my asparagus beds, or my perennial beds.

Joe, why into your garlic beds in particular? I have a garlic bed this year, but I was planning to use that bed as one of my rotation spots for my 'maters so I'd not planned to dump my potting soil from my tomato plants into that bed. Is there a reason to use the same bed year after year for garlic rather than rotate things through that bed?

Val

[gflynn]

I re-adding the fertilizer components but I don't use it twice for container tomatoes. I use it for:

1. New in ground beds of all sorts.
2. Mulch for new grass seed.
3. Potted beans and lettuce.

Greg