Reuse soil for cannabis growing in more than a growing cycle is a factor to notice, not only for what it saves in money (not much but it saves something), also for a more discreet way of growing, due to not having to enter your place with bags of soil. In this post we will discuss about what should bwe do in case of needing to reuse soil once and again in our gardens.
Can I reuse the soil growing cannabis?
The answer is yes, it is possible, it is only necessary to follow some simple steps to recover the soil that we've used in our intensive cycle, to turn it fertile again, and spongy.
Cannabis is a plant that consumes large amount of nutrients, so it is a must to feed it with nutrients along its cycle to get best results.
It is also known that outdoor farmers don't change the soil of their fields every year, so that makes us afirm that reuse soil it is not only possible, it's a fact.
Explained this, we must tell that if we need to reuse soil it is important to follow some steps to recover it, so plants don't suffer, nor decrease their yielding options.
What should I do to recover the substrate?
Firstly we have to condition soil for the new purpose. The latest stage of a growing cycle is flushing. This process where we are freeing the substrate from minerals, and by derivation the plants too, improves the taste of the crop, but causes a loss of nutrients in substrate (what gives us an idea of the first step to overpass if we need to recycle the soil.
* The appearance of the substrate is something to notice when you think about reusing soil for a new cycle. If this has a dry look and block-form, is able to be reused, but if it looks more browny, argillaceous, and leaves your hands dirty it is better not to use it, because it would jail the roots don't letting them breathe.
Reuse soil step by step:
1.- Dismantle the blocks of soil: After growing, specially in pots, soil usually compacts. If we want to recover the spongy characteristic of substrate we must brake those blocks within our hands, using a rake when needed.
2.- Remove old roots: Along the process to restructure the soil, and avoid future problems, is needed to remove the maximum amounts of organic matter. It is specially important to remove stems, trunks and bigger roots, that could remain in the substrate once raked.
3.- Deworming: If we suffered a pest attack during latest growth, a good tip is to let the substrate rest for about 10-15 days outdoor once raked. This will remove any type of eggs or insects that could remain in it.
If the pest has been large, it is recommended to boil water and use it to water the substrate before letting it rest (covering the soil with a plastic if possible). Once the substrate is dry we can continue with next step.
A good practice if we had some fungi problems during last cycle is to add Mineral Magic to the soil before using it again.
4.- Recover the micro-life of a substrate: Micro-life of a substrate is what favours plants to develope properly in it. In this case, if we are planning to reyse soil for the next cycle it is important to add again a source of micro-life in the substrate for a future healthy and vigorous developement of plants. This can be done mixing some worm castings (rich in humic acids) in substrate (15% of the total volume of soil) and adding beneficial bacteria to the blend /type trichoderma and mycorrizae).
5.- Add new substrate: Once these steps are done it is normal to loose a certain amount of soil. This can be easily solutioned just adding a bit of new soil to the mix.
6.- Once we have braken down the blocks of substrate, removed the died organic matter, dewormed and fertilized again, we are now ready to use the soil for the next cycle. Some grower may want to add some perlite or vermiculite to get an even more spongy substrate. This can be done just adding about 5-10 % of these products to the total volume of soil. Another way to get this spongy texture is adding some coco (notice coco is an inert substrate that will only work as a spongier in the mix).
* The same way it happens when you reuse coco, when we talk about reuse soil, it is a must to use enzymes along the next growing cycle. Enzymes will work to convert died organic matter into available nutrients for root system.
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Pollinate through the roots it's impossible, what could happen is the pollen spread all arround by those hermies could activate and somehow arrive to the new flowers and pollinate them. My suggest would be to remove everything from that room, clean every single thing and tool, and start again with new soil. The cost of a new bag of soil Vs the possible pollination makes 100% worth the purchase of that bag.
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If the drainage holes in the bigger pot worry me, that fine soil might flow out, I just crack off large-ish pieces of used, root-filled old soil and block the drainage holes with this natural filter material. Excess water still drains out very well, but all the soil is prevented from escaping via drainage holes. Lasts all season, no problem.
I have used old soil in large pots without disturbing it at all -- just add new seedling or clone and start salt-based fertilizers. But it is more work and nicer to empty old soil into wheelbarrow or large tub and tear it all apart, fluffing as you go, maybe adding some new soil, repacking into the same large pot. You can use all the coarse root pieces as filler at the bottom of your container. New plants don't seem to mind the slowly rotting compost/roots at bottom of container. Mar-o-juana is a pretty forgiving, hardy weed! I even grew one on a tree stump with no dirt at all last summer, just sawdust and garage-floor-sweepings** to cover its roots. Roots grew flat, conforming to the flat stump. Gave weak salts nutes every watering. About a third of a day of full sun. Ripened into a nice perfumy female about 5 feet tall with rich green leaves and dark purple buds. Will do it again next summer! Fun to show friends plant growing on a stump.
** original seed was in the floor sweepings/pet hair/floordust and sprouted spontaneously at correct time in spring.
Don't forget to block the drainage hole with some natural kind of filter. For filter I have even used a big handful of long grasses/weeds wadded up and lodged against drainage hole! Even used douglas fir cones to block holes! Pieces of corncob work too. Keeps soil in, lets water out!
When life hands you sprouted seedlings, grow dope ;)
Thank you for sharing your tips. It doesn't look like a bad way of doing it. Maybe the only problem would be in case of detecting a pest in the previous cycle, that could stay there for further cycles. When growing in pots I really prefer to use new soil, because I like the benefits a new soft and spongy soils gives my plants, but def yes, you can do it that way, maybe adding some amendments that could low down the need of salt nutrients could be beneficial for you.
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I've never experienced with chicken manure but I do know that works good, as many of my friends use it. What I do add to my soil too is that bone meal and kelp mea. Plants love that shit! Stay on the organic side and plats will reward you with great crops ;)