Potting Soil - Wrong to throw in gardens?

[CanadianLori]

I just use plain old potting soil from Walmart. Then when the seedling is big enough to be "repotted" the whole block goes into the new spot. It compacts the soild just enough to make it hold together. I also subsequently just run water in the tray and let the blocks soak up the liquid. The blocks have a little dibble - indent - on the top and I drop the seed in it and then just drop more soil or sand on it to cover the seed.

One bag makes a zillion of these little blocks.

I started this last year and will never go back to little cups and pots and whatever. These are so hassle free and of course there is no waste.

 

[Chuck]

I just use plain old potting soil from Walmart. Then when the seedling is big enough to be "repotted" the whole block goes into the new spot. It compacts the soild just enough to make it hold together. I also subsequently just run water in the tray and let the blocks soak up the liquid. The blocks have a little dibble - indent - on the top and I drop the seed in it and then just drop more soil or sand on it to cover the seed.

One bag makes a zillion of these little blocks.

I started this last year and will never go back to little cups and pots and whatever. These are so hassle free and of course there is no waste.

I'm gonna get one

 

[CanadianLori]

Now on my laptop so can post a pic of the device for anyone else

who wonders about it.

 

[Pat]

I have in the past just dumped the soil from a plant that had died not from a diease but neglect right into the garden soil. Dirt is dirt has always been my thought. Now I will be more careful of what I do put into the garden area, I don't often have a plant die on me.

 

[ChanellG]

If you've done it before without problems I wouldn't worry about it. I had been recycling potting soil by putting it in my compost. I met someone recently who reuses his right away, but he pours water with peroxide in the soil to protect the new plant from any nasties hiding in it. For me, it depends on what plant inhabited the soil and for how long. You can leave the pots sitting in the sun for a bit before reusing the soil as well.

 

[deepestblues]

Just chunk in lots of compost and mix everything up. You shouldn't have any problems with a little bit of recycled potting soil.

 

[CanadianLori]

="Chuck, post: 44962, member: 944"]I'm gonna get one[/QUOTE]

I'm gonna get one

Let me know what you think when you get your hands on it!

 

[Chuck]

="Chuck, post: 44962, member: 944"]I'm gonna get one

Let me know what you think when you get your hands on it![/QUOTE]
I will. I am a little worried that my soil and my compost is too soft and fluffy for it to keep its shape. But hey, its only $

 

[Jewell]

I reuse old potting soil all the time. I've been using pots in the garden to grow runner beans, peas, kale, cabbage, chard. In large pots I mix a little fresh potting soil with the old every year. It's too expensive to completely fill a large gardening pot every year. You're adding it to your gardening bed so it will only improve your soil. Only thing is most potting soil is not organic, so you might not have an organic garden adding your old potting soil.

Here are photos of last summer's ghetto pot garden. It was the second year of using the same potting soil for the scarlet runner beans in front of the shed. The potting soil had decomposed significantly so didn't hole water as well as the first year. I probably should have rotated crops, but still got too many beans for use to eat.

 

[Giny]

Wow i want to do the same so if i add greenall soil booster to this potting soil then mix it in my bed should it be okay then?

 

[Sheal]

The nutrients in potting compost only lasts six to eight weeks which is why it's best to use fresh when potting on, or replacing soil in large pots. The fact that the nutrients disperse means we have to feed at a later point to maintain healthy plants. I've put used compost onto beds for many years as a soil conditioner, it does no harm.

I wouldn't bother with the soil booster Giny, just feed your plants as normal.

 

[ChanellG]

I don't have a compost pile. Sorry, just not enough room...

Forgot to mention that I figured my current pots collectively hold 500 liters of soil and I bought another 10 pots this winter -just for the heck of it..

Do you have room for a storage bin? A trash can? I compost in a rubbermaid tub. The past six months or so I have been lazy about it and have not be turning it regularly. I opened it recently to add kitchen scraps for the first time in ages and was surprised to see the yard waste had started to look like soil.

To your original question - the main difference between potting soil and garden soil is. well soil. Potting mixes have less soil and more composted stuff like moss so that they don't hold much water. Putting this in a garden bed is a waste, but not detrimental unless the plants were sick or infested like Chuck said.

If you have a corner in which you can stack pots in the future, you could gradually recycle the soil in a small compost bin (use a plastic garbage can).

 

[CanadianLori]

I need some help here to understand how to compost potting soil. What do I add to it to make it reusable/better? My husband refuses to have kitchenscraps anywhere in the yard or outdoor bins. He says it attracts rats and mice and since I just got rid of the last of those from under my deck, I'm worried about bringing more grief on myself.

 

[Chuck]

I need some help here to understand how to compost potting soil. What do I add to it to make it reusable/better? My husband refuses to have kitchenscraps anywhere in the yard or outdoor bins. He says it attracts rats and mice and since I just got rid of the last of those from under my deck, I'm worried about bringing more grief on myself./QUOTE]
Potting soil is basically composted compost at the stage right before it turns into enriched dirt. Enriched dirt is what good garden soil is. If you want to make your used potting soil break down faster and more completely just add molasses. , However if the potting soil had a diseased plant in it I would not use it

 

[Sheal]

I need some help here to understand how to compost potting soil. What do I add to it to make it reusable/better? My husband refuses to have kitchenscraps anywhere in the yard or outdoor bins. He says it attracts rats and mice and since I just got rid of the last of those from under my deck, I'm worried about bringing more grief on myself.

You can use kitchen scraps Lori but only if it's vegetable or fruit. Don't add meat and pasta etc. which will attract vermin. I've had a composter for eight years and never had an issue with vermin. When I clear my beds of annual plants and weeds, they are all composted along with paper shreddings and some soil and grass cuttings to help the process. The whole process is like a sandwich, giving it different layers so they all react and rot down together. I add a can of water now and again to stop it drying out as there is a lid on mine.