Just a quick question. Can the dirt in my containers be used year after year if I put different plants in them? I plant a lot of hot peppers. They grew excellent in the containers, especially my Jalapeno's. I mix about 120lbs of topsoil with miracle grow garden soil in the top part of the pot. These are 18" containers I would hate to refill every year. Maybe I can dump a little in the main garden and just refresh the garden soil? Any comments?
Container Gardening
I'm surprised you're having success using garden soil in containers--I've always heard that was a no-no, that it wouldn't have good enough drainage or something like that. If this were potting mix, I think you could continue to use the same potting mix at least for a year or two--what you can do with container plants that have been in the same container for a while but aren't ready to be repotted, you can scrape some old potting mix off the top and replace it with new stuff. I've never used garden soil in containers so I don't know if the same tricks work. However, if you had any problems with fungus/disease this year I would not re-use the soil, or if you're planning on starting things in it from seed (vs sticking grown plants in it) then you are running a higher risk of damping off since the soil's had a year to pick up fungal spores from the air, etc (this can happen even if you didn't have fungal problems with the plants), so if you're starting from seed I would make sure at least the top several inches are fresh soil.
Craigboe,
Have you been growing peppers successfully in this way for more than a couple of years? If so, congratulations! It is hard to argue with your success.
Having said that, my opinion is that garden soil is not ideal for containers. It is poorly aerated and it drains poorly, even with the addition of potting mix. Reuse is partly a matter of economics. Over time, most potting mixes will fail to retain their structure, become compact and poorly aerated, and after a couple of years they will fail to perform well. So if you can afford it, fresh mix is probably better for the plants. In your case, using topsoil, you may already have relatively compacted growing medium. You may not see the kind of decline in performance that is often seen with a typical peat-based growing mix.
Here is a link on the reuse of potting mixes: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/624547/
Here is a link that may change how you view potting media: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/527353/
Good luck! SB
Thanks for your replies. I grew some Goliath Jalapeno's & Super Cayenne peppers in containers and they did grow real good. I also use root blast when I transplant. I guess I will replace the soil if there's a chance of a problem. The topsoil was black and the garden soil was Miracle Grow. But it does seem like it will not absorb water well now. My pots are well aerated though.
I often reuse soil when repotting my containers to save money. I empty the container onto a tarp, add chunky compost, mix well and repot. works fine for me. I have many containers that have perennials or shrubs. I take the plant out, root prune when it needs it and use the new mix when I repot.
Since late blight is a major problem here, I blend last year's tomato and pepper potting soil into my raised beds, and raise other veggies there. I may plant solanums in that bed later on in a 3 or 4 year rotation.
I reuse bagged potting soil. I salvage some and mix it with my homemade compost (not IN the compost working pile, but with some of the compost at another location). I use it in my containers and all is just hunky dorey. I think that when anyone who makes a product and says you CAN'T do something... you have to consider the source and their motivation. People who make potting soil are selling soil and will say you need to replenish a pot with new soil every time you repot..... yeah. Why? Bugs and fungus and molds are a reason. But, if you don't have those problems,,,,,,,, there is NO problem. I'm fine reusing my potting soil with discretion.
i take the top half out and get rid of it and fill with good dirt i have so many pots that i cant afford to get new dirt every year but they say it is best to get rid of it every year because if deseases(sp)
Melissa, disease is both singular and plural. ;-) i.e. 'because of disease' but, if you modify that noun, then you add an 's', 'because there may be several diseases present'. And how is the varigaeted EE I sent doing?
I was thinking that the biggest problem is the breakdown of the organic elements and subsequent compression and lack of air. Pulling it all out & adding compost like Dale_a suggests is the best. Not everybody has compost, so forest fines ought to work, too. What about adding some organic (slow release ) fertilier...cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal and rock phosphate? I try to do that -- don't always remember, but I feel like I have some back up nutrients on used soil if I add it.
Suzy
well dormant right now,its in gh and i hope i didnt loose it since my heater went out for a day and it was in the teens i lost ALL my coleus,so now i will have to find them ALL again lol ,the bulb sems ok so i am mot too worried about it thxs soooooo much i really enjoyed it this past summer
moretz
this is some of my colues i lost just wanted you to see why i want to get them bavk lol
Suzy, I usually just add a modest amount of trace elements (has 13 minors) a modest amount of epsom and a couple good hands full of lime (ground dolomite). Forest fines would be good if you can get them, hard for us urbanites. I think recycling is a good idea. And cost effective.
Cost effective is right -- some of the large containers Ihave use a heckof a lot of soille$$ mix! I always add 15% sand as a matter of course to stretch it. Since all of the commercial brands seem to come with the moisture crystals, I sometimes buck it up to 20% sand. (The sand is free if I haul it myself)
What do you use the lime for? I wonder if I need to add it? Somehow, with all the Indiana limestone, limey water, etc., I'm pretty sure we don't use much here. Don't need to use much here, I mean. If I didn't clean my sinks for a year and had a broken tap that dripped, there would be no red from rust at all....just a sort of gray-ish white dull spot from the lime. City water, and that's partially what I would water with, especially containers (from the hose)
Suzy
My use of lime is just a personal quirk and I don't always add it. I think it helps raise the ph, slowing growth a little and adding calcium. Most of the containers that I repot are watered with well water. We have lots of iron and sulfur in our ground water here, our city water is just like yours. At home I use rain water when I can, but, sometimes I run out and use the city suppply. I have been cutting back on the number of conatiners that I have here at home, tired of taking care of them and plants do better in the ground. I am keeping most of the orchids.
