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Can you still use old potting soil?
Old potting soil can often be reused. TAG24 explains how old soil can be freshly processed. ✓ Guide
guide – Replacing the potting soil every planting season can become an expensive and tiring pleasure in the long run. Isn’t it also unfortunate to dispose of the old potting soil in the organic waste? The Home & Garden Guide creates remedy.
Old potting soil from the previous year can still be used if you prepare it fresh. © Unsplash / Markus Spiske
Potting soil for pots or tubs is subject to different requirements than garden soil. It should absorb nutrients and water well, store them and only release them when needed. In addition, it should always be nice and loose and airy.
To ensure these properties, old soil should be changed once a year. But what do you do with the old one? Can this potting soil be reused?
If the potting soil has been stored dry and cool in the sealed bag, it can be used after a year. Leftovers from sacks that have already been opened are suitable for hard-wearing plants or for mulching in the garden.
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Potting soil that has already been used can easily be processed and reused unless it is infested with pests or fungi.
Old potting soil does not always have to be disposed of immediately. TAG24 explains with useful recycling tips what is important when processing and reusing.
Freshen up old potting soil: give it air and nutrients
The preparation takes place in two phases in order to obtain a high-quality potting soil.
1. Loosen the old soil
First, put the old soil in a large container. The vessel should be large enough for mixing.
In the next step, break up the large clumped pieces and remove roots.
Mix the soil with your hands until it is fine, crumbly, fluffy, loose and well aerated.
2. Refresh soil and enrich it with nutrients
The prepared soil is now mixed with additional fertilizers and substrates to increase nutrient levels and improve water retention properties.
Possible additions would be:
- Hornspäne, Hornmehl
- Sheep’s wool or horse manure pellets
- bark or worm humus
- wool fertilizer
- Perlite or other fresh soil conditioners.
Now mix the enriched soil with mature compost and new soil. Depending on the desired planting, additional fertilizers should be added.
Old potting soil must be aired and enriched with nutrients before reuse. © Unsplash / Markus Spiske
Reusing old potting soil: what else needs to be considered?
The higher the quality of the new soil, the better it can be processed, since some of the good properties have been retained.
The mixing of compost and new soil or fresh garden soil is particularly important during the preparation, since biological fertilizers can only work with it and the soil is enlivened with microorganisms.
If you use horn meal, you have to supplement the soil with phosphorus and potash to achieve the necessary nutrient content. Mature compost is suitable for this.
For pots at home, horn meal with compost and sheep’s wool or horse manure pellets is well suited as a long-term fertilizer.
The less space there is in the flower pot, the more nutritious the soil should be. It should also be noted what kind of plant it is. The more often the soil is reused, the less demanding plants to choose. It is used in weak consumers, e.g. B. Sunflower, Mittelzehrer, z. B. strawberry, and high consumers, z. B. tomato, which need different amounts of nutrients. Ideally, you start with high eaters, then moderate eaters, and finally low eaters. This applies to indoor plants as well as to vegetable plants
Through the processing, old potting soil can be used for several years. With fertile breeding ground, the plants in flower pots and balcony boxes bring a lot of joy every year.
