How To Re-Use Old Potting Soil - 4 Methods for Recycling || Black Gumbo
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 พ.ค. 2024
- Have you ever wondered if you can reuse your old potting soil? You know, those pots from last year that had tomatoes in them? This question has been asked numerous times in various gardening forums in Facebook groups, and the answers are sometimes surprisingly ill-informed. To save money and to practice frugal gardening methods, recycling depleted potting soil is not only something we gardeners can do, but we can make better potting soil if we take the right steps. In this video, I will show you four different ways to recycle and reuse your old potting soil. We will cover the simplest methods and move up what I call the “fertility scale” to achieve a potting mixture that is more nutrient-rich than it was when you first bought it.
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Black Gumbo shares our suburban, backyard, sustainable gardening efforts. We work a small-scale, typical Zone 9a garden and raised beds, the kind of gardening accessible to all. We tend to take the slice of life approach and hope you will enjoy our family, our dog, our cooking, our adventures, and occasionally some commentary and advice. We love family, joy and friendship, and we invite you to enjoy these things with us!
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From the North of England. I am 85 , my grandmother was born in 1884 and we always used the same method and used the soil over and over . A hand full of bone meal and a hand full of fish, blood and bone , and you are set for another year ! Cheap and it works !
My grandmother kept a fish barrel. It stunk like nothing I ever smelled (I didn’t fish for yrs because of it). She put all her fish heads and parts leftovers in that barrel with rain water. Also she bled her chickens into it. It had a spigot at the bottom and she would use it. She was a amazing farmer!
My Grandfather grew the sweetest tomatoes with a delicious smell in his greenhouse . I am not going to say here what he used for fertiliser.@@angelaalfred1503
My grandmother was born then to, my mother was her youngest of 10 and a twin, she would be 101, my grandmother was 39 when she had her
I never junk anything small enough to rot down. All cuttings, lawn mowings , etc just fall where they may . @@GreekVegetarianRecip
thank you
Ernie died in the 80's, and had a compost pile, and I heard he had pride in his compost. I decided to throw it in the garden about the year 2000, and plant tomatoes. I got multiple grocery bags of tomatoes, and was drowning in tomatoes, in my first garden. It was actually too easy. I think it warped my thinking, that you could plant, and things grow. (lol). I also took his 20 year old seeds, and threw them out in the garden I was not using. Things grew out of control.
Just amazing! 1.9 million views. Just proves that people need to know how to do stuff. I plan to do more videos like this next year. God bless!
Thanks Kaye, I'm also proud of you for taking off this year and getting over 100K subs. I really enjoy your work.
Thankyou🙏
Healthy instructional video Scott ! Great Scott, he got over a Million views 🪴
Hello 👋 how are you doing today? I hope 🤞 this year brings happiness, peace and love all over the world 🌎 I’m originally from Canada 🇨🇦 grow up in Forth Worth Texas, currently living in Key West Florida. Where are you from if i may ask?
what vegetables can you grow inside your home
I am an adult home gardener but had difficulty finding a true meaning of “weed”.
A weed is ANY plant that you don’t want to grow in your garden. 😊Thanks
I dumped all of my old soil from pots into a raised bed, added coco coir, dried mint leaves, some organic tomato fertilizer and azomite. Why mint? Because it smelled good 😊and I was hoping it will keep bugs away. Tomatoes grew to over 8 feet tall and had unbelievable harvest from 7 plants enough to fill a small chest freezer and more to give away.
Wow. That's great.
0y'
Where do you get coco coir? I’ve never heard of it
@@Lizzy_333 Plant nurseries or Amazon. Good luck
@@zebeart8808 Thank you!
I know a couple who rake up their leaves and place them in a black plastic bag. Placed against the house in the sun. After the winter, they then dump into their raised beds and place their starts directly into the leaf mold. No soil. Their plants grow fantastic. 😮
leaf mould - ‘gardener’s gold’ we called it where I grew up. Love the stuff and so easy to make!
I had a very serious tomato nematode issue last year from re-using expensive potting mix. This year I have been placing my old mix-filled grow bags into 5 gallon buckets with a few small drainage holes in the bottom. Then I pour about 2 gallons of boiling water on top of it all to kill out soil virus and critters. It all stays very hot for some time. Then I pour it all onto a large, heavy duty plastic sheet in the garage and let it dry our a few days. It no doubt washes out some remaining nutrients thus I re-fertilize before planting. So far so good. I have harvested over one-hundred tomatoes plus Kale, Arugula, Basil and green onions out of my spare bedroom this winter so far...more coming! I use cheap LED grow lights over the 2x8 foot grow area and surround the whole thing with cheap reflective "space blankets."
Good tip, thank you !
I really loved watching you .I'm old school an I agree with you big time . Ppl are spending big money in the GARDEN . IM THINKING OF OPENING A GARDEN CENTER AN HAVE GLASSES . I HATE SEEING PPL GET RIP OFF ....ANYWAYS SHAREING IS CAREING .T.Y.
This is the first of your videos I've watched. I wanted to thank you for the high-quality information.
Hello 👋 how are you doing today? I hope 🤞 this year brings happiness, peace and love all over the world 🌎I’m originally from Canada 🇨🇦 grow up in Forth Worth Texas, currently living in Key West Florida. Where are you from if i may ask?
Okay, this entire video is gold. I have struggled so much understanding the micro-happenings of soil because it’s always taught so objectively! I FINALLY am getting it!! You are a fantastic teacher, thank you for doing as soil life does to compost: breaking it down! Adhd/Autistic people like me have accessibility to this important science when educators take time like you do!
agree. you said it better than me!
Me too! Enjoyed listening during breakfast and now I am ready to procrastinate on all the things I should be doing and go play in my garden. 🤣
Indeed!
The lied when they told you that you had ADHD.
@@onekerri1 why did who lie about adhd?
This may be the best 20 minutes I've spent learning about growing healthy plants, and the science behind it. He's thorough, very well spoken, and presents easily understood, very useful information. The video is great, and shows all the details very clearly. Sharing this with friends. Much appreciated!
Awesome info!! Thanks!! I just learned yesterday that it needs that fungi stuff!
I'm 40 and just now getting into gardening.
I never thought it was cost efficient. Especially being a single mom for 15 years and never making much more than minimum wage, no help from her father, and paycheck to paycheck all my life lol
I ended up spending a few hundred of my tax return (thinking I was making a long term investment) buying everything I thought I needed. 2x8s for 4'x8' raised bed, raised bed dirt, big and little pots, potting soil, (no perlite because at that time I thought it was for looks, and hated it 😂) fertilizer, seeds, 2 started blueberries and 5 started sugar plum(?)tomato bushes. After all that money and time, all I got was 40-50 sugar tomatoes and 5 carrot's... That were around 3-4 inches long and an inch wide. Lol
That was in 2016.
Everything was dead within 3 months so apparently I don't have a clue what I'm doing lol
Human bodies need all these minerals as well! Our soil is SO DEPLETED! Can't get it from commercial food. Thank you for sharing!
Yup, but for the record we don't need mineral water. We can do fine with distilled water and get mineral from organic food. Water should be pure like clean rain water nothing more
Perfect! No more arguing with the wife about using last year's potting soil mixed in with fresh bag soil. Thank you, sir.
An absolute benchmark of how to make a great TH-cam video.
Thank you.
Last year, I acquired a new, very large, and very deep raised bed. It was going to cost me a small fortune to fill it. But then I had a stroke of genius. My mom had numerous pots she wanted dumped out into the blackberry brambles. Instead, I dumped them into the new bed. I added kitchen scraps all winter long. When the time came to plant potatoes, I simply added 3 inches of soil to the top and planted them. I then filled the rest of the bed with straw (Ruth Stout Method) and watered everything down. I didn't spend a fortune filling the bed with soil, and the extra height of the walls keeps the straw in place over the potato plants. That bed is THRIVING! Our compost bins are always growing potatoes, so I figured they would probably do ok with a compost "bin" for a foundation layer. It appears that I was correct. At least so far.
Very good1. I'm a lifelong container gardener & this info is just what I need in my small patio garden.
It is mind boggling to me that someone would throw out dirt. 🤯🤯
In my large containers I add eggshells in the fall and food scraps through fall and winter. With my flower pots, in the spring I dump all the pots in a wheelbarrow and sift it all together with some amenities. And it grows really well.
This is the video I was looking for. I wasn't sure if I needed to remove the wood mulch from last year's planting, and now I know that I need to remove the mulch that made its way into the soil as well. Very helpful, thank you so much.
People throw all the goodness , (Lawn Cuttings, prunings , anything organic into the garbage ).
It all rots down to make new compost .You forget that this is often full of fertilizer from last year.
I put my kitchen scraps in food processor and mix in used potting soil. By next spring it is great.
And I put in the shells of the sunflower seeds I feed the squirrels for aeration.
Really excited to reuse old potting soil!. Thanks, Scott.
I see this video is 2 yrs old and you wanted 100,000 subscribers now you have 2.4 million that’s great 😂 I really learn alot from you thanks for the info.
I've always recycled my potting soil but I used to make my own. I composted and I'd mix my used soil with my compost. Because I used a lot of organic material my compost had so many worms in it that basically all my soil was nothing more then high grade worm casting. It was fast draining but also retained water well. I threw everything in my compost. I threw veggies, fruits, coffee and tea grinds, meats, bread, pasta, and even junk food like left over birthday cake or something lol. I dug a deep hole and would throw everything in it then toss a little dirt from the hole in. Every time I'd get a bucket of food I'd toss it in, turn it and then toss a little more dirt in on it. I also would grind up leaves which I had a lot and toss in. I did also put a piece of thick rubber over it to keep the heat in and critters out the best I could. It may sound gross but it was the best soil I've ever seen. Everything turns to dirt eventually lol.
How informative and what an original approach, digging a hold and covering it with a rubber sheet. Sound like it might heat up well and also keep down odors.
I'm in UK and have been doing just this for years. I always have bins or bags full of old compost resetting itself. People think I'm mean with money or mad but why waste it? This is really interesting to watch and thanks for proving me right. Love your advice.
Can you grow vegetables in clay flower pots
@@ellencloud9583 certainly. You just have to water more often as the clay wicks water from the soil.
Hello 👋 how are you doing today? I hope 🤞 this year brings happiness, peace and love all over the world 🌎 I’m originally from Canada 🇨🇦 grow up in Forth Worth Texas, currently living in Key West Florida. Where are you from if i may ask?
@@ellencloud9583 Hello 👋 how are you doing today? I hope 🤞 this year brings happiness, peace and love all over the world 🌎 I’m originally from Canada 🇨🇦 grow up in Forth Worth Texas, currently living in Key West Florida. Where are you from if i may ask?
This is my first year of making a compost soil pile. I found some GIANT grubs in there! What do i do with them? Do they lay eggs on there?
Hi Scott! I want to thank you for sharing your knowledge with the world! I've learned so much! 😊
I’ve reused the potting soil in my 3 pots (about 5 gallons each) for years. Each Spring, I mix in some new compost in the top inch or two. I regularly add crushed eggshells and occasionally some organic fertilizer. I have tomato cages in the pots, but I don’t grow tomatoes. I grow pea pods, pole beans, cucumbers (especially lemon cukes), garlic, green onions, radishes, basil, and other small stuff. I usually use 2 tomato cages, one on top of the other for height. This really works for this lady who can’t dig anymore. Thanks for the great video!
Praying that you will feel better soon💞❤️🩹💞
Great video!
Years ago I co-owned a Garden Center with my spouse (1983-1995, when I divorced) We sold so many products to improve one’s garden and container pots. What I learned stayed with me.
Fast forward to 2005 I returned my hands into the soil and growing primary in containers. I took my container plants to am apartment where I really used the methods of recycling potted soil. I used a large storage bin in which to basically do weekday was shown in this video, screening soil, adding compared materials, etc etc. I lived in that apartment for almost 4-years. I often tossed/turned the binned soil with dead leaves, old flowers & stems that created a compost. Being a frugal person I often repotted my plants and used old B&W print newspaper (shredded) in the bottom of an empty pot/container, topped with a few old leaves to cover the drainage holes (yet still allowing drainage) Generally I waited for spring to do my patio clean up and repotting.
I never had to buy bagged potting mix. As the video details, the nutrients created within the recycled and compared soil feed my plants. Whether I grew annuals, perennials, or potted vegetables I had great success, in addition to obtaining wonderful earthworms that help to feed the soil with their "droppings" and create air pockets in the containers and the compost bin I created.
I them moved to another apartment with my compost bin and plants in tow. I lived there another 10-years without the need to buy bagged soil. It's amazing how nature creates is own nutrients!
My boyfriend and I are buying his grandparent's home soon and I'm so excited to build raised beds in the backyard and resume growing plants and veggies again. Sadly I want able to bring all of my plants and my compost with me, yet others are enjoying them.
Again, great video!
Thanks so much for the great comment, I appreciate it!
I recycle all my putting soil
I've had to move so many times over the years. I hated having to leave my flowers behind. Dug-up and took bushes with me a few times.
@@stompthedragon4010 I am planning to move and downsize- it's making my heart bleed just thinking about leaving all of my bushes, peonies, peach trees and 4 huge raised beds with all the worms there...
@@sunitamay123 ah, I totally understand. We put such love and toil in, then take such enjoyment of the beauty. Peonies are one of my favorites. Only had them once. I bought a bunch of clearance pots end of summer for 50cents each. I didn't actually think they would come back but they did. A type of hardwood bush peony. I had cut peonies all over inside. I wish you well and hope you can continue enjoying some gardening.
Compost tea?? Oh man, that’s a whole new level! So informative. Glad I found you!
Excited to hear & learn how to safely reuse old soil
I love that you reinforce what I've learned and also reminding me of something. lol.
Great to know about spider mites. Thank you for that!
just what i needed to hear and i stumbled on your channel looking at other gardening videos. thanks for the great info to revitalize my entire vegetable pots garden soil this winter.
I am an old grain farmer. Farmers NEVER throw out soil. We add nutrients- usually fertilizer or manure. We often rotate crops to avoid spread of some diseases, but we often do not rotate. Sometimes we get a little lower yield by not rotating, but we still get a crop. Duane
You know it. Nature/The Universe has been reusing soil for millions of years. I think it works out. Put in a little more "good" (compost, etc.) and keep going.
Very good info. I just love to reuse as much as possible. So glad I came across your site. Thank you much. 🇨🇦
Thanks for sharing your great knowledge.
Over 2M views and only a little over 190,000 subscribers?? Come on people. Give his channel some love and subscribe!!
Thank you and amen.
Loved this video. I’m constantly throwing potting soil into the “heap” and buying new mix. So simple. Thank you. From Australia.
I came for the advice, learned a lot, and then decided to subscribe (mostly for the corgi cameo). Thanks for a clear and informative tutorial!
Useful tips and answers to some questions I had about revitalizing my old potting soil. Thanks!
Really great video. I liked the advice about mixing compost with old potting soil. This is definitely something I’ll try.
Great timing for me I have lots of last year pots filled with soil. Love your Corgi!!
Very informative and enjoyable. Made me rethink my gardening practices & budget.
Very informative video that answered the most important question I had this season. Thank you.
Awesome guide, I tend to short cut my recycle pot soil.now I learnt heaps. Keep up great advice.
Very helpful. I've been throwing out the old potting soil at the end of every growing season. After watching this will change my ways to reuse the potting soil.
Hello 👋 how are you doing today? I hope 🤞 this year brings happiness, peace and love all over the world 🌎I’m originally from Canada 🇨🇦 grow up in Forth Worth Texas, currently living in Key West Florida. Where are you from if i may ask?
Great advice and encouraging attitude-thank you! 💚
thank you for the great advice!!!!! I really was looking for the information that you were talking about today...God bless!!!
Your explanations are so clear and informative...thank you for sharing!!😊
Thanks for the tip about adding clay to your compost. I’ve never heard anyone ever mention doing that but I will put this into practice. Happy gardening 🌱 Keep plowing
Thank you very much, because I've often wondered about how to reuse old potting soil. Going forward, I will remember and use your instructions.
Wow! Today was my first day watching you and I WILL be back! Thanks!!
Straight to the point and very well explained. Thank You!
Thorough explanations Scott. Thanks. 👍 Have a nice Palm Sunday.
Good knowledge right there. Thats exactly what I do. Thanks for the methods.
Thanks a lot for the information learned a lot not only saving money but make my old soil better.❤
What a fantastic tutorial! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!❤️
This last year we mixed old potting soil to compost that we had composted ourselves. All my containers this last summer had that mix in it and my containers did great! 😍
Your video is brilliantly informative and encouraging to novice gardeners. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. Can I please add a plea for you to promote peat and moss free compost. Our planet needs bogs and moors more than our gardens do. Also I love your hat and would like to buy one for my husband, we’ve been looking in the UK a couple of years for this very hat . Could you share your source, please?
Hello 👋 how are you doing today? I hope 🤞 this year brings happiness, peace and love all over the world 🌎 I’m originally from Canada 🇨🇦 grow up in Forth Worth Texas, currently living in Key West Florida. Where are you from if i may ask?
You are very informative! Wondering what to do with my old soil. Thank you!
You break this down so wonderfully. Thanks.
Down to earth advise and interesting to watch. Thank you.
Ok, I subscribed, the most informative soil video on TH-cam, without confusing and overwhelming me. Thank you.
Exactly the reminder info, and brand new info, I needed to recycle, and refurbish my pots soil. Thanks.
Fabulous! You have my compost screen! I've got 2 sizes of screen! love these old screens!
Enjoyed your presentation. Thank you so much.
I'm glad to have found your channel. I've been recycling my potting soil for years. I do 50/50 method too. My light to medium feeders soil I usually give to my cactuses and succulents. I feed these half way through the growing season. Plus, when I trim my plants I put that in my soil to be recycled and used later. I buy a lot less potting mix now. Thanks for this video💚
Very helpful. Thank you. Now I know what to do with my old potting soil. Awesome!
Thanks so much. I’ll take your advise and hold off until next spring
Good video. You may want to consider: 1. wear mask to not breath the fertilizers, and 2. use gloves - I've read stories of people getting sick from not doing so (even though I often forget to wear them too :-) Take care and good work.
Thank you ! I have begun to grow strictly in containers and have been searching for good advice on this subject. This was perfect. Great video.
Came here straight from your 'bad gardening advice Exposed' video. Love the way you explain everything so clearly. Many thanks from the UK.
I appreciate your you tube about soil. You answered every question I needed answered. Thank you so much for your knowledge...
Moving up the ladder of fertility, I put 20-50 redworms in the pot. I let them revitalize the soil for me. This works good as long as you keep it watered and not let it dry completely out. They will die off in the winter if well below freezing, however you will find worms again in the spring as the eggs they laid hatch. It works really well. I even use them in my microgreen trays ; )
I have a worm farm for composting and have been wondering what to do with them when they multiply too much. I was advised against putting them directly in plant pots because they may eat roots if they run out of food. Have you ever had an issue with this?
I bought "1 lb" (I think? It was years ago.) of redworms once, and it turned out to be 1 lb(?) of coffee grounds with a few worms scattered in it. (Was this a misunderstanding on my part?) Then, I put them in a compost bin and was feeding them regularly, but they all "ran" away! Bad experience! I've gone several years without a place at all to garden in, but haven't felt the desire to try with the worms again. Maybe your method would be more successful for me!
So Where did you get your worms, and how do they arrive (i.e. would it be almost all some substrate (like coffee grounds) and would it survive shipment to me on the U.S. East Coast)?
@@ixchelssong I live in PA and got them at a local bait shop. I would suggest that, for me they came in dirt and were sold by number instead of weight. I've seen great reviews on Amazon where I bought the worm farm for uncle Jim's worms which is also thru Amazon. I'd just be cautious ordering thru the mail when it gets hot out
Hope you go for it, I'm loving it!
@@ixchelssong One pound of worms should be the worms only, they usually send them with peat moss. The worm castings kind of look like coffee grounds, so that may be what you were seeing.
When you first put them in the bin, it helps to leave a light on for a few days, this will help them to stay. If they run after this, then something is wrong with place you put them. It could be too dry or too wet. Usually, people feed them too much and the food starts to go bad. This gives off heat so the worms will try to get away from the heat. If you provide a good environment, the worms will stay for ever. I have kept worms in Styrofoam cup for weeks. Once there is no food for them they will began to wander. I have worms in my microgreen trays which only has about 2 inches of soil. They have been happy in there for almost 2 years.
The link below is to the top worm dealer in the country, if you order from them you should be happy they guarantee live delivery amzn.to/3N0oCVm
@@GooshawnXD Thanks, I'll give it a try!
My grandparents & great-grandparents used all these methods very successfully. That's why I do most of them too! Glad to know you do too. Thanks for a great educational vid as always.
This was really helpful,thank you. I already do everything that you've mentioned but it's good to br reassured.
Thank you! This explained so much and I'm now begining to see some changes.
Hi !!!!! I watched your video a few months back and followed this instruction 100%. I have never had the stuff in my pots ever be so wonderful ! I am truly grateful for your suggestions. It took me two days to hand sift everything with chicken wire and a wagon.... but it was so worth it !
Hello 👋 how are you doing today? I hope 🤞 this year brings happiness, peace and love all over the world 🌎 I’m originally from Canada 🇨🇦 grow up in Forth Worth Texas, currently living in Key West Florida. Where are you from if i may ask?
Thank you! Really learned a lot . Very practical. I think this year I’ll be more successful with my pots. Thanks
Great, straightforward info and I learned a lot! Keep up the good work, Scott!
Super, thanks! I never throw out, but like the revitalizing techniques!!
I’m SO GLAD I came across your channel! I do live in the Southwest desert. Gardening has always been a challenge for me. And I’m really not that good at it. But I’m really hoping to learn more from you! Thank you for posting these videos!😁👍👍
Ha! My hometown, Friendswood, Texas. I was in the class of '80, and just ran across your channel by chance. Nice video, and it must be great to be able to garden year-round. I wish I'd gotten an early start and learned how back then.
it is just the information i needed, without throwing the old stuff away !!! thanks a lot.
Just what I was looking for ! Thanks Scott
Great video! You got to the point promptly, didn't repeat the same thing over and over. Excellent video. I learned a lot. Thank you.
This was very helpful. Thank You
Thank you for the information on reusing potting soil. I will be utilizing your methods and saving a lot of money. Great information.
Hi Scott! I want to thank you for sharing your knowledge with the world! I've learned so much!
I've been utilizing your first method for years, now that I'm retired, I can learn more about using some fertilizers. Glad I found your channel.
Very authoritative, educational and enjoyable. Thank you Scott. Subscribed. Best wishes from the UK.
You're a great teacher and your Corgi is adorable! TYVM from Long Island NY. Looking forward to Spring to get gardening again
Thanks for the great tips .
Happy gardening!
Never knew about Rice hull mulch - thx!
This was a great video couldn't stop watching ...so many gems🔥
Thanks for making and sharing this video.
Excellent info on revitalising potting mix. Thanks Scott
How can I give this more likes? !!! Thank You so much for a very understandable, relatable, comprehensive overview of soil ammending. So Cal zone 9b, coldish winters, hot summers, dry, dry, dry all the time. My soil is gonna rock this year. Thank you!!
I totally agree
Hello 👋 how are you doing today? I hope 🤞 this year brings happiness, peace and love all over the world 🌎 I’m originally from Canada 🇨🇦 grow up in Forth Worth Texas, currently living in Key West Florida. Where are you from if i may ask?
This was very helpful. I have a lot of containers that I used last season and was wondering if I could reuse the soil in them. Your video answered all my questions. Thanks for sharing 😉
Wonderful. Thanks for the tips on revitalizing old potting soil. 'Tis much appreciated.
Thank you Scott. You are an excellent teacher.