Soil from last year

Hello,

I am new to this forum so a) my question might be stupid and b) sorry if I use wrong terms (am also German to complicate matters further)!

I had a lot of pots last year with flowers, herbs etc. The question is can I re-use the soil in the plant pots or will this not be possible. If I can reuse, shall I treat and if so with what.

Thanks for your help

 

Welcome to the board tigglestiggles and congratulations on your English!

Using old soil and compost from potted plants is a false eccononomy. All its goodness will be exhausted and you would also be running the risk of infecting new plants with pests and diseases.

What I do with mine, providing it's not obviously unhealthy, is I seive it through a 10mm riddle to reclaim the gravel and broken crocs that have been used for drainage then it gets scattered on the compost heap if I have a lot. If it's just a little bit then it goes on the garden. Any diseased or infested planting material gets put in a carrier bag and goes out with the rubbish.

You can recycle your pots though. Give them a good wash with just a little washing up liquid and a splash of disinfectant making sure you get into all the corners with an old paintbrush. Or, you can do as Liz has suggested and put them in a dishwasher.

[ 20. January 2006, 06:22 PM: Message edited by: frogesque ]

 

Thanks for that - it is not that much so I think I will put it in the compost bin - didn't use stones for drainage - another lesson learned!