How to get your potting soil ready for the second season
What to do with potting soil at the end of the season?
Despite the possible complications with reusing potting mix, there are ways around these issues if you are willing to put in a little time and energy. In the long run it can be very well worth it in order to reduce costs associated with purchasing new potting soil or materials to make it every season. This is especially true if you have a large container garden.
So what is the proper way to recondition your soil so it is ready to start growing healthy, sturdy plants for a second or third season?
The best practices for container gardening recommend that you empty out your pots at the end of the growing season. Much like you would clean up all the organic matter from your backyard garden, this gives you an opportunity to sift through the soil and remove any stowaway insects, weeds or debris. It also offers you the opportunity to clean and dry your pots thoroughly to ensure that there are no residual bacterias, funguses or viruses from the previous season. Make sure you use organic soaps or other plant-friendly substances that will both clean and disinfect. Rinsing with water may remove other materials like dirt and insect eggs but it will not sterilize the pots.
You can choose to use a large tub, or several, to store the potting soil from the previous season over the winter. If you have grown tomatoes, store their soil separately so you know which soil should not be used for tomatoes the following season.
So, “How to store potting soil over winter?“… Before storing the soil make sure to sift through and check for insect larva, grubs and eggs. This may prevent you from having an insect infestation on new plants next season.
Another option to ensure that weed seeds, insect eggs or larva and pathogens have been destroyed is to bake the soil in the sun. This can be done by placing the soil in dark plastic bags or tubs and leaving them in the sun until they are very warm. Similarly to composting, the high temperatures act to kill the pests and seeds so they won’t present a problem in the coming season.
Of course, despite the efforts you make to sterilize the pots, burn the seeds, and sift out insects and plant roots, there is still a chance that one or more of these issues may present in the coming year’s crop. Although you can take certain steps to mitigate the risks there is always the possibility of a problem from last season carrying over to the next if you reuse potting soil.
