Recycling Soil

[Simpleton]

When recycling soil how important is it to remove bits of roots when doing so?

How long does it take the soil to compost the bits that are left behind?

Thanks

 

[vonforne]

I use a screen sometimes but just removing the bulk of the roots will do.

The roots are really fine compared to most things.

If you let you soil sit for a couple months you will be fine. You could feed the soil with compost teas to speed up the process.

V

 

[BurnOne]

I use a 1/2 inch mesh screen to sift out roots and stems. I just don't like that stuff around just in case I have to crash my grow for any reason. I run over my stalks, roots and leaves with a mulching mower. GONE!
Be sure to add more worm castings, dolomite lime and nutes before growing again...

RECIPE #4
Three Little Birds Method
40 gallons used soil
4 cups alfalfa meal
4 cups bone meal
4 cups kelp meal
4 cups powdered dolomite lime
30 pound bag of earthworm castings . . .
That’s the basic recipe . . .
However we also like to use
4 cups of Greensand
4 cups of Rock Phosphate
4 cups of diatomaceous earth

Burn1

 

[Simpleton]

Thanks Vonforne

I kinda figured no matter how much you sifted or screened, there would be at least fragments of root left. I also figured a thorough composting would do the trick on anything left.

B1 -

What kind of yields are coming out of that soil recipe(weight, strain, height at finish)? Does it have to sit after mixing?

Thanks

 

[BurnOne]

Simpleton-
The "yield" is mostly up to the genetics of the plant. This mix will provide all the food and goodies the plant will need to reach its full potential.
It'll have some left over nutes in it. I'd wet it but not soak it with worm casting tea and molasses. Better yet, add some Liquid Karma. Then stir it every few days to give it oxygen. And don't let it dry out. Do that for a couple of weeks before using it.
Be advised this mix is not for seedlings less than a month old.
Burn1

 

[Simpleton]

What type of nutrients should I water this with?

 

[BurnOne]

I'd wet it but not soak it with worm casting tea and molasses. Better yet, add some Liquid Karma. Then stir it every few days to give it oxygen. And don't let it dry out. Do that for a couple of weeks before using it.

The nutrients are the alfalfa meal, bone meal, kelp meal, greensand and rock phosphate you mix into the used soil.
Understand?
Burn1

 

[quadracer]

I remove the main stems and root ball, but all the smaller roots I leave in. If the soil is going to sit for awhile, I'll add some worms in the soil to break down all the roots and goodies from the previous grow.

If it gets reused immediately, it helps lighten the soil much like perlite, although the roots will eventually break down with all the other organic matter.


I wish I had a mulch mower, but a compost pile will (eventually) do the same thing.

 

[Simpleton]

Thanks for the replies.

B1-

I understand the nutes are in the mix. I figure I'll watch for deficiencies and any show, could I correct them with the casting/molasses/karma tea? I'm really liking this recipe. The only thing it doesn't tell is the amount of h2o to brew the tea in:

"Flowering nute tea mix:
2/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano
2/3 cup Earth Worm Castings
2/3 cup High P Guano (Indonesian or Jamaican)
5 tbs. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
@ 2 cups/5 gallons of water EVERY watering.
You can use queen size knee high nylon stockings for tea bags. 3 pair for a dollar at the dollar store. Tell 'em you use them for paint strainers. Put the recommended tea in the stocking, tie a loop knot in it and hang it in your tea bucket. The tea should look like a mud puddle. Agitate the bag in the water vigorously. An aquarium pump and air stone will dissolve oxygen into the solution and keep the good bacteria (microherd) alive and thriving. Let it bubble a day or two before you use it. If you find you are making too much tea and having to throw it out, use 2 1/2 gallons of water and cut the nute amount by half."

Thanks again.

 

[fortragni]

recycling soil-less mix

recycling soil-less mix

Hi all, i have a similar question to the original-poster. I grow in a mix of roughly 40%cocoCoir, 40%foxfarmLightWarrior, 20% perlite. I used PureBlendPro Gro for veg, and am now using EarthJuice Bloom during flower. Supplemented with epsom salts only, as i use local tap for water source.

Now my question is, i grow two plants, i'd like to (try and) re-veg one of my girls in order to keep a mother around for clones eventually. Once i harvest them and leave the one to re-veg, is there any way to flush my mix of all the nutrients/left over salts, in order to give the new re-vegged motherplant a fresh start? or would it be better to just make up a new mix?

 

[D.W.A.I.]

I understand the nutes are in the mix. I figure I'll watch for deficiencies and any show, could I correct them with the casting/molasses/karma tea? I'm really liking this recipe. The only thing it doesn't tell is the amount of h2o to brew the tea in:

"Flowering nute tea mix:
2/3 cup Peruvian Seabird Guano
2/3 cup Earth Worm Castings
2/3 cup High P Guano (Indonesian or Jamaican)
5 tbs. Maxicrop 1-0-4 powdered kelp extract
5 tbs. Black Strap Molasses
@ 2 cups/5 gallons of water EVERY watering.

:smile:

The 2 cups refers to 1 part each of PSG, EWC, and the Guano (i.e. 2/3's of a cup). If you want to use less water, use google's neat conversion calculator convert 2/3 cup to tbsp, and downsize accordingly to get an accurate measurement. Or you can just eye it.

 

[Simpleton]

Hi all, i have a similar question to the original-poster. I grow in a mix of roughly 40%cocoCoir, 40%foxfarmLightWarrior, 20% perlite. I used PureBlendPro Gro for veg, and am now using EarthJuice Bloom during flower. Supplemented with epsom salts only, as i use local tap for water source.

Now my question is, i grow two plants, i'd like to (try and) re-veg one of my girls in order to keep a mother around for clones eventually. Once i harvest them and leave the one to re-veg, is there any way to flush my mix of all the nutrients/left over salts, in order to give the new re-vegged motherplant a fresh start? or would it be better to just make up a new mix?

My suggestion would be to leave a few healthy branches on the plant, trim the root ball to half it's size, and repot to a new mixture in a pot the same size as you were flowering in. Make sure new soil mixture goes above, on the sides, and below the newly trimmed root ball.

I am sure there will be other suggestions to just flush and wait the 2-3 weeks for new vegetative growth but I think a newly formed root system to a newly devoted "mother" is a better choice. Just my two cents.

Good luck.

 

[theFLINTSTONERS]

the rizosphere (where roots and soil meet) is an interesting and magical environment . . . it's full of beneficial bacteria and other organic goodies (root exudates) . . . so we'd actually suggest including all roots as a part of any soil recycling project . . .

here's some info we found that may be helpful . . .




ROOT EXUDATES AND MICROORGANISMS

B-J Koo and D C Adriano, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
N S Bolan, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
C D Barton, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

Introduction

Plant roots influence the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the soil in the rhizosphere. The biogeochemical reactions induced by microorganisms at the soil-root interface (i.e., rhizosphere) play an important role in the bioavailability of nutrients and metals to plants. This microenvironment is characterized by distinct physical, chemical, and biological conditions compared with the bulk soil, largely created by the plant roots and its microbial associations. Such associations can include nonsymbiotic and symbiotic organisms such as bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi. The microbial populations are an essential part of the rhizosphere and affect the rhizosphere soil by their various activities such as water and nutrient uptake, exudation, and biological transformations.

Organic acids, sugars, amino acids, lipids, coumarins, flavonoids, proteins, enzymes, aliphatics, and aromatics are examples of the primary substances found within this microzone. Among them, the organic acids have received considerable attention owing to their role in providing substrates for microbial metabolism and for serving as intermediates for biogeochemical reactions in soil.

Nutrients and metals are typically present in the soil solution at low concentrations and tend to form spar-ingly soluble minerals (except nitrogen, sulfur, and boron), or may be adsorbed to a solid phase through ion exchange, hydrogen bonding, or complexation. The extent to which they are transferred from the soil to the .biota (i.e., microbes or plants) is dependent on the biogeochemical interactions and/or processes among the soil, plant roots, and microorganisms in the rhizosphere. At this interface, the presence of root exudates may influence chemical reaction kinetics within the soil environment and subsequently affect biological activities. As such, understanding the role of the rhizosphere on biogeochemical processes within the soil is essential for developing bioremediation technologies of inorganic and organic contaminants.

 

[Simpleton]

the rizosphere (where roots and soil meet) is an interesting and magical environment . . . it's full of beneficial bacteria and other organic goodies (root exudates) . . . so we'd actually suggest including all roots as a part of any soil recycling project . . .

here's some info we found that may be helpful . . .




ROOT EXUDATES AND MICROORGANISMS

B-J Koo and D C Adriano, University of Georgia, Aiken, SC, USA
N S Bolan, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
C D Barton, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

Introduction

Plant roots influence the physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the soil in the rhizosphere. The biogeochemical reactions induced by microorganisms at the soil-root interface (i.e., rhizosphere) play an important role in the bioavailability of nutrients and metals to plants. This microenvironment is characterized by distinct physical, chemical, and biological conditions compared with the bulk soil, largely created by the plant roots and its microbial associations. Such associations can include nonsymbiotic and symbiotic organisms such as bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi. The microbial populations are an essential part of the rhizosphere and affect the rhizosphere soil by their various activities such as water and nutrient uptake, exudation, and biological transformations.

Organic acids, sugars, amino acids, lipids, coumarins, flavonoids, proteins, enzymes, aliphatics, and aromatics are examples of the primary substances found within this microzone. Among them, the organic acids have received considerable attention owing to their role in providing substrates for microbial metabolism and for serving as intermediates for biogeochemical reactions in soil.

Nutrients and metals are typically present in the soil solution at low concentrations and tend to form spar-ingly soluble minerals (except nitrogen, sulfur, and boron), or may be adsorbed to a solid phase through ion exchange, hydrogen bonding, or complexation. The extent to which they are transferred from the soil to the .biota (i.e., microbes or plants) is dependent on the biogeochemical interactions and/or processes among the soil, plant roots, and microorganisms in the rhizosphere. At this interface, the presence of root exudates may influence chemical reaction kinetics within the soil environment and subsequently affect biological activities. As such, understanding the role of the rhizosphere on biogeochemical processes within the soil is essential for developing bioremediation technologies of inorganic and organic contaminants.

Is this information in regards to living roots or the decaying root left in a recycled soil? It seems to be referring to the micro environment of living root tissue.

Cornell defines exudate as material that has passed from within a plant structure to the outer surface or into the surrounding medium; as in leaf exudate, root exudate, etc. Are you referring to exudate as roots plants have shed (or been left behind in the recycled medium) and the micro environment that is created surrounding their existence in the medium?

 

[mig]

leaving in the old root matter will just break down into valuable nutrients further on down the line. leave it in there, just as long as you got the microbes to break it down, ur good to go.

 

[vonforne]

the rizosphere (where roots and soil meet) is an interesting and magical environment . . . it's full of beneficial bacteria and other organic goodies (root exudates) . . . so we'd actually suggest including all roots as a part of any soil recycling project . . .

here's some info we found that may be helpful . . .

I find that if you are just rebuilding the soil.....adding rock dusts and other nutrients in preparation for the next transplanting, say 1-2 months then the roots are better sifted out. Now if you are referring to the composting of used soil say for 6 months then the roots are better left in the growing medium.

Now I'm not disagreeing with you about the usefulness of leaving behind the "exudate"
with that I agree but it is the time in which it takes to decompose is what is in question.

So, the conclusion would be is time a factor? If so what is the minimum time that it would take for this to occur? And what would be the optimal time to "recycle"? The benefits are obvious. It is our intention to leave in or add to the soil structure, nutrients in any form for the benefit of the plants well being.

V