A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 re-using soil

after a plant dies, or after i repot it into new soil, i save the old soil in a container for future use....if that is safe to do so. will the used soil regain nutrients from just sitting there, or is there something i can add to help the process. I guess the first question should be is it safe to reuse potting soil, especially from plants that have died or not done so well in the soil?

I toss my old soil in compost& if I DON'T like when did my large pots that had smaller pots sunk into....I scattered it in wheelbarrel ...the one with hole in corners..from use.I pored a few gallons of scalding water on them and let it sit in sun and bake a few days.The scalding water will steralize the soil& sure beats baking it in oven in cookie sheets.now when dumping in compost my compost pile cooks sometimes even cooks dry so gets sterilized there...but weezie would know for sure if my compost was serile.they always recomend useing sterile soil for seedlings& plants and is so not to introduce diseases that can live in pots and soil which is why we clean those pots.

thnx...guess i should get on building that compost then

hey there,

I've read somewhere that you can actually bake your old soil on a cookie sheet to get rid of any bugs or harmful substances. I have never done this, but it could be something you could try.

does anyone know the appropriate temp and time for that method?