Great idea, Rita! I've often wondered if folks reuse their mix. I usually add mine to a garden bed or the compost pile but I'll be using your suggestion in the future.

I always reuse mine. Sometimes dump it out on a tarp and add new to it as Rita suggested, then mix it up and put it back in the pots.

Every year I always get the Vermont Compost Container Booster Mix (Compost Plus) at Gardener's Supply and mix it with the old potting mix. I love it!

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/o...

I often use the same mix the next year... dump it out into an old kid's swimming pool, clean out any roots etc, add some new mix and a "splash" of time release fertilizer and repot. Plants seem to do well. If the old soil looks "funny" in any way... moldy etc.... I use it to fill holes in the yard etc. (Two labs that LOVE to dig!!)

I always use fresh for seed starting, but oh yeah, the old stuff gets reused for the larger containers! I generally dump it out into a bucket and mix it up with some of the fresh. It always seems to come out of the pots in a big lump, so that helps to break it up, too.

I'm happy to see that a lot of you reuse your potting mix. I've been doing this, too and it seems to work well.

One thing I learned is NOT to use packing peanuts to lighten the weight in big pots. I thought I was so smart when I did that but I hate picking out the peanuts when I reuse the soil and have had them "float" to the top if I added something else to the pot later.

@Lalambchop1 Been there, done that, too and I agree it's not the best idea.

Sometimes I put a brick on the bottom of the pot before I put in any potting soil. It uses up room and it also helps keep the pots bottom heavy so that they are not likely to blow over in the wind.

yep I use brick or rock in the bottom so as to not have them blow over in the wind .

@Lalambchop, I do use the peanuts in the bottom of some of my big containers but I put them in a mesh onion bag closed with a tab. It sure lightens the weight and when I empty the container, all I have to do is lift out the bag of peanuts. I do save and reuse the soil with compost and time released fertilizer added.

I have been doing it for years. In some cases, when I have to empty the whole pot, I leave it in a pile and then use it for the bottom filling of other pots some other day... after well aeration.... In fact, nothing goes waste. The top one third is the crucial thing. When we water, the nutrients nourish the soil down ward.

Newyorkrita said:Sometimes I put a brick on the bottom of the pot before I put in any potting soil. It uses up room and it also helps keep the pots bottom heavy so that they are not likely to blow over in the wind.

Great idea! Next time I've an empty container, I'm doing that!

I use coir and perlite in all my containers.. just add slow release fertilizer.. like previously mentioned I dump pots in a wheel barrow pull out the roots or anything funky.. and reuse with new slow release

Great minds think alike, I do like Rita and use the old soil in bottom of pots. Another use for old container soil: in late fall when I do lasagna layers in raised beds I dump old soil on the newspaper top layer of lasagna beds to weigh down and prevent wind from blowing away the paper.

SCButtercup said:Great minds think alike, I do like Rita and use the old soil in bottom of pots. Another use for old container soil: in late fall when I do lasagna layers in raised beds I dump old soil on the newspaper top layer of lasagna beds to weigh down and prevent wind from blowing away the paper.

Judy, I have done that also with the old container mix. Works great.

I reuse old soil, too, sometimes 100%. My potted plants are mostly cactus and succulents and don't need rich soil. I never change the soil in a pot unless I am repotting. My plants go for years with the same soil.

I started only changing the top part of the soil when I realized that the roots only used the top part, and that the bottom part was probably still as good as new. For using up space in the bottom of a pot, a plastic jug of water works just fine. The plastic lasts a long time if it's not exposed to the sun. Another thing that is wierd in potting soil mix is those water absorbing granules. They pop out on the surface and look like jelly ice cubes! (or ghost poop!)

MaryE I expand the water gels prior to potting up and they don't pop out anymore .. just put a little sprinkle in a food tub and fill it with water the day before .. I have a white tub with a lid .. can keep them expanded all the time and it doesn't turn green with sunlight

I learned this tip from you Allison awhile ago!