[GrowAlone]

Hey all!

Just wondering if it is possible to, without sounding like some makeup advert, but revitalize old dry soil? So that it can be used for growing? If its been left in a greenhouse in more than warm conditions so It's a bit brittle etc, any ideas?

I'm just being cheap and trying not to fork out any more coin but if I have to I have to...

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

GA

This post has been edited by GrowAlone: 10 March 2012 - 11:17 PM

[McCheeseweasel]

There are a wide variety of things you could mix in to revilatise your soil.
You could mix it with
fresh compost of which there are many varieties.
you could add a liquid compost feed either manufactured or organic-tea style
you could mix in worm castings or some sort of manure i.e. horse/cow/bat/seaweed/mulch (be careful not to add anything too strong that will burn your plants most manures need to be allowed to decomposed before use and often must be diluted also)
There are also a wide variety of soil additives that can also be used to change the consistency i.e vermiculate or perlite, these may help dry soil to hold water/nutes better. Water retention crystals can also be used for this purpose.
Are you looking to grow organically or with chemical nutrients?
best bet would probably be to search the organic pages in the soil forum and if you cant find what you want either buy a vegetable grow bag or get a shovel and a bag!
good luck which ever road you choose.

[GrowAlone]

Thanks Mccheese!

I've been floating around the boards to see what compost a could use think for cheapness I might just get the bnq potting compost seems like a few people would recommend it, I was going to use biobizz grow nutes grow n bloom but that'll come later : ). But I'm just trying to get everything together before I pop my beans! Haha

[thesmokingjacket]

worm casts make a great soil reinvigorator ,and there cheap well free if you have a wormery

[McCheeseweasel]

Oh yeah i would also recommend you steer clear of the cheap stuff from asda's.
Nasty stuff.
I may have been unlucky TWICE but i found quite a few broken bits of old printed circuit board (p.c.b.) in both bags.
That was a year ago and they may of improved but i doubt that such a profiteering company is going to invest in improving the quality of on of their less demanded products.
I imagine that they only started selling it because it was cheap/free for them to aquire to start with.
B+Q stuff seems alright only used it once although it might be worth mentioning that i oven cook my soil (and allow to cool) before use.
this kills any bugs/bug-eggs that might be lurking inside.
I particuarly advise this if the bag has any holes in or has been kept outside.
Hope all goes well, peaceages, Cheeezwheeeeez

[McCheeseweasel]

yep but good bacteria can be put back into the soil without bugs eggs.
Alot of people will disagree with my method but none the less that remains what i prefer to do.

I would only do this if i was growing in pots/beds indoors where the flies would be a nuisance.

As you appear to be growing outdoors/greenhouse it shouldn't be a problem for you, nature will/should generally make sure these things are more balanced.

This post has been edited by McCheeseweasel: 11 March 2012 - 07:49 PM