By Luke Sumpter


Reusing Old Soil To Grow Cannabis

Unless there has been a disease or invasion of some kind, there is no need to buy new soil every time you want to pot a cannabis plant or repot existing plants. Simply reuse the old stuff. Revitalising and reusing old soil is easy and a great money saver.

Marijuana is a notorious glutton for nutrients of all kinds; nitrogen-hungry during vegetation and calcium and magnesium-demanding during flowering, cannabis will always leave soil depleted. With that said, there are numerous benefits cannabis provides as well; the roots fluff out and the overall soil structure is improved upon. Such is one of the many upsides to growing cannabis.

  • One Step Ahead

By keeping soil healthy to begin with, you can prevent the need for its radical rehabilitation prior to reusing. Regular fertilising, composting, and mulching of potted plants with ensure healthy soil at every stage of its life. When well-cared-for soil maintains its health, friability, water penetration and retention, it needs little modification when reused.

Companion planting also helps keep soil healthy, vital, and disease-free. When doing this, however, it’s advisable to plant in a bigger pot than necessary to allow room for companion plants to grow. A simple alfalfa, clover, and marigold mix will provide manifold benefits to plant and soil health.

  • Old Soil Can Be Reused

Uncared for and stressed soils will require amending prior to reuse. The soil may become hydrophobic, completely exhausted of nutrients and minerals, or with a collapsed structure. Soil that has been left to bake in the sun will certainly be leached of nutrients and will need to be modified.

Reusing Old Soil To Grow Cannabis
  • Make Sure To Be Clean

If your soil was invaded by a pathogen or is quite unhealthy for whatever reason, the best thing to do is simply put the soil in a bag and discard. Mixing it into garden beds or working it into compost could spread the pathogen to your whole garden. Sometimes, diseases can linger in soil even after you think they’ve left. This is true for several species of mite, fungus, gnat, and rot. Reusing the soil will certainly infect the new occupant. Be sure to wash your hands before touching healthy soil and plants. Wash the pots as well in warm, soapy water to ensure the vector has been scrubbed away.

  • Weed Not Weeds

Pasteurising old soil is a way to get rid of a number of unfriendlies. Grass and weed seeds, insect eggs, and fungal spores can all be killed by putting the old soil in a black garbage bag, then leaving it to bake in the sun for an afternoon. The heat will pasteurise the soil to be ready for use. It will also kill most of the friendly biota, so you are committed to soil-amending once you decide to pasteurise. Bake in the sun before amending so you don’t kill all the friendlies you add.

How To Reuse Potting Soil

By rehabilitating your used growing medium, you can create nutrient-rich recycled soil that provides everything new plants need to remain healthy and produce rewarding harvests.

Check out the tried and tested methods below—and choose your favourite—to clean, revitalise, and successfully reuse your soil.

Use Enzymes To Clean The Soil: The Long Approach

You’re probably aware of the vital roles microscopic substances play in the soil. A whole host of bacteria and fungi are constantly at work devouring organic matter and producing plant-available nutrients.

Both types of these microscopic life forms produce enzymes that break down substances around them to create food. Enzymes are essentially mini machines made of proteins that carry out specific chemical reactions.

Just like bacteria and fungi use enzymes to process organic matter in the soil, so too can cannabis growers!

Contrary to common belief, plants don’t actually directly mine nutrients from the soil. Instead, they recruit an army of microbes to do the dirty work. Like true capitalists, plants then trade sugars (which they create during photosynthesis) in exchange for the nutrients that fungi are able to free up in the soil.

Over time, the soil starts to become depleted of these key nutrients, which is why growers should always amend their growing medium from time to time. Detritus (general waste and debris) also starts to build up in the soil after a growing cycle.

The components of dead microbes, pieces of roots, and insect parts begin to accumulate. Enzymes also help to speed up the rate at which these decompose and are turned into accessible nutrients.

After finishing a grow and harvesting a plant, you can tap into the potential of leftover soil by adding enzymes to unlock untapped nutrients and amendments.

Here’s how to rebuild used soil using enzymes:

  1. Remove the old root ball from the soil.
  2. Select an enzyme product that is plant-safe and not phytotoxic.
  3. Apply the substance to your growing medium.
  4. Add in some amendments, such as worm castings and humic acid, to reintroduce vital minerals into the medium.
  5. Allow the medium to rest for three months so the enzymes can properly catalyse the organic material within.
  6. Agitate the mix every now and then to aerate the soil.
Remove Roots And Worms

Boiling And Amending: A Faster Approach

Enzymes work well, but it means waiting a few months until you can use that batch of soil again. If you need soil much sooner, instead of heading to the shop, use this faster approach to get growing posthaste.

Step 1: Break Down Your Soil

Cannabis plants create large root balls in the soil as they grow and mature. These systems help to give the soil shape and structure, and make the growing medium extremely firm and condensed. At the end of a growing cycle, you need to empty your containers and loosen up all of that compacted soil. Empty your old pots into a large plastic tote and break up the soil with your hands or a gardening tool such as a rake or trowel.

How To Save Money By Reusing Old Soil

Step 2: Remove Roots And Worms

As you break apart and comb through the substrate, you’ll come across stray roots and worms. Take out the roots, throw them onto your compost, and turn them into soil for the following season.

You’ll also want to gently remove the worms and place them into your compost pile or elsewhere in the garden. Far from being pests, these little soil-builders dramatically increase the quality of the soil. They gobble up microbes and organic matter, and poop out castings rich in key nutrients like nitrogen.

Step 3: Pasteurise Your Soil

Pasteurisation will help to kill off any microbial bad guys lingering in your soil. Not all microbes help plants to thrive. Some forms of fungus and bacteria work against the interest of the grower and can cause disease.

Don’t worry; although it might sound complicated, pasteurisation simply refers to pouring boiling water over your soil. Fill your tote with boiled kettle water and completely submerge the substrate. Let it sit for one hour.

Strain off the water and let your soil dry in the sun, preferably in a greenhouse or polytunnel. 

How To Save Money By Reusing Old Soil

Step 4: Introduce New Life To Your Soil

After following the steps above, you’ll be left with clean but lifeless soil. Microbial communities are key to healthy soil. Without them, all you’ll have is an inert mass of organic matter. By introducing beneficial fungi and bacteria, you’ll bring the substrate to life and, in doing so, create much healthier and more productive plants.

Growers are spoilt for choice when it comes to improving their soil. We recommend adding worm castings, and worms themselves, to really kick-start the process.

Next, add a few scoops of mycorrhizal fungi into the mix. These life forms physically fuse to plant roots and shuttle nutrients directly into their system. Add beneficial bacteria such as rhizobacteria to further increase nutrient availability and combat pathogens in the soil.

Step 5: Add Extra Soil

Upon cleaning and rebuilding your soil, you probably lost some volume along the way. Top up your supply with some aged compost, ideally from your own bins, to make up for any lost material, then fill up your containers once more.

Step 6: Transplant Your Seedlings

You’ve done it! Transplant your seedlings into your rebuilt and restored soil and watch them thrive over the course of the coming growing cycle.

How To Save Money By Reusing Old Soil

Tips To Reuse Coco Coir

You can also reuse other growing media to reduce waste, including coco coir. Using similar steps to those mentioned above, you can rehabilitate this excellent substrate and use it for several growing cycles.

Use these steps to reuse your coco coir:

  1. Break up your coco and remove any stray roots.
  2. Soak your coco in an enzyme solution to dissolve smaller roots that can’t be removed by hand.
  3. Wash your coco with distilled water to remove detritus and residual salts from the medium. 
How To Save Money By Reusing Old Soil

4. Sterilise your coco using a 35% hydrogen peroxide solution.
5. Top up your supply with some fresh coco, and get planting! 

How To Save Money By Reusing Old Soil

Tips To Reuse Clay Pebbles Or Perlite 

There’s no need to throw out your clay pebbles or perlite, either. Use the method below to clean them up and prepare them for your next grow:

  1. Remove all dead plant matter and bathe in an enzyme solution.
  2. Let the pebbles or clay sit for 30 minutes, strain, and repeat the process again.
How To Save Money By Reusing Old Soil

3. Place your pebbles or perlite in the sun to disinfect for 2–3 days, preferably under the cover of a greenhouse.
4. Reuse your pebbles or perlite within your soil and hydroponic setups.

How To Save Money By Reusing Old Soil

Other Ways To Put Old Soil To Use

If you don’t want to go through the process of rehabilitating your soil, you can let nature do the work for you. Empty your containers into your compost bin and let the microbes break down the roots and other material over the course of the next year, ready for use further down the line.

Alternatively, you can apply your old soil directly as a top dressing to your raised beds. Break up the soil and rake it into your beds to add organic matter that will eventually break down into available nutrients.

You Can Always Reuse Soil, But You Need To Work For It

By rehabilitating your soil, you are one step closer to creating a closed-loop growing system. You’ll minimise waste, save money, and develop a priceless skill. However, it takes time and effort, but the rewards are well worth the work.

Cookies settings

We are requesting your permission to use your data for the reasons stated below:

Functional cookies

Functional cookies help our website to function optimally and allow us to personalise certain features.

Preference cookies

Preference cookies allow us to remember information that influences the way our website looks, including your preferred language based on your region.

Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies give us insights into website traffic and customer behaviour, including how many people visit our site, how long they browse for, and which parts of our site they visit.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of data from a particular website that get stored on a user’s computer while they’re surfing the internet. Cookies have several different functions. Some of them track browser activity that enables businesses to deliver targeted advertisements. Other cookies serve to remember user login details to different websites to make jumping on social media, or other sites, a more fluid process. Because each cookie has its own unique ID, these pieces of data allow website owners to measure the unique traffic coming into their site.

Why do we use cookies?

Cookies come in handy when you visit our website. They ensure you stay logged in, that you can shop safely, and that the items you add to your cart stay there before you make a purchase. But cookies also help us. The data they provide allow us to improve our website and enable us to present you with targeted advertisements that are compatible with your interests.

What kind of cookies do we use?

Functional cookies

Functional cookies help our website to function optimally and allow us to personalise certain features.

Preference cookies

Preference cookies allow us to remember information that influences the way our website looks, including your preferred language based on your region.

Analytical cookies

Analytical cookies give us insights into website traffic and customer behaviour, including how many people visit our site, how long they browse for, and which parts of our site they visit.

How can I disable or delete cookies?

Not a fan of cookies? No worries. You can disable them (with the exception of necessary cookies) in your browser settings. However, blocking cookies may impact your browsing experience and prevent you from enjoying all of the technical features of our site.

Privacy Policy - Royal Queen Seeds

To ensure a safe online environment and guarantee adequate data protection, we strictly comply with all legal requirements. In this privacy statement, we provide information about how and for what purpose data is collected, safety measures, storage periods and contact details.


COMPANY NAME: SNORKEL SPAIN, SL (hereinafter ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS)

C/ Vilar d'Abdelà, 5 (nave 1) CP: 08170 de Montornès del Vallès

+34 937 379 846

support@royalqueenseeds.com


The present Privacy Policy sets out the terms on which we will treat personal data at ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS; this includes any personal data collected through our website https://www.royalqueenseeds.com/ as well as any other data we process in the course of our business activities.

ROYAL QUEEN SEEDS collects the following personal data for the purposes listed below:

SECTION 1 – PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT

1.1 Account purchases

Account purchases can only be made if you are in possession of a personal account. When you create an account or purchase something from our shop, as part of the buying and selling process we collect the following personal information that you provide to us:

This information is required for delivery. In addition, when you browse our shop, we automatically receive the Internet Protocol (IP) address of your computer. Based on this information, we can optimise your online experience and at the same time protect our online environment.

Purpose of data collection

We collect and store account-related data for the following purposes:

(a) to carry out obligations arising from any contracts between you and us, and to provide you with information, products and services that you may request from us;

(b) to set up, manage and communicate with you about your account and your orders;

(c) to conduct market research and analysis;

(d) to confirm your age and identity, and to detect and prevent fraud.

1.2 Newsletters

With your explicit permission, we may send you newsletters about our shop, new products and other updates. We send newsletters based on your explicit consent. In the event that you purchase a product, and in accordance with current regulations, we may send you commercial communications in accordance with the legitimate interest of our company, always about products or services similar to those you have purchased or contracted. In any case, you may exercise your right of opposition through the channels announced in this Privacy Policy. The following information is collected in relation to the newsletter:

We do not need to know the sex of the person in order to send the newsletter (data minimisation: by law we must ask for data that is strictly necessary to provide the service, and in this case knowing the sex is not necessary to send the newsletter).

Purpose of data collection

The data collected is used to:

(a) personalise our emails, including your name and gender;

(b) provide gender-specific content.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by using the link provided in the newsletter or the contact information provided in section 2.

1.3 Customer service and contact form

In order to provide appropriate support, our customer service employees have access to information related to the account. Consequently, their support will be highly effective and friendly. The data provided in our contact form is used by our CRM provider, SuperOffice. We will only use your details to respond to your message.

SECTION 2 – LEGITIMATE INTEREST

If you have purchased any of our products, please note that we may process your personal data for promotional purposes, based on Royal Queen Seeds' legitimate interest only to offer you products or services from our company and about products or services similar to those you have purchased. You may exercise your right to opt out of future messages by the means set out in this Privacy Policy or through any notification you receive.

2.1 How do you withdraw consent?

If you change your mind, you can withdraw your consent for us to contact you for the purpose of collecting, using, or disclosing your data at any time by reaching out to us at: support@royalqueenseeds.com.

SECTION 3 – DISCLOSURE

We may disclose your personal information if we are required to do so by law or if you breach our Terms of Service.

SECTION 4 – HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR DATA?

At Royal Queen Seeds, we will not retain your data for longer than is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Different retention periods apply for different types of data; however, the longest period we will normally hold any personal data is 10 years.

4.1 Account information

Data relating to the account remains relevant for as long as the consumer is in possession of an account. Therefore, the data remains documented for as long as the account exists. When our customers delete an account, the associated data will be deleted within a reasonable period of time. Requests regarding the inspection or correction of stored personal data or the deletion of an account can be sent to support@royalqueenseeds.com.

4.2 Newsletters

In the event that you give us your consent to inform you about our products or services, we will keep your data until you express your wish not to receive any further communications from us. However, we regularly (every month) carry out a relevance check. Registered customers (and their personal information) will be deleted whenever customers do not reply to our request. In addition, our newsletter mailing has an opt-out feature. Consumers can withdraw their consent by using this opt-out feature.

SECTION 5 – COOKIES

Cookies are small information files that notify your computer of previous interactions with our website. These cookies are stored on your hard drive, not on our website. Essentially, when you use our website, your computer displays its cookies to us, informing our site that you have visited before. This allows our website to function more quickly and remember aspects related to your previous visits (such as your username), making your experience more convenient. At Royal Queen Seeds, we use two types of cookies: functional and analytical.

5.1 Functional Cookies

Functional cookies are used to enhance your online experience. Among other things, these cookies track what is added to your shopping cart. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

5.2 Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies are used for research and market analysis. The data collected with these analytical cookies is anonymous, making it unusable for third parties. The use of these cookies does not require prior authorization.

SECTION 5 – THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

Third-party services are required to conduct transactions and provide our services. In general, the third-party providers we use will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to enable them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies regarding the information we must provide to them for your transactions.

We encourage you to read the privacy policies of these providers so that you can understand how these providers will handle your personal information.

In particular, certain suppliers may be located or have facilities located in a different jurisdiction than yours or ours. Therefore, if you choose to proceed with a transaction involving the services of a third party, your information may be subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

Once you leave our website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service of our website.

Web analytics service (anonymous data)

On this website we have integrated an element of a web analytics service (with anonymisation functionality). Web analytics can be defined as the gathering, processing and analysis of data about the behaviour of visitors to websites. An analytics service collects, among other things, data about which website a person came from (the so-called referrer), which sub-pages they visited or how often and for how long they visited a sub-page. Web analytics is mainly used for website optimisation and for a cost–benefit analysis of internet advertising.

Courier service

To complete deliveries we use a courier service. This courier service carries out the delivery between our company and the consumer's home. To complete these logistics, the company requires access to the consumer's name and address information.

Mailing service

Royal Queen Seeds uses a third-party mail service provider to send its newsletter. This provider has access to limited account information related to opt-in consent (e.g. email address).

Marketing services

Royal Queen Seeds has the support of a company that specialises in marketing and communication activities. Their access to personal information is very limited and mostly anonymous.

Payment services

At Royal Queen Seeds we use external payment services to handle our transactions (e.g. credit card payments).

SECTION 6 – SECURITY

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry standard best practices to ensure that it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored using AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional industry standards that are commonly accepted. Information related to the account is protected with a hashing method. This method transforms the information into a generated hash. As a result, confidential information is protected and invisible, even to us. In addition, our databases are exceptionally protected against unauthorised access. For example, access to the database is only possible and permitted via approved IP addresses (e.g. from Royal Queen Seeds headquarters). Other attempts and addresses are rejected at all times.

Furthermore, data is anonymised as much as possible, so it cannot be directly linked to a specific consumer. With this data, however, we may be able to carry out market research and analysis. In addition, the third parties concerned (e.g. mailing service) are examined prior to our collaboration, comply with the GDPR from the EU and receive a processing agreement. Within Royal Queen Seeds, employees are assigned different access permissions. Specific permission provides access only to information that is strictly required to perform a task. Digital security measures are subject to change and must meet high requirements to ensure the safety of online customers. That is why, at Royal Queen Seeds, we appoint a security officer. Regular verification and improvement of security measures (where necessary) are part of the role.

SECTION 7 – CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, so please check back regularly. Changes and clarifications will be effective immediately upon being published on the Website. If we make substantial changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated so you will know what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

SECTION 8 – YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO: