Is there any way to revive old dirt in pots left out all winter?
By Jodee H from St. Louis, MO
I always use the soil on my lawn to fill in holes that may have developed. Works great when added with some grass seed.
I either put it in my compost bin or put it in the bottom of pots and top up with new when transplanting plants to bigger pots.
I keep a 5 gallon pail with a cover to dump used soil in. I put in cut up chunks of fruit and veggie peels, egg shells, etc. Each time stuff is added, either stir or shake up the whole pail. When 1 pail is 3/4 full, start another. Just keep adding used soil and "scraps" as you have them. You're actually composting in miniature.
I use this to fill about 1/2 of the next pot I want to use, put in the plant, then fill to desired level with new soil. Much cheaper than using all new soil, uses "garbage" as fertilizer"/compost, and it's basically free.
Of course. I pool all my soil from last year's annuals in a pile, add peat moss and fresh potting soil as needed, and find that I usually only buy one small bag of new soil each year. Make sure your pots stay outside all winter so they get nice and chilled to kill off bugs or diseases, and make sure all your pots drain well.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Can I spread used potting soil on my lawn?
By PC
I use it to fill the holes that my dog digs in the yard. The grass grows right over it and seems to like it.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Do you have to use new potting soil every year when potting flowers? I usually do, but I didn't know if it was really necessary or not.
What do you do with your potting soil when you re-pot a plant? Do you reuse it or discard it? It seems wasteful to throw it out, surely you can keep using it?
