Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
The Soil Mix Recycling Container
When I basically toss old root balls (soil and all) into a container to recycle them, I prefer the container
to be a tough plastic cooler, but a plastic tote, or a plastic kiddie pool will also work fine. I only need one
recycling container because my cannabis garden is just my own little personal one, taking up only a single
small bedroom and a couple of grow-tents. If your grow is larger, then you might need a couple of con-
tainers or more. Essentially recycling is easy: break up the root balls with a shovel and then add water. It's
that simple. Don't get it too wet, but make sure it is well moistened. Aerate the recycling soil mix with ad-
ditional perlite as needed. Add a dry nitrogen source, such as a 50/50 mix of blood meal and feather meal,
just before adding water. A good approximation for the amounts of dry high-nitrogen mix to add is this:
around3tablespoonsoftheblood/featherblendpercubicfootofrecyclingmix.Onecubicfootofsoilmix
equals about 6 gallons of soil mix.
My recycling containers of choice are plastic totes and coolers
Two big advantages when using the cooler are the insulation and the drain plug, the latter of which is
fantastic to have if you add too much water. It is very important to either have a drain plug or make one.
Too much water will turn anaerobic fast and start to smell really horrible. Anaerobic soil mix kills roots
on contact due to things like alcohol that are produced by these anaerobic microbeasties that don't need
any air to breathe. Indoors, I use some shower curtains or a good tarp underneath these containers and that
has always been great for containing small spills. With time you will get a “sixth sense” about how much
water to add, and how often, to keep it just a little moist and not soaking wet. You need a bit of space in a
garage or shed to recycle soil mix, but I have recycled with tarps and coolers in a 15x20x8-foot bedroom
with a small closet, and that was large enough for me!
