A few, in fact, for all the whizz, green-fingered gardeners who read in here.
I have some soil that the potatoes grew in. It feels lovely!
Can I re-use it again this year? If yes, do I need to treat it?
If no, can I use it for anything else, like the tomatoes in pots (with some slow release stuff mixed in)?
Thanking you very much, in advance.
I'm no expert in any way, although we have been growing veg & fruit for several years. I don't think it's a good idea to re-use soil for growing the same kind of things (e.g. root veg) again, better to use it for something else, as in crop rotation. So it should be ok for an above-soil crop. However, the nutrients in the used soil will be a bit depleted, so it'll be a good idea to either mix it with some fresh compost, or/and add some fertiliser.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sooze, tomatoes are a greedy crop but provided that you feed them properly they should do well, I would mix in an equal amount of fresh compost and maybe some perlite or grit for drainage.
ReplyDeleteAs long as the potatoes in no way had any blight it will be okay to use for your tomatoes this year if, like the others say, you bump up the nutrition of the soil with either a lot of feed or fresh compost added to it.
ReplyDeletePersonally I use the compost or soil that I have grown container potatoes in to add to a raised bed and start all new potatoes and tomatoes with new compost, either bought or homemade, as both of these crops are nutrient hungry crops. It just means you can be a bit later starting with the liquid feed this way, which keeps costs down.
Thank you all for your helpful answers.
ReplyDeleteCrop rotation makes sense and, yes, the soil will need feeding anyway. I love the slow release stuff. I've never used perlite but it makes sense really.
No, no potato blight at all. The tomatoes got a bit, right at the end, but it wasn't bad and by that time the potatoes weren't affected. I could use the potato soil to replace the top third of the containers, couldn't I, and then mix what's left with fresh stuff for the tomatoes.
You've given me food for thought, thank you.
J x
I'm going to buck the trend here. As sue refers to above both tomatoes and potatoes can suffer from blight - and although this may not have been visible on the current crop I'd personally be very wary of recycling that soil for the same crop again. If it were me I'd be playing it safe and using that old soil for a totally different crop (a brassica or legume) and using a different areas for your tatties & toms!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Robyn. Food for thought!
DeleteJ x
Tomatoes and potatoes are the same family of plants so it is best to use the soil for something different as diseases will thrive. It would be best emptied out so weather, worms and soil microbes can improve it.
ReplyDeleteNellieGrace