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ellenr22

How old is too old for potting soil?

I've been noticing that my house plants dry out very quickly. Which may be because it is winter and the apt is dry.

but recently it struck me that I am using potting soil (bought) which is about a year old.
So just in case, I threw that out, and got new soil.
(there wan't much left)

Do you think that is a cause and effect?

It is so hard to get good soil (or any soil) this time of year, so I ordered from Home Depot "Proven Winner" "premium potting soil." The literature did not say anything about it containing fertilizer.

I don't buy soil with fertilizer, I like to add my own, when appropriate. Now that I'm about to use this, I notice it has "a continuous release plant food". UGH.
The analysis is 0.13-0.05- 0.10

I might just go ahead and use it; it is heavy and a pain to return, and then have to try to find some unfertilized soil.

But I wish it weren't so hard to find unfertilized soil.

thanks.

Comments (3)

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    9 years ago

    Drying out quickly is a good thing, from your plants' POV, but maybe not so much from the gardener's. BTW - as soils age they tend to become MORE water-retentive, unless they are decomposing and gassing off, leaving mostly the root network behind to act as the soil.

    A soil might be too old before you even use it for plants. The useful life of a soil is determined by it's ability to retain a suitable structure that provides a reasonable mix of water and air. Soils made of fine particles, and especially fine particles in an advanced state of decomposition are inappropriate from the plant's POV right out of the bag.

    There's nothing to worry about with the minute charge of nutrients in the soil. It's a favorable ratio of nutrients, but the volume of nutrients is very small. If you flush the soil when you water, you should supplement your plants' nutrition regularly, all year long. If you aren't flushing the soil when you water, you might want to wait until after the vernal equinox to start fertilizing.

    Al

    This post was edited by tapla on Tue, Dec 9, 14 at 14:46

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    i store.. dry.. unused media for upwards of a decade ... lol.. i buy a lot and apparently dont use it up fast ...

    when one speaks of OLD media .... i would presume they are talking about USED ...

    most old media... starts losing its predictability after a few years ... and when it loses such... water management MIGHT become a problem ... and secondarily.. salt buildup ... that crust often found on old potted plants ...

    when you start thinking about it as MEDIA... as compared to mother earth.. aka SOIL ... then you might take the next step in your learning curve ...

    i do NOT fertilize in the dark of winter .... i would start fert ... near the end of winter ... when the sun starts getting stronger.. and your plants should start growing a bit more vigorously ... do not treat them as children.. who need to be fert'd on some schedule of yours ... think about the yearly cycles of the plants and fert accordingly ...

    you do not name the plants we are talking about... so its near impossible to give anything beyond grand generalities ...

    as al notes.. a media that dries is not a bad thing ... avoids a lot of problems like gnats ...

    but if the plant is so root bound.. that there is no media left in the pot... then repotting is needed ... i have to re-root spider plants every summer... because there is no media left in the pot of a 2 year old plant.. and that makes it near impossible to water the pot.. in winter.. indoors... in MI.. so though al says its a good thing.. perhaps it is.. perhaps it isnt.. depending on what is going on.. in the pot ...

    good luck

    ken

  • ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    thanks Al. Since you say the amount of nutrient is very small, I will go ahead and use the soil. (whew. glad I don't have to lug it back!)
    I do water til the water runs out, when I water. Except for one of my succulents which the care guide says to 'water sparingly in winter'. My other plants are putting out new growth even tho I didn't expect that in winter. ZZ plant and Chinese Evergreen for example. So since they are putting out new growth, I think they would appreciate a little feeding.

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