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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Re: What to do with old potted soil from containers?

@MrBote that sounds like a great system. Is that an earthbox? Do you grow the sweet potatoes with the plastic mulch cover?

I always say one of the reasons I don't like perlite is BECAUSE they float out of the soil and can wash away, but you've found a way to take advantage of that and recycle them -- terrific! 8)

MrBote
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Location: Florida zone 9

imafan26 wrote:What kind of sweet potatoes do you grow?
I don't recall the name but they were the red ones from the grocery store. I had some I didn't use and they developed slips and I planted two or three. Then I let the vines root into other boxes. These were fallow boxes completely infested with weeds. Mostly what we call "hitchhikers" for the seeds getting stuck to your clothes and shoelaces.

MrBote
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Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2014 2:34 am
Location: Florida zone 9

applestar wrote:@MrBote that sounds like a great system. Is that an earthbox? Do you grow the sweet potatoes with the plastic mulch cover?
Yes, it's an earthbox. No, I don't use the plastic mulch cover so I can turn the vines back into the box and let it root a couple more sites before letting them travel into yet another box. Sweet potatoes make a lot of shade leaves and are very prolific.
I always say one of the reasons I don't like perlite is BECAUSE they float out of the soil and can wash away, but you've found a way to take advantage of that and recycle them -- terrific! 8)
Our soil is mostly sand here in Florida. Perlite in a semi-raised bed only exacerbates the excessive drainage condition. Every couple years, I dig 12" of soil out of my bed, put a 4" mat of wetted oak leaves in which to mulch 'under' the grow zone and put the by now, composted container mix over that. Otherwise, I can almost watch my organic material disappear with every rain storm, or as I end up having to water it twice a day. Someone warned me about using uncomposted leaves claiming it leeches nitrogen, while I have found that the irrigation leeches it much faster, along with everything else, and oak leaves take a very long time to rot at that depth, which is pure sand. Also, it tends to cut my water consumption in half.



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