How Long Does Potting Soil last? Does Soil Go Bad?
Have you ever found an old bag of potting soil while cleaning out the shed or garage and wondered if it was still safe to use? Me too! I needed to know if potting soil might become “poor,” so I conducted some studies to discover and include solutions to the concerns of crucial potting soil in this guide.
Premium potting soil is necessary for both indoor and outdoor plant growth. Any home gardener’s success depends on their ability to recognize when potting soil is bad and how long it lasts. When it comes to purchasing, utilizing, and storing potting soil, I hope this information will assist you in making informed judgments. Let’s just get started!
Does Potting Soil Go bad?
All potting soils contain organic matter, which will gradually break down over time and become more dusty and dense. It’s important to note that where and how you store your soil significantly impacts how quickly organic matter starts to decompose. The quality of your potting soil deteriorates with time depending on some factors, including whether the bag is open or closed, whether it is placed in direct sunshine, wet conditions, or a location where it might get rained on.
Potting soil bags that have been opened typically maintain their highest quality for six to twelve months. Things like air and too much moisture can get within the soil and start to degrade the nutrients and compress the soil more quickly than dirt that has been sealed for months before using. Although the soil in a bag that has been opened is still suitable for basic gardening purposes, potted plants won’t benefit as much as they would from dirt that has not yet been opened.
The quality of unopened soil bags will be preserved for considerably longer lengths of time, and they will retain their value for around a year or two if not used. However, peat moss and other organic materials are constantly actively decomposing even if the bag is never unopened. Your potting soil may occasionally go fully bad and should not be used on plants.
This is the case if there is a bad smell, mold forming in the dirt, or many gnats flying around the bag. Since it is an exception, no plants should be grown in this soil. However, all is not lost if you have an open bag of potting soil or a bag that you bought, stowed, and then soon forgot about. You can utilize a few techniques to extend the life of your soil or revitalize stale or used dirt.
How To Tell If Potting Soil Is Bad Or Not
You can detect if potting soil is bad by looking for the following indicators.
1. Rotten Odor
If the smell of rotten eggs is really strong coming from your potting soil, it was presumably resting in the water. Under moist circumstances, soil bacteria easily disperse. Older soil is also denser, which eliminates the air spaces that maintain the activity of helpful bacteria. The smell produced by anaerobic bacteria is fairly strong. The stinking potting soil should be spread out and let dry in the sun to assist the bacteria in dying. Once it has dried out, you can use it without risk.
2. Insect Infestation
Hate the annoying bugs that emerge from potting soil? These little insects are called fungus gnats. Through small holes, the gnats crawl inside the potting soil bags and lay their eggs. Although the gnats are irritating, mature plants shouldn’t be seriously harmed. The roots of young plants are especially susceptible to fungus gnat harm.
Can I Use Old Potting Soil?
If you use old potting soil, you might notice variations in how your plants grow. The following soil characteristics may alter even if you stored the dirt properly:
- Nutrient levels (affecting plant growth)
- Moisture
- Texture
The nutrient content steadily declines when potting soil is kept for a long time. This does not imply that the potting soil is useless; rather, it only indicates that it will affect the plants slightly differently from that of brand-new potting soil. By including nutrients in your old potting soil, you can fix this. Later, when we have more time, we’ll discuss this in further detail.
If you keep potting soil in bags on your shelves, you may anticipate that opened bags will survive for around 6 months before they start to deteriorate, whereas unopened bags can last for one to two years. It might have a best-by date, so examine your bag for specifics.
Also read: How to Tell if Soil is Acidic or Alkaline?
What is the Shell Life Of Potting Soil?
Depending on how it is stored and whether it is being used or not, potting soil has a limited shelf life. Humidity and unfavorable storage conditions can destroy unused soil quite fast. Mold can grow because of the organic material in potting mix, dampness, and inadequate ventilation.
Composition of Potting Soil
Potting Mix Basis – A mixture of chemicals known as a potting mix helps to achieve these objectives. Standard examples include soil, sand, compost, coir, pine bark, sphagnum peat, perlite, and vermiculite.
Soil and Sand – The issue with planting in the soil is that it frequently harbors illnesses, and if it’s thick clay, it might not drain properly. Topsoil or garden soil can be sterilized when spread out on a baking sheet and baked for 20 minutes at 200 degrees Fahrenheit. After every five minutes, stir it.
Perlite and Vermiculite – Sand can be replaced with sterile and pH-neutral volcanic rock perlite. Air space is increased, and water drainage is improved. Vermiculite, an airy, sterile variety of mica, can hold a lot of air, water, and plant nutrients.
Pine Bark and Compost – Bark is good for a light mix that allows air through but doesn’t hold water effectively while growing decorative plants. Slow-decomposing pine bark can occasionally be used in place of sphagnum peat moss. Compost can be created on your own. The quality of compost varies on what you compost, but it supplies nutrients, holds water well, and is inexpensive to make. If you create your compost, be sure it has fully decomposed before utilizing it.
Reviving Old Potting Soil
The following steps will help you revive your old potting mix:
1. Blend with fresh soil
- By adding new soil to it, you can restore used potting soil.
- For your potted plant, just combine old and new potting soil 50/50.
- Although you can make your new soil mix, it will take time, and the results might not be as good. As peat is terrible for the environment, you should also stay away from potting soils that contain it.
- A charcoal potting mix like Rosy might be a better alternative.
2. Rosy
- Rosy provides a pure and ready-to-use potting mix without adding peat moss or synthetic fertilizers.
- However, it has airy, balanced compost, pre-activated biochar, and advantageous bacteria that combat pests, encourage plant development, and conserve water.
- You can either mix this organic material directly into your pots or into your existing soil.
- Then presto! Your garden will flourish quickly.
3. Mix in More Nutrient
- Inability to obtain new potting soil. Simply add some organic material, like potting compost or mulch, to the depleted soil to refill it with more nutrients. Approximately 80%–50% of old potting soil can be replaced with compost.
4. Compost the soil
- Composting is viable if you don’t want to use the old soil.
- Old potting soil can be added to your compost pile to speed up the decomposition of organic matter and keep insects out of the pile.
- Only 10% of the total compost material should be made up of old soil. You can feed your plants with the mixture when composting is finished.
5. Add Water
- When working with old, dry dirt that hasn’t been compacted, add water to the container with the soil and let it drain out the bottom. The soil’s mineral and fertilizer deposits will be removed as a result.
Conclusion
Your query, “Does potting soil go bad?” was hopefully satisfactorily addressed. In conclusion, food does spoil after a given amount of time since it loses its freshness, texture, and nutritious ingredients. Your preferred soil can be utilized for six months after being opened and sealed for two years. However, do not worry if your soil has already started to go bad. You can still recycle it in several ways. Happy gardening!
