Can potting soil go bad in the bag? It for sure can. We often think of things that go off as food items like vegetable soup or cheese but even soil can go bad too.
Maybe it’s been a long winter, you want to get back to gardening so you pull out your bag of compost from two years ago and wonder if it’s still capable of rooting your plants.
Does potting soil go bad and how long does it last? Read on to find out.
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How long does potting soil last in the bag?
These numbers are only an estimate and soil never truly becomes unusable, instead it just becomes less effective at rooting your plants and allowing them to flourish.
If the bag is opened: 6 months – 1 year
If the bag is unopened: 1 – 2 years
Factors that may effect this number is the type of soil and the storage conditions.
How to tell if potting soil is bad?
Potting soil has gone bad if it has a bad smell to it. If it smells like sewage or decaying matter then don’t use them on your plants.
You can attempt to still re-use your soil however by spreading out your soil on a sunny day to air out and dry out your soil before packing it away again.
However, at this stage the nutrients in the soil will likely have broken down and in order to grow plant to their maximum potential, buying some fresh potting soil would be the better option.
Bear in mind, if you have soil that is in perfect condition but you don’t have seeds that are in date, you seeds will also not grow. A lot of conditions need to be right including your soil for successful growing. Check out this article to find out how to tell if your seeds have gone bad.
How to store used potting soil?
Perlite
It is recommended you add perlite to your used potting soil before storing it away. The reason for this is because it helps to drain the soil of water and creates air pockets.
This prevents bacteria build up in the soil so when you’re ready to bring out your soil after storage the soil is healthy and ready to use right away.
Separate soil
When storing potting soil, it is important that you keep soil used for growing vegetables and fruits you may eat to other plants like flowers. This limits disease carry over from one growing season to the next.
Weeds
If you notice there is a lot of weeds in the used soil you plan to store, I would reconsider storing it at all. Weed seeds are extremely hard to kill can carry over in to next year’s crops quite easily.
Storage
Store your soil in dark, dry conditions, wrapping the soil in bin bags is perfect however you may need to double up the bags because a hole could mean the moisture gets in to the soil, spoiling it.
Alternatively you can use plastic containers that have a sealable lid.
How to store used potting soil over winter?
When storing over winter, your soil would be best if it is exposed to colder or freezing temperatures to reduce the bacteria build up. It will also make it difficult for any insects or larvae already in the soil to survive.
Store you soil in the exact same way but look to expose the soil to cold temperature if you can.
If you have access to a composting bin, storing your old soil in the bin alongside other decomposing organic matter could be a good way to recycle your soil if you don’t know where else to store it.
However, if you think there is a chance your soil could be contaminated with soil burrowing pests such as pepper weevils or even if you have planted treated seeds in that soil coated with potentially harmful chemicals You may need to rethink recycling your soil at all.