Q: This may not be a "good" question so much as a "silly" question, but I really don't know. I've had a bag of potting soil sitting in my entryway for a good 8-9 months. I'm looking to start (yet again) an indoor garden for the summer, and I'm wondering if it's okay to use that soil. Or does it dry out? Do the nutrients disappear? I have no idea. I'm a gardening newbie. Thanks!
Asked by Elle
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The soil itself should be fine. If it has moisture crystals I'm not sure if those lose their effectiveness, but it is very easy to buy more and stir them in. The soil does get dried out, but that's not a problem. My mother always liked to dump her soil in a wheelbarrow, dampen it with a hose, toss in anything extra like moisture crystals or fertilizer, then toss it around with a shovel to get it all mixed in. It is nice to moisten the dirt before potting - dirtier on your hands, but more even moisture throughout your pot.
yep, it's fine.
If it is dried out, it could have problem to absorb water as it should and could have fungi growing in to it (you can smell it).
I pour the soil in a big bowl and pour boiling water onto it and stir well. When is cold you can uses it.
Once I opened a half-used zip-top bag of Miracle Gro after a few months and discovered that the remaining soil was full of yellow mold :( Probably something that was on the trowel I used to scoop out the soil. Other than that, I've never had a problem using old bags of soil.