Growing kale in pots
Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or
Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for about 9 months. This year I removed the plants from the pots and it seems that the roots are only a fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8" diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of nutrients in the old soil. Last year I bought all the potting soil and now I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some of the old soil could be re-used this year with the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before? I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings ready for transplanting. The previous plants had no diseases and the only bothersome things were whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north California. Comments appreciated. |
Growing kale in pots
I reuse potting soil all the time for house plants with no ill effects. I've
never tried it with food crops, though. Is kale a heavy feeder? If not, it may work fine, especially if you are giving them plant food. Utopia in Decay -- The future is coming to get you. http://home.comcast.net/~kevin.cherkauer/site/ Kevin Cherkauer "RF" wrote in message ... Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good crop. I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some of the old soil could be re-used this year with the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before? |
Growing kale in pots
On Jun 7, 3:37 pm, RF wrote:
Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for about 9 months. This year I removed the plants from the pots and it seems that the roots are only a fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8" diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of nutrients in the old soil. Last year I bought all the potting soil and now I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some of the old soil could be re-used this year with the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before? I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings ready for transplanting. The previous plants had no diseases and the only bothersome things were whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north California. Comments appreciated. When I reuse potting soil I add Osmocote time released ferts to it prior to planting. Have had good results. Nan in DE |
Growing kale in pots
Thanks Kevin for the info. I'm not sure what kind
of feeder kale is classified as. I will try a few experiments, like replacing half the old soil. Kevin Cherkauer wrote: I reuse potting soil all the time for house plants with no ill effects. I've never tried it with food crops, though. Is kale a heavy feeder? If not, it may work fine, especially if you are giving them plant food. Utopia in Decay -- The future is coming to get you. http://home.comcast.net/~kevin.cherkauer/site/ Kevin Cherkauer "RF" wrote in message ... Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good crop. I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some of the old soil could be re-used this year with the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before? |
Growing kale in pots
On Jun 8, 10:04 am, Nanzi wrote:
On Jun 7, 3:37 pm, RF wrote: Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for about 9 months. This year I removed the plants from the pots and it seems that the roots are only a fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8" diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of nutrients in the old soil. Last year I bought all the potting soil and now I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some of the old soil could be re-used this year with the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before? I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings ready for transplanting. The previous plants had no diseases and the only bothersome things were whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north California. Comments appreciated. When I reuse potting soil I add Osmocote time released ferts to it prior to planting. Have had good results. Nan in DE I kind of do the same thing. I will mix it 50-50 with compost if I have enough around, or with topsoil from my garden center if I have to. I also toss in a short handful of 10-10-10. Chris |
Growing kale in pots
Chris wrote:
On Jun 8, 10:04 am, Nanzi wrote: On Jun 7, 3:37 pm, RF wrote: Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for about 9 months. This year I removed the plants from the pots and it seems that the roots are only a fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8" diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of nutrients in the old soil. Last year I bought all the potting soil and now I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some of the old soil could be re-used this year with the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before? I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings ready for transplanting. The previous plants had no diseases and the only bothersome things were whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north California. Comments appreciated. When I reuse potting soil I add Osmocote time released ferts to it prior to planting. Have had good results. Nan in DE I kind of do the same thing. I will mix it 50-50 with compost if I have enough around, or with topsoil from my garden center if I have to. I also toss in a short handful of 10-10-10. Chris Thanks Chris - that's good to know. |
Growing kale in pots
RF wrote:
Chris wrote: On Jun 8, 10:04 am, Nanzi wrote: On Jun 7, 3:37 pm, RF wrote: Last year I grew about fifteen Lacinato or Dinosaur kale plants in 16" pots and had a good crop. I ate them regularly 3-4 times/week for about 9 months. This year I removed the plants from the pots and it seems that the roots are only a fraction the size of the pots - about 6-8" diameter- suggesting that there are still lots of nutrients in the old soil. Last year I bought all the potting soil and now I'm preparing to plant again and wondering if some of the old soil could be re-used this year with the new potting soil. Has anyone tried this before? I now have a batch of 10 - week-old seedlings ready for transplanting. The previous plants had no diseases and the only bothersome things were whitefiles and white butterflies. I live in north California. Comments appreciated. When I reuse potting soil I add Osmocote time released ferts to it prior to planting. Have had good results. Nan in DE I kind of do the same thing. I will mix it 50-50 with compost if I have enough around, or with topsoil from my garden center if I have to. I also toss in a short handful of 10-10-10. Chris Thanks Chris - that's good to know. I did some repotting today and found a solution to my initial question. I scooped out the soil from last years pots until there were no more traces of roots. Usually that was roughly about half the soil. I refilled with new soil and transplanted. |
I now accept a accumulation of 10 - week-old seedlings ready for transplanting. The antecedent plants had no diseases and the alone aggravating things were whitefiles and white butterflies. I reside in north California.
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