Just got done revitalizing my container mix for a new season.

I had a 4 year old mix of 3:2:1 Turface:bark:peat. It was good enough to use again, but decided to upgrade it anyway.

[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa59/emgardener/IMG_2879.jpg[/IMG]

Also I had a 2 year old mix of peat:lava rock:bark that was way to soggy to use again. I just wanted to reclaim the lava rock to reuse as container mulch.

Basic technique was to:

Dump the soil in a wheelbarrow.

Fill it with water

Mix it up by hand.

Tip the water out.

Repeat as necessary.

When you mix it up, all the small particles get suspended in the water, while the bigger particles sink. So you can get rid of all the small "cloggy/soggy" particles.

For a bark mix, you need to make sure the mix is waterlogged before doing this, so that the bark will sink.

Also, if you are doing this with a peat based mix (and you want to keep the peat). After you mix it up, you'll need to wait a moment, until some of the particles sink before tipping out the water. Otherwise you can completely wash away the peat.

Here are some pictures:

[IMG]http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa59/emgardener/IMG_2879.jpg[/IMG]

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Peat, Lava rock mix. Ugly mix not recommended, will never use this again.

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First water fill. Notice the perlite (from transplants) floats to the top. You can skim it off to save or throw away.

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After the first rinse.

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Second water fill.

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After 4 rinses, clean lava rock & bark left over, peat is all gone.

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Half way through rinsing a 4 year old Turface:Bark:peat mix.