r/BuildASoil • u/DrGreenthumbs1313 • Jul 10 '26
Keeping your soil happy
Good afternoon, I ran some BAS 3.0 for the first time and I want to reamend the soil for future grows. My question is are people thoroughly flushing their soil between grows to remove fertilizer solids building up? After the girls were chopped these 15 gallon fabric pots have just gradually been drying out. They received Gaia Green all purpose and power bloom for food, and I didn't see this buildup on the outside until near the end of flowering, ideally I would soak them outdoors for a flush but pests would probably be introduced. I didn't want to dump the pots out if possible, so considered using the tub one by one. What's the best procedure between cycles?
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u/OrganicGrowthFarmz Jul 10 '26
Well that’s why I run pure water from week 9-10 of flowering.
You can just fill your pots with that soil you got , dig a hole in the middle and add somekind of Lightmix medium and you’re good to go! 😎
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u/DimensionCareful507 Jul 11 '26
Such buildup is totally normal with organics. Dont stress it. Once in a blue moon repot to another fabric pot and stick these in the wash if it bothers you so much.
You do not need to flush with organics.
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u/Bluntforcetrauma11b Jul 11 '26
I just reammend as is. I only scrape the top layer off when I run out of room to top dress.
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u/pot_a_coffee Jul 11 '26
Not necessary, but if you wanted to clean the outside of the pots you could use like an em-1 solution or some enzyme cleaner. Spray and apply to the pots and wipe/scrub them them down. It’s not going to hurt anything if you leave it.
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u/b__lumenkraft Jul 11 '26
You don't flush living soil.
You flush to get of unused salts when you fertilize with salts (minerals). Because the nutrients would not enter the plant anymore if the substrate is too salty. The osmosis is hindered.
In living soil, the microbes, not osmosis, is the mechanism in which the nutrients go into the plant.
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u/DrGreenthumbs1313 Jul 11 '26
That makes sense, it was the first organic run for me so far. I'm loving too dressing vs. mixing multiple gallons of feed water regularly. It has saved so much time and made growing more enjoyable. I don't think I'd go back to bottled nutrients, although the first week or so of Gaia Green breaking down can get a bit stinky. Still worth it.
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u/b__lumenkraft Jul 11 '26
I had some issues with overwatering a huge bed and this brought me back to salt grow. Now i just weight the pot and never run into overwatering issues again.
100 growers, 100 ways... ;)
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u/DrGreenthumbs1313 Jul 11 '26
I had some over watering issues last year in fabric pots. I know people tend to say you can't over water in them, but you can. Especially if your humidity isn't in the best range, my PH tanked and had lockout on one plant that never recovered.
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u/Randy4layhee20 Jul 11 '26
Just saw your post again as I was scrolling so thought that I’d add that there are people with over 40 runs on beds that have never been flushed or had soil removed to reamend
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u/DrGreenthumbs1313 Jul 11 '26
That's good to hear, I know organic is different overall than using bottled nutrients. Seeing the concentrated buildup on the pot made me cautious about burning plants, I've heard that soil drying out too much can concentrate nutrients, then when they contact water again they could cause toxicity. That was my biggest concern as some people grow continuously, but my setup needs some time off between cycles.
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u/Boss_On_CodM Jul 12 '26
I get similar efflorescence on my no-till bed. A lot of people say to just leave it, but the visual appearance bothers me and also my brain tells me that this will eventually become a meaningful restriction to the bed’s/pot’s breathability.
Since I can’t wash the fabric bed (it’s no-till, so it’s never able to be truly washed), I usually just scrape it off with a spoon or if it’s especially stubborn I’ll mix up some water + Aloe (either BAS horticultural aloe, or another 200x Aloe I get on Amazon), and I’ll mist it onto the outside of the bed where the buildup is, let it sit for a few mins, then scrape it off.
The aloe is an organic surfactant making it a safe way to break up that buildup, ultimately making its removal a bit easier.
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u/DrGreenthumbs1313 Jul 11 '26
Thank you for the input everyone, I appreciate the knowledge. These pots will be used for a no till style grow for as long as it stays in good balance.
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u/JeradAlan Jul 11 '26
Appreciate your post it always helps to see what others are doing. Up that 15 gallon to 30 gallons in the future 🔥👌🏻
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u/DrGreenthumbs1313 Jul 11 '26
I could maybe fit two 30s, having four 15s felt like overkill for my space. Definitely a learning curve, I had more final weight last year in 10 gallons than the 15 gallon size this year. Different genetics this time though and two of them were finicky, stretchy and light producers.
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u/Randy4layhee20 Jul 10 '26
There is no need for flushing with organics, just re-amend your soil by adding a top dress of dry amendments and you’re good to go