I’d like to use living soil, but need to keep the pots relatively small to stop the plants growing too big. The issue is that you cannot maintain a healthy soil ecology in small pots for very long.

I’m considering maintaining a large bay of living soil (downstairs), with a small light and some cover plants, where soil can rest and be amended. Then every few months, till it, take enough to refill my little pots, then break up the roots (from the last run) and return them to the bay, tilling it again before planting new cover seed.

Rotating the soil would be more flexible, as there are amendments you could make in the bay that are not viable when you’re growing plants in the pots, amendments are time-buffered, and the bigger the bay (relative to the pots), the more rest the soil would get. You could maybe “micro compost” certain things (tealeaves, paper pulp etc), and keep worms and stuff.

This approach would also lower the cost of entry. You could just buy enough soil for your first grow, and buy some more for the next grow, with a bit extra to mix your roots into, so you could accumulate and build your own soil over time, growing the size of your ‘recovery bay’ as the soil accumulates. The amendments are inexpensive – you can buy a complete set for about twenty-five quid.

My concern is that the microbes in the soil would be so unhappy in such small pots (I’m thinking two liter Air Pots, for example) that the soil may not even stay healthy till the end of the grow cycle.

The impression I get is that the soil would be fine for some months in small pots, but will become depleted if it’s kept there much longer, but I’m not sure that’s true. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, if anyone here knows much about this side of things??

I emailed info@livingsoilsfertiliser.com to ask if the principle is at least sound, and will update here if they reply with any information. Their range looks nice and is UK based, so I would probably go with their products too (bit pricey, but hopefully that reflects the quality).