dirt disposal

[hanayama]

anyone have any thought of a good, low key way to get rid of used soil?
i cant say im real comfortable tossing it in the trash. and its snowing here, so it cant be dumped out back.

[mushaboom]

maybe try dumping it in someone else's trash. grocery stores and shopping centers usually have dumpsters you can put your junk in.

[hybridlove420]

id just dump it out back. the snow will come down in a few days and cover it, or you can just dump a shovelful overtop.

[Mr. Clandestine]

If you have perlite in your soil, DO NOT just dump it out back. This can be extremely incriminating. I've heard of folks dumping their used soil into a compost pile under their back porch, which, without the perlite, would just look like a big pile of soil. The grower I'm referring to was somehow brought the suspicion of the DEA, who only needed to see his mound of used soil to have probable cause to get a warrant...and a subsequent arrest.

When I'm done with my soil, I try to remove as much of the root mass as possible and dump just it in a compost heap. I always leave the soil in a dark trashbag and take it to an open dumpster, where I just rip a hole in the bag and pour the soil out. Probably being overly cautious keeping the bag, but you can never be too careful.

[hanayama]

yea i have perilite...part of the reason im unsure what to do with it.
i think the "dumpster in some parking lot" will probably work.

also, what about a 2 ft. tall plant that was just realized male?
bonfire??

[Mr. Clandestine]

also, what about a 2 ft. tall plant that was just realized male? bonfire??

That'll do the job, or you can shred it up finely and dispose of in the toilet. You may want to consider a bonfire if you're sewage leads to a septic tank. If you decide to flush it away, make sure you don't do it all at once. Common sense, I know - but I'm willing to bet that plenty of plumbers have had to make house-calls to dislodge plants that got stuck in the pipes. What a weird conversation that would be...

[SunnySativa]

Well out near me is a creek, so what i did is removed to the stem [to make hash out of later] but all my soil i threw it right into the creek the soil will sink to the bottom and get moved around and buired, it is also winter and snowy where i live

[hybridlove420]

no offense, but it seems like a lot of you cause others to feel more suspicious.

there are waay to many paranoid people afraid that a 4 plant closet, a few gallons of dirt, a 400w power usage increase, etc will bring the feds immediately to your doors or alert government helicopters....

either you all live in paranoia, or im too stupid to realize the risks.

PS: ive grown a 3ft plant on a window in FULL view of at least 3 neighbouring townhomes, and never heard a peeep about it.

[stinkyattic]

A friend who has a veggie garden and does not grow pot will be happy to add your used dirt to his beds in spring. I keep a lawn-size garbage pail in the cellar to accumulate used dirt all winter since it snows here too, and then give it to my buddy across town for his container-grown tomatoes. It takes a nice flush to get the worst of the fert salts out but he has perfectly respectable yields of fruit using it.

[SunnySativa]

either you all live in paranoia, or im too stupid to realize the risks.

PS: ive grown a 3ft plant on a window in FULL view of at least 3 neighbouring townhomes, and never heard a peeep about it.

Better safe then sorry i always say, im not super step by step careful, but i make sure anything i can do that doesnt take me WAY out of my way to create a more private grow is better than not.

[BobBong]

I suggest avoiding anything illegal.. like illegally dumping it in a garbage bin outside the back of some store... Most places now have camera setup to catch anyone illegally dumping into patron garbage bins... I'd avoid that if i were you cause the last thing you want is to be caught red handed with bags of soil.

In all honesty it's not a huge problem.. If you have a balcony or a back porch simply bag the soil up in a black garbage bag and put it outside.. Like Stinky says, come spring time... break it up and use it in your yard.

Keep it away from your plants though as dead material is a feeding ground for pests... that's why i say outside.

Cheers,
bob.

[Mr. Clandestine]

there are waay to many paranoid people afraid that a 4 plant closet, a few gallons of dirt, a 400w power usage increase, etc will bring the feds immediately to your doors or alert government helicopters....

There are way too many people giving bad advice, like "just dump it in your back yard...the snow will cover it up."

At the end of every grow, I'm left with a minimum of 10 5-gallon buckets that contain roughly 50 gallons of used soil. It's not paranoia that's keeping me from dumping it in my back yard, it's common sense. I'd have to be an idiot to be as careless as you suggest and just leave a huge pile of it sitting around for anyone to see.

Bob and Stinky showed up to give sound advice, different from the other recommendations, based on what's worked for them. You just show up to call people paranoid for covering their tracks. Whose advice would you follow...theirs, or yours?

P.S. - Keep growing 3' tall plants in plain view in your window. We'll wait and see how long that works out for you...

[PharmaCan]

There are way too many people giving bad advice, like "just dump it in your back yard...the snow will cover it up."

At the end of every grow, I'm left with a minimum of 10 5-gallon buckets that contain roughly 50 gallons of used soil. It's not paranoia that's keeping me from dumping it in my back yard, it's common sense. I'd have to be an idiot to be as careless as you suggest and just leave a huge pile of it sitting around for anyone to see.

Bob and Stinky showed up to give sound advice, different from the other recommendations, based on what's worked for them. You just show up to call people paranoid for covering their tracks. Whose advice would you follow...theirs, or yours?

P.S. - Keep growing 3' tall plants in plain view in your window. We'll wait and see how long that works out for you...

And have you noticed that the more posts the trolls make, the fewer posts the experienced growers make?

PC :smokin:

[Mr. Clandestine]

And have you noticed that the more posts the trolls make, the fewer posts the experienced growers make?

PC :smokin:

It's great having the opportunity to discuss these things with you and Stinky, along with all the other moderators and experienced growers who really know their shit. I can't even begin to describe how much I've learned in my short time here, and there's something new to learn every time I sign on. It's like school that adults actually want to attend!

Moderators can't keep tabs on all of the meandering trolls, but concerned forumites can! I'll gladly play the role of voluntary hall-monitor for CannCom. :D

[hybridlove420]

ok, i see my reply may not have been as useful as i considered. as a small-time grower, i deal with maybe 4-6 plants at one time, and usually only about 3 gallon soil per plant.

in my local, i feel no immediate threat to myself or to growers in general, and find it odd when people get freaked out about spy helicopters searching for thier crops.

if you want the most extreme way to ditch your dirt, why not fill a couple black garbage bags and truck them out to some field 10minutes from home?

[stinkyattic]

Again, when you dump your dirt on someone else's property without permission, this is illegal dumping and calls unnecessary attention to yourself, as well as being pointless when there are safer, easier, and LEGAL ways to do it. Growers get caught by committing other crimes in the process of growing- stealing electricity, unauthorized use of dumpsters, dealing. The local PD might be kinda bored and decide to give those trash bags to their lab to train the new technician how to take prints off plastic sheeting... uh oh, they match this local dude who has a prior for poss of class D... uh oh, the bag was full of used dirt... uh oh, there's a knock at your door... see where this is going?
One of the bonuses of the black garbage bag on the porch is that subjecting it to temperature extremes kills pests and makes it safe for use on your friend's veggie patch. He REALLY doesn't want your thrip infestation!
Growing a plant on a windowsill is just asking for trouble btw! Be careful!

[Treetops]

I grow veggies and I have all my deck plants in my basement. I have a big barrell I use for a composter put all my dirt and food scraps in it ...I roll it around the basement to mix it up and give me a little exercise as well..and no worries about anyone seeing me and my enterprise operations....LOL..

Peace,
Treetops

[mushaboom]

i seriously doubt the police are in cahoots with your local grocery stores to watch all the dumpsters. oh, and i cant believe this guy lets a 3ft plant grow in plain view of the whole neighborhood. what a schmohawk

[stinkyattic]

Since stores have to pay to rent a dumpster, and pay for every time that the waste management company has to come empty it, they definitely DO care about illegal dumping and are likely to report anyone they see filling up the dumpster that THEY have to pay for. I know that if I rented a dumpster for a construction project, and if I saw the schmuck down the street dumping his rubbish in it all sneaky-like after dark, if I knew who he was I'd dump that shit RIGHT back on his lawn (probably with the bags ripped open), or call the cops. I'm not paying for some cheapskate to dump for free!

[Mr. Clandestine]

I live out in the sticks, where there's more construction sites than actual developed areas, and lots of times they keep those extra long dumpsters out there to be filled up with tree stumps, refuse, etc. They generally get loaded on trucks about once a week and dumped into an inert landfill. This is often where I get rid of my soil, and just the soil...I keep the bags. Even still, I can understand how this is an unnecessary risk.

If I kept used soil inside a 55-gallon barrel, what needs to be done to make it suitable for outdoor gardening? I don't grow any vegetables outside, but I've got a lot of area that I use for perennial shrubs and annuals in the spring. I'm sure it would be good for the flowers, but will a low N topsoil be alright for my leafy shrubs? Or should I only use it in areas where there will be flowers?

[stinkyattic]

If I kept used soil inside a 55-gallon barrel, what needs to be done to make it suitable for outdoor gardening?When you are ready to use it, lay down a tarp and dump the dirt on it.
Cover the pile of dirt with a black plastic sheeting. It should be warm, sunny weather when you do this.
Wait 1-2 weeks. The dirt should heat up big time, killing pests and weed seeds.
Then, you can mix in some regular compost, maybe some myco-stim, whatever amendments you like, and go to town!

[GrowinGreen23]

dig a small hole in the snow dump the dirt then flip the scooped up snow over the top, either that or buy a few cheap plants to use it with

[Mr. Clandestine]

Thanks for the advice Stinky, I'll give that a shot when then the time comes to play in the garden again. I never knew that the soil would be useful in gardens, so I'm glad you brought it up. It'll also be nice not having to sneak around in the middle of the night with bags full of soil. I'm not paranoid by nature, but I always felt weird doing that.

[mushaboom]

Since stores have to pay to rent a dumpster, and pay for every time that the waste management company has to come empty it, they definitely DO care about illegal dumping and are likely to report anyone they see filling up the dumpster that THEY have to pay for. I know that if I rented a dumpster for a construction project, and if I saw the schmuck down the street dumping his rubbish in it all sneaky-like after dark, if I knew who he was I'd dump that shit RIGHT back on his lawn (probably with the bags ripped open), or call the cops. I'm not paying for some cheapskate to dump for free!

haha hope i dont live near you then. wouldnt want you to follow me to the grocery store, take my trashbag out, come back to my house and dump it all over my lawn. although if you dumped out a trashbag full of my dirt thats all youd find. dirt! i guess the police could then come and take my dirt to the dirt analysis center where they could see it is in fact dirt.

[twoguysupnorth]

have another gardening hobby for 1 to explain having dirt around. second, every little store and business now has a camera or expect that they could. dumping is a big deal and illegal. we save it in bags and then use in our garden, but no we dont have to worry about tons to get rid of so that might be the difference. check out your recycling center or centers, they often have a mulch pile that you could get rid of it at.

[FlyGuyOU]

how come this thread says it has something like 24 replies....hanyama when you going to get around to posting them pics? im waiting...

[stinkyattic]

haha hope i dont live near you then. wouldnt want you to follow me to the grocery store, take my trashbag out, come back to my house and dump it all over my lawn. Geez, re-read that post- IF I OWNED THE DAMN DUMPSTER. I have better things to do than play vigilante. What the fuck.

[mushaboom]

ok good for you. it was a joke anyways. you should chill.

[Mr. Clandestine]

ok good for you. it was a joke anyways. you should chill.

Stinky is probably about one of the most chilled people you'll meet in these forums. She's also a Mod, and has to be stern sometimes to keep order around the boards. In every case (but one) the moderators are understandably wary of having people break the law. This site has a reputation to uphold.

[mushaboom]

i know :) ive been hanging around here since before she was even around. i even remember when she first started posting long before her mod days and even when her electrician ex boyfriend tried to fudge up her grow . its funny to watch all the cycles throughout this site. pretty much the same basic questions get asked every couple months. then the people who originally asked those questions stop logging in and new people come and blah blah. then you get the people who ask difficult questions and you get the people who respond with those textbook answers. oh well...

what was this thread about anyways?:)

oh and mr clandestine... did you ever find out what the writing in your eye says?

[stinkyattic]

I think it was about dirt. I've got some under my nails. :D

Oh man that guy... yikes.
I actually got a call from him in violation of a restraining order the other day to tell me that there was a recall on some faulty circuitbreakers he had installed in my main panel.
He said he was calling 'for his conscience'.
I asked him whether, if he was having pangs of conscience, he also planned to return all the shit he'd stolen from me, and from the community access TV station where he used to volunteer.
He hung up on me. Figures.

[mushaboom]

ive got some dirt under my nails too! boy what a chump. stealing from the public tv station! good thing you got rid of that guy! i guess he felt selectively guilty for the electrical work but not for stealing your stuff.

[stinkyattic]

I think he was out of weed and trying to gauge my reaction, and if it was friendly and happy, score some. What a chump!

[FlyGuyOU]

is something wrong with this thread? or do things keep getting deleted? does it say there are 30some replies here to anyone else? cuzz i can only see 9 (counting this one)

[stinkyattic]

Do you also see that it says 'page 2 of 2'?
The rest are on 'page 1 of 2'... :jointsmile:

[FlyGuyOU]

no i changed my config so that it'll show something like 60posts before it goes to a second page so it would still be on one, i also have the graph on top so its shows who replied to what and ordered replies into subgroups...how strange

[FlyGuyOU]

ok now i see, it was the hybrid form of the thread that was causing said problems. i appologize for acting a fool.

[Mr. Clandestine]

oh and mr clandestine... did you ever find out what the writing in your eye says?

I never did...but now that I've been reminded again, I remember how bad I was wanting to find out. Thanks for refreshing my impaired memory! :D

[twoguysupnorth]

it looks greek to me, lol. not that i noticed untill it was pointed out. j/k