Actively aerated organic ghetto beds on the cheap

[InjectTruth]

"In an unrealistic dream world, this would lead to an increased fungus population that would raise my CO2 levels through respiration - but at this point, that's probably wishful thinking for me. "

Love the attitude and the approach. Rock!

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

Put the ol hygrothermometer under the "living dome", then moved it to the edge of the bin for 15 min to return it to baseline.

Even without being mostly covered, the humidity at soil level is 11% higher and temperature is 6 degrees cooler.

Excited to see how this differential shifts as the canopy develops!

 

[Toes.]

So I went to the hardware store baked again... And in the continued spirit of scientific exploration, decided to buy some carnivorous plants to add to the mix. Best case they fix nutrition from fungus gnats that they'll give up to the worms and micro life. Worst case they'll die in the container after infesting my soil with critters they can't kill.

For now though, they're cool as hell!
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What a great idea!

 

[Neo 420]

Love the reporting.
Very interested in your results....

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

Despite my initial concerns about the interaction between the mulch and the clover, I think it's all gonna work out. In reviewing some permaculture material today, I discovered that in a forest, the 3" of mulch on top of the soil holds 1" of water - so my 2x3 container has .5 cubic feet or about 420 ml of water reserved in that mulch layer

 

[shmalphy]

Cool idea with the carnivorous plants! You have a mini ecosystem going on there.

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

Cool idea with the carnivorous plants! You have a mini ecosystem going on there.

That's the eventual idea - ecosystem in a bin! Just noticed some little insects living in the aforementioned mulch layer - in the spirit of Eco experimentation, Ima just let em go for now - plants don't seem to be minding the guests...

 

[ixnay007]

Those carnivorous plants probably won't do that well, they like very wet soil, with little to no nutrition (they get their nutrition by eating insects, they don't like the macronutrients for sure, the roots are there mostly for water uptake).

It'll be interesting to see if they can do well despite that though..

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

Those carnivorous plants probably won't do that well, they like very wet soil, with little to no nutrition (they get their nutrition by eating insects, they don't like the macronutrients for sure, the roots are there mostly for water uptake).

It'll be interesting to see if they can do well despite that though..

They're actually doin better than any carnivorous plants I've kept before. Their bulbs are in peat , which is in the aforementioned bark mulch.

As for them eating bugs or not when they have other nutrition source, I found a study that looked at 40-some odd carnivorous plants and tested that hypothesis - 6 did eat less in nutritive soil, 1 ate more, and the rest showed no variation

 

[ixnay007]

I used to live where the venus flytraps grew, coastal SC, and they mostly grew in stagnant water where not too many other things grew...

Peat is pretty good as a medium I think, I hope you prove me wrong

 

[singingcrow]

I also love your experimental journal. Thanks so much for posting all of this great information!

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

Update coming soon! Had some russet mites taking all my attention in the garden - interestingly, none of the plants in the bed seem affected

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

EDIT

Alright - this post is fucked...

(Move along, nothing to see here)

 

[hope2toke]

links don't work...

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

Clearly the bin is flourishing! Any gross/weak/discolored/dying leaves can be attributed to my brief rendezvous with the dreaded Russet Mite. The mites are a thing of the past now, as I broke with my usual militant organic approach and nuked em with Tetrasan, Judo, and Avid. I justified it by thinking of fighting a boss in a video game - sometimes you gotta use a cursed weapon or black magic to slay a demon because they're just too damn bad for your nature magic...

Next step is to prune out the undergrowth and train some foliage into the few empty patches the canopy has left - then blooms away!!

 

[SeaMaiden]

Update coming soon! Had some russet mites taking all my attention in the garden - interestingly, none of the plants in the bed seem affected

Did this ultimately end up being true to the end?

I think that if you were prudent and judicious, careful and cautious in your use of these products, it's the best you could do. I have read that using sulfur-based treatments, treating these things like a fungal infection, has been quite effective. Safe to assume you tried it already, or too late in flower to use?

And, how are the carnies doing?

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

Did this ultimately end up being true to the end?

In the end, they were far less established in the bed, but did get to the edges.

I think that if you were prudent and judicious, careful and cautious in your use of these products, it's the best you could do. I have read that using sulfur-based treatments, treating these things like a fungal infection, has been quite effective. Safe to assume you tried it already, or too late in flower to use?

I actually achieved a 90+% kill rare using botanical solutions I made from cilantro, mint, and rosemary, but I just couldn't chance any loose ends.

The mites only attacked my veg area, so I figure I have more than enough time before harvest for the pesticides to degrade.

And, how are the carnies doing?

I believe they're doin great! They need to get some more light, which I expect once I prune out the canopy. From what I gather, if a flytrap is closed, it means it's digesting something (and I've been unable to fool em so far, so I'm inclined to believe it). If that's true, they're definitely chowing down!

 

[IncredibowlBoss]

I took 100 leaf samples from my garden and observed 800+ russet mites. All but ONE were dead at time of observation.

As I was watching the lone survivor, worrying that it could be the start of a resistant infestation, it started moving slowly and it's forelegs began twitching erratically. Within 5 minutes, it was as dead as all the others - what a cool f'n thing to watch!

 

[singingcrow]

I've grown a few Venus Fly traps in my time. The traps are triggered by 2-4 small hairs on each side (inside. concave part). Wind, sand and other debri can sometimes trigger the hairs which AMAZINGLY close quickly, within 1-2 seconds. It's the coolest thing, I swear. In fact, I remember triggering those hairs a few times just for shits and giggles (Just like us women down there, tickle tickle us and all that and see what happens).

So, when the hairs are triggered, the trap closes, it sets up a kind of reaction in the Venus Fly trap that releases digestive juices. I guess they have enough acidity or enzymes to break up the poor bugaboo. If you trigger too many traps shut at the same time, the plant doesn't have enough energy to create all that digestive juice.

It's the second easiest way to kill your plant. Right after overwatering, bogging it down with peat and letting it go anerobic. A somewhat easy thing to do with a plant that is indigenous to Carolina boglands...

They are totally fun though. I found them really impossible to grow from seed, but now that I know more about marijuana-growing, I might give it a try since you are inspiring me

 

[singingcrow]

Sorry for the multiple post (maybe someone can combine it?) but forgot to add that unless a Venus Fly trap is grown bigger, with maybe 10 or more traps, it won't be much help in our garden for pests, I don't think.

Each trap closes after one bug and takes a while to digest, sometimes days. Also very tiny bugs don't usually trigger the hairs, in my experience. If anyone has positive experiences with them, I would love to know, personally. Also, please post if anyone has tried Pitcher Plants or other carniverous plants.