Beyond Organic

[alaeddin]

Hey fellow growers, we are the happiest growers on the planet, trying to do things sustainibly. I'm calling in everybody who wants to take a step forward. Practicers or wanna be practicers of biodynamic, biointensive agriculture permaculture, agroforestry, whatever includes intelligent design and will save us, please chime in!

I'm sure some great ideas will come, just let them flow, we are one of the most compassionate crowds. We are the ones who will save the planet.

For starter, some questions to think about:

What companion plants should go with Cannabis?
...for pest management?
...for nutrients?
...for aromas?
...for pollination?
...just because it feels right deep inside?
...plain beautiful?

Any guilds including Cannabis?

...substitution of the maize with hemp in the "Three Sisters" (maize in the middle, beans around it, squash around them all. Maize provide a stalk for beans fo climb on, beans fix nitrogen and squash protects them from animals with its spiny branches)? Preferably with a taller sativa with thinner blades?

Alternative planting?

...planting shorter indicas and taller sativas for better sun exposure?

All of this doesn't really fall under Organic Soil but I take the word with the broadest meaning possible, don't think small, we have a revolution to make, or even if we keep it to ourselves, we will be the only ones left alive in the next twenty years.

 

[Dan42nepa]

i read somewhere that basil grown with tomatoes increases the tomatoe flavor.

 

[BurnOne]

Clover feeds the soil with nitrogen.
Burn1

 

[SpacemanSpliff]

I saw the biggest sunflower of my life growing in a bed with a pot plant. It's not a nitrogen fixer or anything, but still cool.

 

[jaykush]

most pest stick clear of garlic.

...plain beautiful?

isnt cannabis beatiful enough already?

 

[alaeddin]

Cannabis is beautiful by itself, it is one of the most elegant plants and I'm sure it could look beautiful together with other plants, however, it is not alone in the nature and it is part of the ecosystem, and should be treated like one. We just plant it by itself but I think there's room for improvement there.

 

[THATSTHATSHIT]

its just to beautiful of a plant to not let it be free every where in the world who ever came up wit the idea of picking on this sacret plant should get one of these

 

[BeAn]

I like where this is going, nice one dude... Vive la revolution..

Keep it green!

 

[JackTheGrower]

Hey fellow growers,
For starter, some questions to think about:

What companion plants should go with Cannabis?.

Huh... Well tomatoes get a early start stealing space from cannabis so it's not friendly.

In time cannabis will starve any plant near it for light if it can. Our Cannabis is not going to do less than all it can IMO.

I think it is best suited to wide open and fertile soil.

Sun flower sounds like it would hang out well.

Interesting thread.

 

[alaeddin]

It is indeed a vigorous plant this Cannabis of ours. One of the best plants if not the best plant for biomass. Some hemp varieties scare me.

I'm thinking patches and shorter, less vigorous plants flanking the patches for better use of light. Sentries of aromatic herbs keeping off the bugs. Maybe some shade loving plants beneath the Cannabis.

But beans on the stems still sounds like an interesting idea.

A cage around the patch with a few chickens inside to eat the bugs?

Invite some praying mantids?

I ordered the book "How to Grow More Vegetables" and it's on its way. I hope to find good information in there that I can relate to Cannabis.

 

[jaykush]

I'm thinking patches and shorter, less vigorous plants flanking the patches for better use of light. Sentries of aromatic herbs keeping off the bugs. Maybe some shade loving plants beneath the Cannabis.

you read my mind, specially the shade loving plants. they would need shallow root systems as well so the cannabis doesn't steal everything from them.

bamboo would be a good idea. the microbial populations and species in bamboo roots would be beneficial. could prove as good cover too.

what about plants that smell a lot so it counter acts the smell of flowering buds.

the chickens dont sound like a good idea there shit is real hot, too much will burn the plants.

 

[JackTheGrower]

Never had luck with bamboo...

Tried it in the grow room... I figure me and bamboo just don't get along LOL

Have you had luck?

 

[Guest]

"carrots love tomatoes"

The only book you need on this subject.
Only problem is......no cannabis is mentioned in this book, naturally.

still worth checking out if you've never heard of it.

 

[alaeddin]

I've come across that book on the net, maybe I'll get that one also.

Soma bamboo really look like tall sativas. I might look into the propagation of bamboo, I have a very nice one on my garden and some others I've spotted nearby which I thought were cannabis at first but when they wouldn't die in the winter, I concluded they are bamboo.

The chicken idea was pretty bad I agree Maybe some turkey?

Countering the smell is a very nice one to think on. There are some very strong smelling plants but wether they will cover the smell of cannabis or enhance it is matter of experimentation. What are some strong smelling plants you guys know about?

The strongest smelling tree I know of is Linden, but the smell lasts for about two weeks when the plant is in bloom, we have lots of that around here.

I have wormwood which smells pretty strong and probably repels bugs also.

Lantana, tomato, garlic, rosemary, lavender, mint, tobacco are ones that I grow and that are aromatic.

What about mushrooms for under the Cannabis? Sawdust could be used to cultivate them. Would it seriously alter the soil pH? It would be a great as a mulch also.

 

[jaykush]

The chicken idea was pretty bad I agree Maybe some turkey?

hopefully no one comes turkey hunting haha.

What about mushrooms for under the Cannabis? Sawdust could be used to cultivate them. Would it seriously alter the soil pH? It would be a great as a mulch also.

id like to grow some cubensis under a cannabis plant kill two birds with one stone. have shrooms and nugs for the rest of the season.

i think mint would do ok too.

 

[alaeddin]

Psilocybes would be the ultimate companions, but they don't like outdoors too much, I understand. I was thinking perhaps shiitake or morells or some other gourmet/medicinal mushroom.

The weather had been so warm that the clovers that normally are dormant at this time have gone crazy. I harvested a few cubic feet of clovers today from a nearby spot, and there are still lots. I'm going to have lots of nice compost hehe. Well, maybe not so much but still good enough for one person and the resources availible=)

Lizzards would be a very nice contribution to the spot. We have lots around here, they like to hang around on warm rocks, lie on them for hours in te sun. What else would they like, I wonder. I bet they would eat lots of bugs.

In autumn, around september-october, the birds migrate and they pass form where I live. For a few weeks, there is a massive hunt going at my garden, and no bugs survive that. The birds cover the whole garden with nice droppings. attracting birds is an idea, you could put some bird seed around.

Cannabis doesn't rely on bugs to pollinate itself(correct me if I'm ignorant of an important fact here), why not?

 

[jaykush]

cannabis pollen goes airborne. and youll be surprised how far it can end up away from the plant it started on.

 

[SpacemanSpliff]

Psilocybes would be the ultimate companions, but they don't like outdoors too much, I understand.

It depends on your climate and the type of psilocybes. Cubensis probably wouldn't do so well, but if you happen to live in the PNW, you might be able to pull off Cyanescens.

 

[alaeddin]

PNW I live in a whole different continent, but hey, who knows what can grow where, we still haven't had frost and this is extreme, if it goes on like this, the whole biosphere will shift in no time. Or fail to shift. I'm getting Paul Stamets's book about mushroom cultivation, I'll have more to contribute once I read it through.

I found my spot where I will perform my experiments, it's in the middle of a fern forest, lots of light and very nice native soil, though I'll amend it a bit with of my compost, I will try to bring in as little from the outside as I can, breed towards the liking of my soil. We'll see who adapts best, I'm going to do a few different pure sativas and maybe some hybrids. I have the Papua New Guinean and I'm hoping to get some Haze and Colombians as well. If the weather continues like this, it seems I'll be able to pull off nearly any equatorial strain. It's out of balance allready, plants that are supposed to sprout in March are going into bloom. We need to do something, I am working hard on research right now, it's not about saving the genetic variety anymore, it will turn into a matter of life and death.