-
As of today ICMag has his own Discord server. In this Discord server you can chat, talk with eachother, listen to music, share stories and pictures...and much more. Join now and let's grow together! Join ICMag Discord here! More details in this thread here: here.
i have a whole mess of sweet peet left over from mulching my garden beds this year. would this be a decent mulch to use for cannabis? i know it is a pretty "rich" mulch & does quite a bit of pH buffering, so I am curious if it is suitable for cannabis growth. please share your experience with or without it!
hey sounds good to me, its such a nice mulch. extremely dark & full of nutrients!
odogyouknow
Member
Hey, if anyone is still kicking around in here...
What do you think about a 2 to 3 inch mulching of dry expanded coco?
I can only water my 100 gallon smartpot once a week and have a brick of coco i'm thinking about expanding, letting dry, and then mulching with.
probably wouldn't want to put it on there wet huh?
Peace
What do you think about a 2 to 3 inch mulching of dry expanded coco?
I can only water my 100 gallon smartpot once a week and have a brick of coco i'm thinking about expanding, letting dry, and then mulching with.
probably wouldn't want to put it on there wet huh?
Peace
I put coco out for mulch and it was an armadillo magnet. The ones I didn't use it on were not hit but everyone with coir were violently molested even in pots that were knee high. If your don't have this pest go for it. If you do put some out in other spots and see if it attracts any creatures you are not currently having problems with. The other problem I had were ants and termites. It could be because the native soil was compact clay and the loose store bought dirt was an ant and termites dream. good luck
just a bump to update on my mulchexperiment, I tried mulching last year but for me it was a failure, maybe I will try it again with anther mulch.
the problem was that we had a very dry spring last year, so mulching seemed perfect to retain moisture. and indeed, it did it's job perfectly and as you can read in my last post the mulch stayed moist at the underside and when removing some mulch I would often spot worms. so fart so good. but, there was 1 major disadvantage:
the slugs liked that nice mpist mulch too. and since it was a very dry spring(unusual around here), those slugs were very hungry and plentifyfull on my nice moist mulched backyardarea
so every seedling that would come up would be eaten the next morning, lost a lot of time that way, untill I removed the mulch and finally got the slugs under control with some beertraps(wich I had to refresh every day for the first 1-2 weeks, 5 traps on a few square meters)
and that unusual dry spring was followed by a rainy summer with not much sunshine, so the plants that did make it after the slugpopulation was under control coudn't grow very big, and then almost all my plants turned out to be male... except one that was barely 10 cm tall and not worth harvesting
so for me mulching was a failed experiment, next time I'll just stay with bare soil, altough maybe I will experiment some more with mulch but on a small scale, and with a mulch that won't attract so many slugs, and catch away slugs before adding the mulch
and I think this could be a problem for any grower in an area with a lot of slugproblems, with bare soil I also get slugdamage but not as much(with my previous grows I lost about half to slugs, but in those cases they left my plants alone till they were 30-50 cm, then atacked massively at once after wich half would be lost entirely and the other ones would only have 1-2 growthpoints left, sometimes no leaves at all but would still recover)
I used just leaves for mulch tough(mostly beechleaves, but also some maple and oak and other random leaves, whatever the wind gathered under some beechhedges, with a big oaktree closeby), so maybe just a poor choice of mulch, but still it points out that just adding a random mulch is not a guranteed improvement, if you do want to add a mulch, think about wich mulch would be best and do consider that slugs may like it.
the problem was that we had a very dry spring last year, so mulching seemed perfect to retain moisture. and indeed, it did it's job perfectly and as you can read in my last post the mulch stayed moist at the underside and when removing some mulch I would often spot worms. so fart so good. but, there was 1 major disadvantage:
the slugs liked that nice mpist mulch too. and since it was a very dry spring(unusual around here), those slugs were very hungry and plentifyfull on my nice moist mulched backyardarea
so every seedling that would come up would be eaten the next morning, lost a lot of time that way, untill I removed the mulch and finally got the slugs under control with some beertraps(wich I had to refresh every day for the first 1-2 weeks, 5 traps on a few square meters)
and that unusual dry spring was followed by a rainy summer with not much sunshine, so the plants that did make it after the slugpopulation was under control coudn't grow very big, and then almost all my plants turned out to be male... except one that was barely 10 cm tall and not worth harvesting
so for me mulching was a failed experiment, next time I'll just stay with bare soil, altough maybe I will experiment some more with mulch but on a small scale, and with a mulch that won't attract so many slugs, and catch away slugs before adding the mulch
and I think this could be a problem for any grower in an area with a lot of slugproblems, with bare soil I also get slugdamage but not as much(with my previous grows I lost about half to slugs, but in those cases they left my plants alone till they were 30-50 cm, then atacked massively at once after wich half would be lost entirely and the other ones would only have 1-2 growthpoints left, sometimes no leaves at all but would still recover)
I used just leaves for mulch tough(mostly beechleaves, but also some maple and oak and other random leaves, whatever the wind gathered under some beechhedges, with a big oaktree closeby), so maybe just a poor choice of mulch, but still it points out that just adding a random mulch is not a guranteed improvement, if you do want to add a mulch, think about wich mulch would be best and do consider that slugs may like it.
Ive noticed in my line of work that people tend to make the mistake of mulching right up against the stems of their plants. This is a throughway for mold/rot to get to the plants. Its important to leave a few unmulched inches around the base.
I would recommend that if you were still worried about mold/rot that you pull the mulch away from the plant as it grows, leaving the mulch only a few inches within the dripline. The plant should create enough shade directly beneath itself to keep the soil relatively moist.
I would recommend that if you were still worried about mold/rot that you pull the mulch away from the plant as it grows, leaving the mulch only a few inches within the dripline. The plant should create enough shade directly beneath itself to keep the soil relatively moist.
plastochron
Member
has anyone tried mulching with rice hulls? i have heard its a better alternative to straw because it's less likely to be contaminated with weed seeds. what about shredded redwood? any thoughts on how mulching would impact top dressing? i doubt it would decrease the delivery on nutes too much, but interested on hearing everyone's thoughts.
Tactical Farmer
Member
djonkoman - one might try some copper electrical wire (14ish gauge) wrapped a few times around the bottom of the plant to keep mulch loving slugs from crossing on up. it seems to work imo but be very careful not to let the wire choke off the stalk as the plant grows large.
im still experimenting but think i will install it on the lowest branch next season & use thinner wire.
Early Copper sprays can be helpful for fungus & slugs.
Do keep the stalk base clear of mulch or very bad things happen very quickly.
-.
im still experimenting but think i will install it on the lowest branch next season & use thinner wire.
Early Copper sprays can be helpful for fungus & slugs.
Do keep the stalk base clear of mulch or very bad things happen very quickly.
-.
I have thought about copper, but it's expensive and I can't wrap it around a seedling that hasn't even come above the ground yet, many seedlings, not only cannabis, I didn't even see, many I did see one day then the next morning it was barren again(also after I had removed the mulch already but was still catching away slugs with the traps)
I have done some experiments with garlic last fall/winter. results seems hopefull but need a better delivery.
some results: uncut garlic cloves have no effect. but a barrier of garlic bits/minicubes held the slugs away very well, a slug would aproach the barrier, at about 0,5 cm it would start retracting it's upper sensory tentacle(wich is used for smell and sight), and it would turn around at about 0,2 cm. (the distances are rough gueses tough)
if it happened to come fron above and so hit the garlic with it's tail when turning around it would produce excesive slime, fall half on the garlic and getting quickly away from it(away from the lettuce in the midde, protected by the barrier)
but, unfortunatly it was only effectyive for one day, then I think the bits had dried out or the volatile chemicals evaporated, anyway after a day they could cross it. I tested if maybe they had become tolerant by taking s fresh slice and proaching them with it, but they still reacted to that.
making a waterextract/tea(just let garlicbits sit in water for a while) creates a very strong garlicsmelling liquid to wich the slugs also react, so I hope that spraying/pouring that regularly around my plants I will influence them by preferring another patch to roam.
but if I would have a good deliverymetod that kept active for longer as the cubes/slices/bits but had the same effectiveness, I would have a perfect solution
I have done some experiments with garlic last fall/winter. results seems hopefull but need a better delivery.
some results: uncut garlic cloves have no effect. but a barrier of garlic bits/minicubes held the slugs away very well, a slug would aproach the barrier, at about 0,5 cm it would start retracting it's upper sensory tentacle(wich is used for smell and sight), and it would turn around at about 0,2 cm. (the distances are rough gueses tough)
if it happened to come fron above and so hit the garlic with it's tail when turning around it would produce excesive slime, fall half on the garlic and getting quickly away from it(away from the lettuce in the midde, protected by the barrier)
but, unfortunatly it was only effectyive for one day, then I think the bits had dried out or the volatile chemicals evaporated, anyway after a day they could cross it. I tested if maybe they had become tolerant by taking s fresh slice and proaching them with it, but they still reacted to that.
making a waterextract/tea(just let garlicbits sit in water for a while) creates a very strong garlicsmelling liquid to wich the slugs also react, so I hope that spraying/pouring that regularly around my plants I will influence them by preferring another patch to roam.
but if I would have a good deliverymetod that kept active for longer as the cubes/slices/bits but had the same effectiveness, I would have a perfect solution
pine needles become acidic from the fungi. conifer forests have fungally dominated soil life and fungus produce calcium carbonate, hence the soil acidity. imle.
could be the 'molds' produced are beneficial...producing calcium carbonate can't be all bad.
perhaps the yeild was a direct result of the calcium from the fungi.
nice of you to provide the results of your diligence. thank you Silverback.
could be the 'molds' produced are beneficial...producing calcium carbonate can't be all bad.
perhaps the yeild was a direct result of the calcium from the fungi.
nice of you to provide the results of your diligence. thank you Silverback.
It almost sounds as if mycelium is being confused for mold here. I could be wrong, but if it's white and looks like a web then it's very beneficial to your plants! Usually mulched soils that are healthy develop this fungi system, and it directly feeds water and food to the roots. This is what it looks like:
^ This was encouraged by using grokashi, a version of bokashi:
I wanted to open this thread back up though, because I was wondering if any guerrillas used any natural surroundings as their mulch rather than hauling in bags. Of course this depends on your location and what's on-hand, but what have you used in the bush that acts as a good mulching agent?
What does this even mean? Mulched and Unmulched? Does it mean mulch was mixed in with the soil? or does it mean mulch was placed on top of the soil after planting?
analogcricket
Member
what choices do i have for mulching??
id rather not use the pine trees around me..
id rather not use the pine trees around me..
Mulched meaning used as a top dressing on top of the soil after planting
What other natural vegetation do you have around you? Hay, grass and other biodegradable materials will add in breaking down and feeding your microbe army at the top of your soil
Ajunta Pall
Member
Dude, grass is nature's mulch; either harvest it in the wild or rake up the clippings after you mow.
analogcricket
Member
mainly oak and pine trees, a few manzanitas but i was worried about unwanted terpenes. theres not much grass around. i have access to alfalfa and/or hay(meadow grass) from a feed store.
would either or work?
will hay or alfalfa change the ph of the soil?
