Mulch. Just do it.

[3rdEye]

Maybe you're right MM

 

[Rusty420]

you just need to say it over and over, till it becomes right, thats right, right..

 

[sprinkl]

Mulch the top of your pots with bark fines and don't let your soil run wet-dry cycles. (This is where I fear my science gets iffy and I may stand to be corrected by the soil scientists in our wonderful Organics forum...)

Your soil still goes to wet-dry cycles, the top layer just doesn't get too dried out(which is often needed if you want the lower layers to get somewhat dry in soils that hold a lot of water). Soil moistness will be more uniform so you'll actually have a more efficient wet/dry cycle, with the top layer not getting crusted or the lower layers still staying too wet.
Another plus is less salts building up because there is less water evaporation.

Good thread

most of the time, the pest problems people deal with are because the grower creates for the perfect environment for the pest, and little to no opposition to those pests. basically giving them free range until the pesticides bust out. in a balanced system one bad guy keeps another from overpopulating. and a good guy keeps both of them in check.

I just finished a grow in which I moved plants that vegged outside to the inside. The first time I grew I also did this. That time, I fed my plants chemical nutrients, overfed them, underfed them, underwatered them, getting them too hot, etc. My plants were just being run over by some kind of mite, not even a specific cannabis eating mite. Over hundred euro's were spent on predatory mites, way too late in. I thought I'd never move plants from outside to inside again.
This time around though, I fed them organically, humidity/temps were close to perfect and I didn't fuck up(too much) with the watering. Although they still had bugs on them when being placed inside, they just didn't survive on my healthy plants.

 

[weedmon5]

Thanks for this thread. I mulched my indoor garden yesterday with straw and leaves in various states of decay from outside. This morning the soil is so nice, soft and moist on the top, under the mulch. I just can't get over the soft texture. The soil is super rich in microbes and they must be loving the mulch!

 

[gOurd^jr.]

Alright, time to get on the train, should have last cycle but this round I'm doing it.
I've got access to lots of free seed of alfalfa (wild, not in a field) around and yarrow( native) , just gotta take a short hike

http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs612/forageid.htm
http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/y/yarrow02.html

thinking to just intersperse broadcast. Should I scratch the seeds into the top half inch?
Any other tips for helping to establish the mulch? It should get enough light I think at least for the next few weeks, might get shaded later as the canopy fills in and buds but by then I'm thinking chop and drop yea?
My mulch has been dead fan leaves in the past and it works out, seems like a living mulch has clear advantages though.
I just transplanted into 7/10 gal smart pots from 2/5 gal pots. switch to flower in a week or two according to the plants. most plants are ~1.5-2ft tall at this point, but they'll get trained quite a bit yet.

 

[Dignan]

It's cool to see this thread still going. Thanks to the organic gurus here who are mightier than I, for providing even more knowledge and advice to explain why it is that mulching (all kinds of mulching) makes our soil and plants so darn happy. I'm too busy these days to get lost in all the science like we used to but I know magic when I see it happen in my garden and mulching is a key component to a robust nutrient cycle.

Peace-

Dig

 

[Chong_Irie]

So I went out today to chop back the mustard some and what did I find right in the thick of it.....a small cannabis plant. So Im assuming that cannabis can ATLEAST grow a little with white mustard.

Edit: Oh yeah I didnt have the heart to kill my beautiful Chemblue male right away, so it chucked pollen for atleast a week and now Im finding a few seeds that are growing around the yard.

 

[chief bigsmoke]

living mulch? INSIDE?!? why the hell not?


crimson clover: suitable for 5 gallon containers and up. tap-rooted. Forms a thick carpet that creates a nanoclimate from the soil surface up about 6 inches. Same compatibility with cannabis as other clovers. does not do well with mowing. Crimson clover flowers when the day becomes longer than 12 hours.

__________________

While studying a fell across clover being a great nitrogen fixer and I wondered if I could use them in my garden and I guess the obvious answer is yes... great work. very smart.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Yesterday I ordered all my cover crops. While it wasn't one of the recommended cover crops, I had to get crimson clover.

 

[mugenbao]

I'm thinking of trying crimson clover also, perhaps on my next run. Looks pretty interesting to me.

 

[mad librettist]

if doing no-till, especially vert, sowing crimson clover around 4 weeks from harvest is a very good idea.

 

[chief bigsmoke]

I found a relative article about how plants like clover set-up a network to communicate between each other. I wonder if they can network into the roots of other plants as well? so many amazing things in nature.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070925095313.htm

Enjoy!

 

[mad librettist]

nice link bigsmoke!

so.... update and important detail:

It seems clovers will happily slower indoors, but don't set seed. Of course, we have all seen bees go crazy for clover, so the obvious missing ingredient is pollinators.

Obviously, a small grow can't support pollinators, BUT - a large grow might be able to sustain a population of predatory wasps...

 

[h.h.]

I found a relative article about how plants like clover set-up a network to communicate between each other. I wonder if they can network into the roots of other plants as well? so many amazing things in nature.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070925095313.htm

Enjoy!

More reason to plant mj with mj?

 

[mad librettist]

More reason to plant mj with mj?

actually - more reason to plant mj with clover.


think this through for a second hh. plants living together and fighting together because their fates are intertwined is an advantage compared to "going it alone".

If disease is coming your way, having a monoculture isn't going to help, it's going to hurt.

In the case of root pests, your clover warning your cannabis would be a big big plus.

 

[SeaMaiden]

I have about 15lbs of cover crops here now, just need someone to plant them for me. It's gonna be a long time before I can get down to my gardens. <sigh>

Hoist with my own petard.

 

[mad librettist]

ok here is another twist on the living mulch.


fungi perfecti sells kits for mushrooms meant to do well with garden plants like veggies.

The Garden Giant Mushroom Patch™ ★★★
The Garden Giant™ (Stropharia rugoso-annulata) grows equally well in beds of hardwood chips and on straw within the garden, especially between rows of corn and amongst leafy vegetables. In the process, your garden will flourish from nutrients released by this monster mushroom. These giant, burgundy-colored mushrooms are low-maintenance and fruit in temperatures as low as 40° F and as high as 90° F. Once inoculated, beds of the Garden Giant™ (also known as King Stropharia) take 4-12 months to fruit. Flushes span 6 months to 2 years depending on care, location and mass of colonized material. These mushrooms are delicious when cut like steaks, basted with teriyaki and barbecued on a grill.
LKSRA $25.00 temporarily backordered: new orders will ship in 1–2 weeks

The Shaggy Mane Mushroom Patch™ ★★
Shaggy Manes (Coprinus comatus) are delicious and widespread throughout the northern hemisphere. This particular strain comes from wild specimens collected in the San Juan Islands in Washington State. Shaggy Manes can be grown in a wide variety of composted materials, and favor rich soils, especially those of newly created lawns. Simply mix the mushroom spawn provided into a soil bed or compost pile, follow the watering instructions, and wait. Fruitings occur primarily in the Fall.
LKCC $25.00

Give your Garden a "HUG":
The Hypsizygus ulmarius Garden Patch™ ★★
A great ally for most garden vegetables, this aggressive Garden Oyster mushroom unlocks nutrients from straw, sawdust, and organic debris, feeding the roots of underlying plants. Ideal for over-wintering and mulching, or early Spring planting where straw is overlaid, the HUG kit is a natural way to recycle nutrients and grow gourmet mushrooms at the same time.
LKHU $25.00

The "Three Amigos" Garden Pack
(see individual kits for rating keys)
For species successionism of friendly fungi in the garden, we recommend using these three garden allies: in concert, the Garden Oyster (Hypsizygus ulmarius), the Garden Giant (Stropharia rugoso-annulata) and the Shaggy Mane (Coprinus comatus). They can be placed in the garden for the benefit of vegetables and for improving soil quality. And, gourmet mushrooms flourish throughout the seasons to create the best of edible landscapes!
L-KTAG $65.00

I wonder...

 

[Green 4 Good]

ML, you had me going there for a minute thinking about the wonderful advantage of a massive mycorrhizal boost for our favorite cannabis. However, depending on your grow style, this could be catastrophic as the soil would become too acidic forcing out bacteria. Well, at least that's the way it happens in my head. I don't know how it would work in practice. Interesting idea though.

Anyhow, thanks for this thread, and thanks to mugenbao for leading me in this direction. I just purchased some crimson clover after seeing how well mug's clover mulch layer worked for him. This will be a learn-as-I-go experience for me. I inoculated and sowed the seed two days ago, and I'm seeing some sprouts today. I'm starting in small pots and the cannabis has a head start on the clover. I also don't really know how much seed to sow for a good spread because I don't know how this clover will grow in my setup. I think I did ok, I'm just not sure what will happen if there is too much clover packed tightly together. The top layer of my soil doesn't dry out very quickly though, so I'm ok with waiting until the clover fills in. It's an experiment anyway.

I forget if you guys inoculate your seed, but the site I ordered from mentioned it was beneficial for high nitrogen requirements. I took that to mean that I would get more N from the inoculated clover so I went for it. I'm all about the free N! Will post some pics when there is more action.

 

[mad librettist]

i just seeded a living mulch, and I inoculated with both rhizobium and myke

according to stamets, the garden oyster is an ally of vegetables. this could be a great help for no-till systems

 

[Green 4 Good]

I guess there's one way to find out. This thread is fun.