well theres the research then; control the canopy and buckwheat is fine
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Mulch. Just do it.
- Thread starter Dignan
- Start date
well theres the research then; control the canopy and buckwheat is fine
I have plants ready to harvest in a traditionally mulched no-till container, but I won't have any cannabis plants to plant for awhile after I harvest. My plan is to go to the local nursery and pick up some red or white clover (whatever they have) just to keep the ecosystem going until I can grow up some cannabis plants to transplant. My question is whether the clover will germinate if I toss it on the mulch and keep the mulch moist? My goal is minimal disruption to the mulch-duff layer so I don't want to pull the mulch off and sow the seeds.
Pine
Pine
U
unthing
should. i've had sprouts penetrate semi decomposed leaves.
AlexTrebek
Member
I'll take four leaf clover for 600!
Awesome thread mad librettist and a very nice discussion on living mulches throughout this whole thread. Awesome read and I recommend these 20-25 pages to anyone wanting to know more about the subject. Grow on!
Awesome thread mad librettist and a very nice discussion on living mulches throughout this whole thread. Awesome read and I recommend these 20-25 pages to anyone wanting to know more about the subject. Grow on!
T
tuinman
I'm trying to perfect a perpetual SOG so I haven't incorporated a living mulch into my system yet, but did want to play around.
This tree has been unfortunately in a container for way too long (no where to put it yet) and it was pretty much pure red throughout the leaves and putting out growth very slowly. On a lark I seeded it with clover - this is about 3 months later and I've lost track of how many times I've chopped the mulch back. It has about twice as much foliage as previously, the clover was the only change.
This tree has been unfortunately in a container for way too long (no where to put it yet) and it was pretty much pure red throughout the leaves and putting out growth very slowly. On a lark I seeded it with clover - this is about 3 months later and I've lost track of how many times I've chopped the mulch back. It has about twice as much foliage as previously, the clover was the only change.
I
IE2KS_KUSH
My grow got tired of waiting on me and i got spontaneous living mulch. Literally 1 lonely sprig in several containers...its kinda funny I will post a picture if I can. No idea what it is but I guess it was in the peat? Hmmph? I moved some containers really close to each other hoping they fuck and maybe in ten years I will really having living mulch!
L
Legalize This
i use a 55 gal poly drum with the top cut off. its 3 years old and so are the worms in it. i put a heating pad under it in winter. it has mostly maple/oak leaves, weeds, tomatos, potatoes, apples, plumbs, egg shells, coffee grounds, 10 river trout, shrimp hulls, fish tank water, a dead rat, lots of garden veggies and my friend took a shit in it.
L
Legalize This
Big Blue
Big Blue
i use a 55 gal poly drum with the top cut off. its 3 years old and so are the worms in it. i put a heating pad under it in winter. it has mostly maple/oak leaves, weeds, tomatos, potatoes, apples, plumbs, egg shells, coffee grounds, 10 river trout, shrimp hulls, fish tank water, a dead rat, lots of garden veggies and my friend took a shit in it.
Big Blue
i use a 55 gal poly drum with the top cut off. its 3 years old and so are the worms in it. i put a heating pad under it in winter. it has mostly maple/oak leaves, weeds, tomatos, potatoes, apples, plumbs, egg shells, coffee grounds, 10 river trout, shrimp hulls, fish tank water, a dead rat, lots of garden veggies and my friend took a shit in it.
S
SeaMaiden
I know this is a late reply, but I would take great care, precisely because of issues like vectoring crap like Septoria fungi. In fact, it's even recommended not to compost affected foliage so as to prevent spread.
you can burn infected plant matter or even make char out of it.
but listen to sea maiden and don't compost stuff you don't want
but listen to sea maiden and don't compost stuff you don't want
I'm trying to perfect a perpetual SOG so I haven't incorporated a living mulch into my system yet, but did want to play around.
This tree has been unfortunately in a container for way too long (no where to put it yet) and it was pretty much pure red throughout the leaves and putting out growth very slowly. On a lark I seeded it with clover - this is about 3 months later and I've lost track of how many times I've chopped the mulch back. It has about twice as much foliage as previously, the clover was the only change.
this got into the page one hall of fame.
nice work dude!
Great thread, living mulch looks like a lot of fun!
LilMan72003
Active member
OK, this is an issue that has really been bothering me.
There has been plenty of discussion about mulching with green plant matter; be it weed leaves, grasses, etc. The consensus in this thread is that, the green matter decomposes into the soil mix, feeding the microbes yada yada
Here is the truth of the matter: When you mulch, you only want to add ALREADY DECOMPOSED ORGANIC MATTER. If you add green matter as a mulch, it will actually DRAW NITROGEN from your soil mix, as the bacteria that perform the decomposition process require nitrogen.
So while it may look all well and dandy to see your grass clippings or fresh leaves magically disappear into your own soil mix, just know that you are actually robbing your mix of that precious nitrogen you worked so hard to make available.
While many of the "gurus" in this forum know what they are talking about, do your own extensive biological research before making any decisions on growing pot organically.
.02
Lilman
There has been plenty of discussion about mulching with green plant matter; be it weed leaves, grasses, etc. The consensus in this thread is that, the green matter decomposes into the soil mix, feeding the microbes yada yada
Here is the truth of the matter: When you mulch, you only want to add ALREADY DECOMPOSED ORGANIC MATTER. If you add green matter as a mulch, it will actually DRAW NITROGEN from your soil mix, as the bacteria that perform the decomposition process require nitrogen.
So while it may look all well and dandy to see your grass clippings or fresh leaves magically disappear into your own soil mix, just know that you are actually robbing your mix of that precious nitrogen you worked so hard to make available.
While many of the "gurus" in this forum know what they are talking about, do your own extensive biological research before making any decisions on growing pot organically.
.02
Lilman
NashvilleN
Member
Sounds plausible, LM.
lol, of course cycling C requires N.
Some fungi actually trap nematodes, and many attack bacterial colonies, to get at the N. They use it to break down woody material.
So you see, the conventional way to look at this is "you have N robbing going on", whereas the more updated version vis a vis modern science goes something like "the soil is overly fungal". For tips on keeping things "bacterial", see the book "Teaming with Microbes".
If your container is very small, it won't work, but with a larger container the N robbing is not an issue. You just add more N, plant clover, etc... Worms help keep things more bacterial.
All you need to do is provide enough everything, and your plant will want for nothing.
LilMan72003
Active member
But it isn't a compost pile h.h. Yes, adding green mulch will EVENTUALLY break down and add nitrogen to your mix. But while it is in the process of being decomposed, bacteria will be using N reserves in the soil, which would have otherwise been available to your lovely cannabis plant.
The point that I am trying to make is that there are much better ways to supplement N your grow, whether it be amending with alfalfa/blood meal, watering with fish emulsion, or using FPEs.
Mulch with decomposed organic matter. Isn't this forum about modeling our grows as close to natural processes as possible? Mulches occur in nature usually in the form of large piles of dropped leaves. Like JayKush has said, it doesn't get much better than decomposed leaf litter.
Cheers, all
Lilman
