No Till Gardening (Indoors) with Team Microbe

[Team Microbe]

Day 1 of Flowering

Day 1 of Flowering

I like to pull out all of the plants in the middle of the room to make a big square when I foliar spray, that way I can really get in and around each plant to ensure full coverage. Today I sprayed the recipe listed on the previous page, and will spray one more time on Day 7 before letting the girls be for the next 2 months.

Lights out!

Another added benefit of adding Red Wigglers and/or European Nightcrawlers to your container is a continuous supply of fresh earthworm castings to the top layer

After peeling back the straw layer, I witnessed one of the work horses pinching a hefty loaf... now that's fresh!


"Vermicomposts are products derived from the accelerated biological degradation of organic wastes by earthworms and microorganisms. Earthworms consume and fragment the organic wastes into finer particles by passing them through a grinding gizzard and derive their nourishment from microorganisms that grow upon them. The process accelerates the rates of decomposition of the organic matter, alter the physical and chemical properties of the material, leading to a humification effect in which the unstable organic matter is fully oxidized and stabilized (Albanell et al., 1988; Orozco et al., 1996).

The end product, commonly referred to as vermicompost is greatly humified through the fragmentation of the parent organic materials by earthworm sand colonization by microorganisms (Edwards and Neuhauser; Edwards, 1998). Vermicomposts are finely divided peat-like materials with high porosity, aeration, drainage, water-holding capacity (Edwards and Burrows, 1988). They have greatly increased surface areas, providing more microsites for microbial decomposing organisms, and strong adsorption and retention of nutrients (Shi-wei and Fu-zhen, 1991). Albanell et al. (1988) reported that vermicomposts tended to have pH values near neutrality which may be due to the production of CO2 and organic acids produced during microbial metabolism. They also reported that their moisture content was reduced progressively during vermicomposting giving final moisture contents between 45% and 60%, the ideal moisture contents for land-applied composts (Edwards 1983)."​

 

[lotus710]

aww shiit. why havnt i seen you around yet?! looking great dude

Much love

 

[Jason Voorhees]

Nice thread Team Microbe

Now, before diving into the (simple) watering regimen I use I'd like to explain how I water.
Typically, I water every 2-3 days at roughly 5% of the container volume. This allows for less wet/dry cycles (which induces stress) and more of a consistent moisture level in the soil. 90% of our 'microbe army' resides in the top layer, and we all know that's where water evaporates from first so preventing the die-off of these organisms is very important IMO. Microbe death results in a large amounts of nutrients released into the soil all at once, resulting in leaf burn and a slow in natural processes. I combat this by laying down a thick layer of barley straw as a mulch layer (about 2" thick). Watering is done via Chapin, and is evenly dispersed insuring that no dry patches are left behind. This insures peak performance from that said body of soil, unlocking the full inherent potential in your plants.

I think this is one area of my own organic gardening practices that I need to change. Im used to doing a large amount of watering (til runoff) and going through a wet and dry cycle, I think this is just how I've done it from my bottled nutrient days and never changed things up. I've always thought I would see an improvement by watering less but more frequently to keep the upper layers of my soil more alive. I will give it a shot on my next round.

 

[OG Tree Grower]

Sm-90 is an all purpose wetting agent 1% coriander oil, 94%sulphonated canola oil, 5% triethanolamine

I'm thinking of using blu mats to keep everything moist throughout the week while I'm gone, do you see an issue with that?

Why do you let the grass grow around the plant and through the straw, what is the purpose? Just to hold in moisture?

Do you ever break the soil apart and repot it or does it literally stay in the pot forever, just make room for the new plant, any compaction issues? Slow growth or stalls after 5-10 grows?

 

[lotus710]

Aloe vera is an awesome wetting agent also. The "grass" isnt actually grass its barley. Different live mulches have different purposes. Barley, clover, fenugreek, etc. But most importantly they give the ecosystem a kickstart Look at the notill like a section of feild or forest in our rooms. the live mulch will die out after the canopy takes over the light then you have some nice decomposing mulch also blumats are awesome even not on vacation. And yes the soil never leaves the pot. 5-10 grows in and your soil gets better and better. Then after soo long you can take the pot and make several other notill with it usig it as the humus portion and amending at half strength notill ftw. Cant wait to do my second cycle!!

 

[Team Microbe]

Nice thread Team Microbe



I think this is one area of my own organic gardening practices that I need to change. Im used to doing a large amount of watering (til runoff) and going through a wet and dry cycle, I think this is just how I've done it from my bottled nutrient days and never changed things up. I've always thought I would see an improvement by watering less but more frequently to keep the upper layers of my soil more alive. I will give it a shot on my next round.

Thanks Jay!

I carried a lot of hydro methods into my soil garden for the first few years myself, it's hard to just shut out those old ways I'll admit. The fact that soilless mediums don't hold water like organic soil does is the main difference here I think. Organic matter holds onto moisture exceptionally well, so when I switched over 3 years back I did the very same thing; watered til I saw that 10% run off.

aww shiit. why havnt i seen you around yet?! looking great dude

Much love

Probably because I was banned for the past year and recently acquired my account back, thanks for a few users who spoke to the moderators on my behalf. Thanks for the kind words!

Sm-90 is an all purpose wetting agent 1% coriander oil, 94%sulphonated canola oil, 5% triethanolamine

I'm thinking of using blu mats to keep everything moist throughout the week while I'm gone, do you see an issue with that?

Why do you let the grass grow around the plant and through the straw, what is the purpose? Just to hold in moisture?

Do you ever break the soil apart and repot it or does it literally stay in the pot forever, just make room for the new plant, any compaction issues? Slow growth or stalls after 5-10 grows?

Nope, blumats are great I've heard and do a great job in no till applications. My buddy swears by em!

Cover crops have a wide variety of benefits to the plant(s) growing besides them, including moisture retention, nitrogen fixation, natural tillage, carbon sequestering, nutrient density and build humus in the soil over time. Different crops have different benefits though, here let me dig something up for you real quick..

Cover Crop Solution Chart

However, I will have you know that I rarely sow a cover crop indoors anymore because they're truly designed to be used in crop rotation out in the fields. Nowadays I plant companion plants along side of my clones/seedlings at the start of each cycle.

The Tulsi (Holy Basil) you see under my plants was put there partly out of curiosity and partly due to my love for this plant. But it also offers moisture retention by shading the mulch layer from the lights, integrated pest management due to the incredibly strong aroma the plant emits (think about the common tomato and basil companionship), and offers me some fresh leaves to use in either botanical teas for my IPM sprays (I like to substitute these for water in my recipes sometimes) or for a nice cup of tea to enjoy at the end of a long stressful day.

"As if being worshipped by millions of people throughout the Indian subcontinent was not enough, the Tulsi plant, also known as Holy Basil in the West, has an exquisite taste reminiscent of bubblegum. And that seems oddly appropriate for an herb allegorically believed to be the embodiment of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, love, and prosperity. Tulsi certainly lives up to its sacred status throughout India and much of the world. Possessing a wide range of impressive health and psycho-spiritual benefits, Holy Basil has become a legendary part of Hindu culture over the last five thousand or so years, adorning houses and temples throughout the country and earning it revered names such as “The Elixir of Life” and “Mother Medicine of Nature.”
As a testament to the plant’s curative powers, to this very day, Tulsi is widely regarded as one of the preeminent herbs in the ancient Indian system of medicine known as Ayurveda, where it is classified as a rasayana—an elite class of adaptogenic herbs prized for their ability to fundamentally restore balance and harmony in the mind, body, and spirit. Not wanting to be left out of the party, contemporary health researchers have also taken an interest in Holy Basil, making it one of the rare herbs that has substantial science backing up its borderline miraculous healing properties. A host of studies have demonstrated it to be a powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune system modulator, as well as a promising treatment for conditions ranging from liver disease to arthritis, to diabetes and cancer, which is in line with its traditional Ayurvedic uses."

 

[Team Microbe]

Do you ever break the soil apart and repot it or does it literally stay in the pot forever, just make room for the new plant, any compaction issues? Slow growth or stalls after 5-10 grows?

No, never. At harvest I chop the plant down from the base of the stalk and let the biology in the soil break it down - it eventually ends up feeding the microorganisms their main source of energy; carbon. Compaction is non-existent because the old root system biodegrades as well, and leaves tiny air tunnels in their place that naturally till the soil. Worms also do a lot of the aerating as they move around eating their daily meals, so that helps as well. After clipping the buds off to hand I return all of the plant material back to the mulch layer where it not only offers water retention but will recycle the nutrients taken from the soil back into the soil system. This is a completely regenerative system...

It's just like what we see in the forest, a tree dies, falls over, and is then broken down by soil enzymes, fungi, and bacteria before being consumed by microbes. The microbes then transfer this nutrition onto the next generation of plants to fuel their entire life cycle.

The same thing happens in these 25 gallon containers.

Fertility and plant health is constantly increasing as time goes on because microbes multiply and diversity constantly is building cycle after cycle. It seems like the more we leave nature alone to do her thing, the more she will reward us with bounty. "If you build it, they will come" is definitely an accurate statement when it comes to building soil I'd say. The reason that plants never slow down or become depleted is because compost/earth worm castings (or any other humic substance) has the ability of "holding onto" nutrients (via negative and positive charge) for very long periods of time. This is known as the Total Cation Exchange Capacity (TCEC). The total cation exchange capacity of a soil determines the number of positively-charged ions cations-that the soil can hold. This, in turn, can have a significant effect on the fertility management of the soil. It is how the forest regenerates without the need for man-made fertilizer basically. Without stable humic substances broken down by the soil food web, no tilling would be impossible. I'm on my 5th cycle and health continues to increase...

This system has been in place for billions of years, and plants are designed to regenerate by nature so taking advantage of this knowledge is the best thing a farmer can do IMO

 

[Team Microbe]

Neem A Treatise

Neem A Treatise

Over 250 pests!!

 

[FunkBomb]

Welcome back to IC its been too long.

-Funk

 

[slownickel]

Team,

Do you actually find that neem kills bugs or is better at being a preventative?

 

[Hash Zeppelin]

Glad to see you team microbe. Great thread!

 

[Morcheeba*]

glad to have you back and a new thread going.


peace

 

[Team Microbe]

Welcome back to IC its been too long.

-Funk

Glad to see you team microbe. Great thread!

glad to have you back and a new thread going.


peace

It's good to be back everyone!

Team,

Do you actually find that neem kills bugs or is better at being a preventative?

Neem, unlike contact pesticides - doesn't kill suckling insects immediately. They have to eat the oil, ingest it, and then the magic begins by retarding their mating practices as well as their ability to eat. Repeated use of neem basically guarantees you no problems I've found.

So I would say it is good at both; killing insects and as a prevention measure

 

[slownickel]

Teamster,

Never had any luck with killing anything with neem. You make your own? If not, whatcha using?

I do find that it works well at keeping bugs away. I use a lot on my organic limes.

 

[Slipnot]

It's good to be back everyone!



Neem, unlike contact pesticides - doesn't kill suckling insects immediately. They have to eat the oil, ingest it, and then the magic begins by retarding their mating practices as well as their ability to eat. Repeated use of neem basically guarantees you no problems I've found.

So I would say it is good at both; killing insects and as a prevention measure

I would have to disagree Neem is great at controlling pests ,
you never seem to eradicate the problem unless you fully drown plants
with neem you need to use it on a regular basis but the question is are you suffocating the good insects also ??
Are causing more damage then good for instance All oils do damage to sensitive plants by coating leafs this can lead to other issues such as sun burn etc

I personally stay away from all use of any pesticides specially when growing organic , or No Till , if we look at nature we can come to the conclusion that approx 35 percent of the plant gets damaged to winds , storms , insects and other disease ,,
I tend to work with these numbers and make sure my soil life is @ par levels its the only true measure to combat insects is having a healthy plant and soil life to begin with

In most cases its the novice growers falling into issues and why ?? Because there plant and soil is not healthy
some pictures of my No Till garden and GMO fields

 

[Team Microbe]

Teamster,

Never had any luck with killing anything with neem. You make your own? If not, whatcha using?

I do find that it works well at keeping bugs away. I use a lot on my organic limes.

Are you using pure cold pressed neem oil?

The stuff I can find locally is all watered down isn't cold pressed, so I have to order mine from http://www.neemresource.com/

Although over the years I've switched to Karanja Oil because it's easier to emulsify. Karanja and Neem are basically the same exact thing in a horticultural setting.

 

[Team Microbe]

kelp me kelp you

kelp me kelp you

1976 Highland Thai x 1971 Kandahar Afghani

The girls just after receiving a healthy kelp tea drench




I found the following in recent pdf file..

The following benefits of seaweed extract have been observed:

1. Enhanced seed germination – Research conducted at Clemson University (Virginia) utilising a wide variety of seeds, showed an increase in germination, accompanied by accelerated seed emergence. In addition, the seedlings were stronger and displayed an increased survival rate. This translates into a significant advantage when planting under adverse climatic conditions.

2. Increased root and plant growth – Numerous trials have demonstrated enhanced root growth, which can not only be attributed to the chelated micronutrients in seaweed, but also to the chelating agents which enable previously unavailable nutrients in the soil to become more available. Of major importance, plant growth hormones (cytokinins, auxins and gibberellins) are responsible for increased root growth and development. Increased root area accelerates nutrient and water uptake, which translates into increased plant growth. The growth and development of stems and leaves is also positively influenced by these same hormones. Turf grass trials conducted at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute found that seaweed increased root mass from 67% to 175% when compared to the untreated plots. Plots treated with seaweed in autumn also exhibited a 38% increase in spring growth as well as a 52% increase in root mass over the untreated plots. Research at the University of Portsmouth in England found that seaweed treated plants also had a fourfold increase in chlorophyll. An increase in chlorophyll causes an increase in photosynthetic activity which results in greater food production, which translates into increased plant growth. This dramatic increase in chlorophyll was also responsible for a more intense vibrant green colour.

3. Increased yield, protein and quality – The above-mentioned increases in plant growth would be expected to increase forage yield but it has also been shown to increase grain yields. Numerous trials in England have reported from 14% to 40% increases in cereal grain yields. Forage tests have also shown similar results. Dr Senn and his cohorts found increases in tomatoes, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, sweet peppers, lima beans, peas, okra and soybeans. Increases in protein have also been observed in grasses and grains. Improved quality has also been reported, although it is difficult to quantify quality. However, grains with higher test weights (an indication of quality) have been recorded. Graziers have also reported livestock preference for seaweed treated pastures.

4. Increased resistance to insects and disease – There is experimental evidence which indicates the presence of antioxins in seaweed products. These antioxins appear to disrupt the reproductive cycle of some insects and repel others. Crops sprayed with seaweed have been found to have fewer incidences of pest and disease infestations such as fusarium, powdery mildew, botrytis, “dampingoff” of seedlings, black bean aphid attack and red spider mite infestation etc. Several tests have also confirmed the reduction in nematodes when seaweed was applied to the soil. Another theory is that insects are attracted to plants that are deficient in trace minerals. It is also believed that the addition of seaweed, because of its cytokinin content, results in increased disease resistance in plants. Apparently this increased resistance may be the result of plant structural changes or to physiological responses which stimulate the plant’s natural defence mechanisms.

5. Increased resistance to drought and frost – Enhanced water uptake as a direct result of the increased root growth of seaweed treated plants increases a plant’s drought tolerance. Drought tolerance is also increased by seaweed’s ability to stimulate changes in the plant’s metabolic pathways, allowing roots access to moisture not normally available to plants. Even under moisturestress conditions, the use of seaweed products has been shown to stimulate root growth. Cytokinins also retard plant senescence by slowing the rate of the plant’s degradation processes and stimulating photosynthetic activity. Tests at Clemson University revealed that the addition of seaweed extract enabled tomatoes to survive to 29 deg F. At this temperature the untreated tomatoes were killed. This increased resistance to environmental stress could mean the difference between profit and loss to a farmer.

6. Increased shelf life – Studies at the Clemson University showed that fruits and vegetables grown and treated with seaweed products were able to resist decomposition much longer than those left untreated. Research at Rutgers University also found that seaweed delayed the onset of brown rot infection in ripening fruit. Evidently, seaweed delays the maturity of fruits and vegetables after harvest. This has major economic implications with such a perishable commodity. In conclusion, let me state that seaweed is not a “cure-all-snake-oil”! Plants do not live by NPK alone. Micronutrients are essential for growth and development. Seaweed, being a rich source of available micronutrients, supplements and complements NPK. Seaweed’s effectiveness is due to the fact that it fulfils the basic needs of the soil and plants. If a soil contained all the needed humus, structure, tilth and nutrients, seaweed’s contribution would be inconsequential. If a plant does not require additional trace minerals, plant growth hormones and vitamins, why add seaweed? Unfortunately, our plants are devoid of these much needed micronutrients because our soils are micronutrient deficient.

The crisis that we all face is that these micronutrient deficiencies are transferred from plants to animals and finally to humans. Many diseases in animals and man have been traced to micronutrient deficiencies. If man is to survive and flourish, we need to respect the soil and look to those products which can link the present to the past.

 

[slownickel]

Which seaweed are you using? I use one that has 400 ppm of citokinin which is cold processed from Maine.

 

[Team Microbe]

Critical Points of Influence (CPI's)

Critical Points of Influence (CPI's)

Since flowering has just began, I'm doing my best to mitigate as much plant stress as possible since these are now in the 'filling frame' stage.



"CPI, a Critical Point of Influence is a point at which a plant is in a critical part of its reproduction cycle, and is very vulnerable to any nutritional shortages. We can greatly reduce stress and yield loss by paying providing adequate nutrition at CPIs. The CPIs of a corn plant: 9-12 days after germination corn determines the numbers of ears it could set, 14-21 days, it determines how many rows per cob, 42-49 days, it determines how many kernels per row. Notice the biggest yield differential is earliest in the plants life.

Four primary CPIs are at planting, building frame, filling fruit, and finishing fruit. At each stage the plant has very large and very different nutritional requirements."

- John Kempf​

If you want to check out the remainder of this excerpt by John click here: Full article

 

[Team Microbe]

Which seaweed are you using? I use one that has 400 ppm of citokinin which is cold processed from Maine.

Acadian kelp meal