Organic no-till growbed plan, some questions.

[exploziv]

Hello, organic growers!

My plan is to try an indoor no till growbed with organic amendments, but I need some help.

First of all, if I choose to return the green mater to the soil (mostly cannabis leaves), should i leave them whole or chop them before?

And second question, how much would it take for them to break down and release nutrients into the growbed?

Is this a good ideea, or should I compost the greem matter before adding it, to make sure the growbed isn't a great place to be for pests?

 

[SeaMaiden]

They'll decompose faster if they're chopped up a bit. The rest of your questions I can't answer, no direct experience. You might want to grow some comfrey for its leaves, as they do decompose fairly quickly.

 

[organick]

Green matter belongs in the compost bin, and should stay there until adequately broken down. Breaking down green matter in your grow-bin will take energy from the soil that could be used for the roots.

My grow-room's ecosystem exists not only in my grow bins but in the bag of EWC, my tea brewer, and my compost bin (when the contents are ready, at least 1 year from now if not more, then I'll only use them for my buds after the worms in my soon-to-be-built worm-bin turn them to castings).

Other methods of top-dressing are superior; EWC or very well composted compost.

 

[Scrappy4]

Explosiv, I use fan leaves as mulch. I think it helps keep the top layer of soil damp, and micro-biologically active. Peel back a layer, and you find worms, spiders, and other creepy crawlers doing what they do. I realize it's not a complete Eco system in one 7 gallon pot, but it's a hellofalot better than bare earth.

I used to spray the mulch with lacto b (homemade bacteria) now I don't bother. When I did spray the leaves broke down faster, but still by the end of one cycle the starting mulch is then dirt, spraying lact b or not. I also drench feed teas made with plant materials like kelp meal, alfalfa meal, comfrey and so on. The dregs are top dressed. So the mulch becomes fairly diverse.

I really can't think of any good reason not to mulch for organic gardening"......scrappy

 

[jerry111165]

Scrappy, well said. Mulch rocks - whatever it's (organic) source. It definitely keeps the soil moist.

I'm gonna chop up some fresh comfrey to use when I get home later this week. When I move the mulch aside I love seeing worms darting for the shade.

J

 

[Gascanastan]

I've used fan leaves as mulch as well. They break down pretty quick if you have a seriously biologically active soil....some pots would eat them in as little as 7 days..this is a practice I have done for quite a while with positive results. Comfrey would be a bit more potent IMO.

Here is a plant that was fed nothing but fan leaves ......it gave me 1/2 a pound...

 

[Scrappy4]

Damn Stan! Who would give you a bad rep for that? Must be a sore butt out there.....

 

[jerry111165]

Stan The Man.

Nice.

 

[jerry111165]

Green matter belongs in the compost bin, and should stay there until adequately broken down. Breaking down green matter in your grow-bin will take energy from the soil that could be used for the roots.

Organick, why not think of it also as microbe food as it decomposes, providing food for both the microbes, the worms in my pots, and I imagine the plants themselves.

Just thinking out loud here.

J

 

[dank.frank]

Ya - we know there are morons who can't appreciate the beauty and simplicity of an organic garden (whoever gave that 0 of 1) - the more natural a process you can achieve, the better.

Think about a tree in the fall - if the leaves falling back to earth did not replenish the soil - then wouldn't the earth just stop growing things??? lol

Think of it like this folks:

Plants do not deplete the medium of it's resources - harvesting plants does.

Meaning - if you let a plant die - and return to soil - NOTHING has ever actually left.


dank.Frank

 

[Gascanastan]

Damn Stan! Who would give you a bad rep for that? Must be a sore butt out there.....

Pretty standard issue in the cannabis world really Scrap.


Jealousy,envy,lameness,inexperience,backstabbing,theft,etc....U know waaaaa mommy.

 

[dr.penthotal]

maybe that guy had a fat thumb, a fat joint in hand and a small ipad... sometimes it happens...
peace

 

[ClackamasCootz]

Which hybrid is that plant?

 

[Gascanastan]

Which hybrid is that plant?

Some seed a guy gave me...PPP x Blue Mystic...

Good bag appeal,but since both fathers of PPP and Blue Mystic are reportedly 'Purple Skunk' it really expressed that type of 'skunk' in the plant...smoked like those 'skunks' as well...not bad...but not a keeper in my book.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

I was handed a cutting of a strain called 'Cantaloupe' from a medical grower in Southwest Washington last week. The medicine he gave me was done very well - correctly dried, cured and it had a strong Indica punch but there's definitely a strong Sativa presence as well. Can't really describe it.

The cutting is in the rooting tray so I'll give it a run in a few weeks. Never know......

CC

 

[moses wellfleet]

i wanna try no till but i need a soil mix. because if i use my usual soil mix that consists of 50% peat 40% perlite and 10% worm castings then surely the substrate will collapse once the peat has broken down?

anybody who has had experience please advise?

 

[jerry111165]

I run approximately 2/3 sphagnum peat and 1/3 compost/vermicompost/ewc. To that add several (I use that term loosely - some like 2 cups/cf ;some like 3) cups per cubic foot of "nutritional" amendments (ie: alfalfa, kelp meal, seed meals, neem meal, fish bone meal - etc.)
To this add another several cups per CF (a cubic foot is around 7 gallons) of mineral/rock dust component - ie: Azomite, Gaia Green, Fedco Planters II.

Some folks like to use aeration amendments - lets say 50% peat, 25% aeration (rice hulls, perlite, etc) and 25% compost. I personally find that there is enough aeration (perlite) in the ProMix that i use as my base. These soil mixes are not set in stone and there is not a "best" mix. Different parts of the country carry different soil amendments - you can usually for the most part use what is available locally, with the exception of (for me) products like neem meal. Source and support local business when possible.

Cover your peat/coco (whatever) base, your compost and/or vermicompost/ewc components, and your nutritional and mineral amendments and you'll be just fine. For me, kelp, neem, alfalfa are must-haves. It isn't rocket science - for the most part, use what's available locally. I've been running the same no till mix in 15 gallon containers for several years now with excellent results, using the occasional botanical tea, occasional ACT and top dressing with whatever is handy here and there.

J

 

[exploziv]

Thank you all for your contributions to this thread. I'm glad it took off and now it got some nice info in it. Feel free to add anything you like, even more questions of your own if they are ontopic.

Now I'm thinking of drying all the leaf mater at harvest, then wait till the new plants in the bed are let's say 2 weeks to 1 month old, cover all the bed with a thin layer of the leaves meal, then a thin layer of ewc/compost/amendments to replentish the soil..

What do you guys think of that? And would a covercrop help, if i put it over those layers? Any recommandations?

Thanks again!

 

[wildgrow]

As far as that neg rep point goes, I believe if you have less than 50 posts and you try to rep someone, its recorded as a negative. Its an empty rep point, doesnt carry any weight.

Im curious as to whether or not you can mulch amended promix, eventually making it a soil. cheers

 

[skullznroses]

When you put un-composted matter into the soil, wether its leaves or any other type of plant matter nitrogen from the soil is used to break down the material. Don't put fresh greens into a no till soil for this reason.