Motherlode Gardens 2014
- Thread starter Shcrews
- Start date
thanks for stoppin by, the native soil is pretty much impossible to grow big plants, red clay and lots of rocks and boulders.
I am really happy with our soil mix this year, it works great in this climate.
We thought about it, but we want to be able to top dress the pots. Also i've never used mulch before and we can't afford to make rookie mistakes on that type of shit, there are mixed reviews on most mulches.
If you use a composted mulch it will improve your soil. It would just help with evaporation and help keep your roots cool. I imagine it would cut down on watering amounts/times.
Another reason is because it can make available terpenes or extra terpenes if the plant needs it.
Another reason is because it can make available terpenes or extra terpenes if the plant needs it.
Can you show me a study that links mulching with an increase in plant metabolites? Thanks.
just go with some straw bro, trust me it helps and I think worms and such munch on it as it breaks down. plus cheap. don't need a city college kid to write a report telling ya what works..gardens kickin yall handwaterin sux but it makes ya tuff!
I second that notion. I'm no expert, but straw is much less labor intensive to apply and is quick to remove when you want to top dress or for whatever other reason.
I figured as much about the soil. If you want to lessen your work watering though I have a couple ideas.
Something an old head turned me on to is poking holes in the bottom of plastic bottles and burying them up to the mouth by the plant. Whenever you pour the water through the bottle, it goes directly to the root area inches below the surface of the soil. This way it takes less time for the water to get through the soil and to the roots AND much more of the water you pour is actually getting to the roots as opposed to being evaporated while on or near the surface of the soil.
Another idea for next season is to keep the soil mix that you have now (which is kicking ass!) but dig holes in the ground big enough to fill with the same amount of your soil that you have in the smartpots or just bury the smartpots in the ground.
The ground stays at a pretty constant temperature (at 2 ft deep it's about 66 degrees) which is much cooler than the temperature of pots above the ground. The temperature of pots above ground are influenced by the air temperature. On a hot day, the soil in those pots gets hotter than the ~66 degrees that the soil would stay at if the pots were buried in the ground, thus the water in the pots above ground evaporates much quicker than the water in pots buried in the ground would. Less evaporation means less watering that needs to be done and also there is also less heat and moisture stress on the plants because the soil stays moist longer and the soil temperature doesn't get too high.
This obviously means more prep work before the season (although I'm sure you could just rent a backhoe to make the digging much quicker and easier as well as making the pouring of your soil mix into the holes quicker and easier) as a tradeoff for less work in the dog days of summer hauling water.
It's also eco-friendly in a place where water ain't so plentiful
warthog
Member
this.. mulching is definitely important, and straw works great
Looking great schrews!
No commercial farms use straw for mulch , I could in to the reasons why it isn't a preferred material ... But there's no need.
If you're really interested in mulch , fabric mulch is the top choice. The even have biodegradable ones made from non GMO corn starch
If you're really interested in mulch , fabric mulch is the top choice. The even have biodegradable ones made from non GMO corn starch
CoastalKind
Member
I would recommend composted cow manure as a top dressing. It is very gentle and will not burn your plants while improving soil structure and water retention. You could even mix it with some fish bone meal and whatever else you where going to use for your top dressing.
You could always seed your containers with wheat grass, some kind of clover, or other "living mulch." I cut the grass regularly and the worms have come to stay, transforming the mounds to castings.
epicorchard
Member
Mulch?
Mulch?
I agree. The goal is to grow big plants, large enough that they shade the ground under them. Of course if youre having trouble with the big plant part, then by all means... mulch away! lol
Mulch?
I agree. The goal is to grow big plants, large enough that they shade the ground under them. Of course if youre having trouble with the big plant part, then by all means... mulch away! lol
haha I'm 5'9 and I was 115lbs when i moved away to college, any food on earth and i could still have abs my dude
All our big plants are shading their pots now. still lots of stuff to handle and i'm not sure mulch will ever make it into the picture.
Next year is your goal to have every pot be consistent ?
of course man. already have plans for next year including upgrading all the pots to 800's, good drip system, all seeds, supp lighting thru july, etc...
So far the Bodhi Ancient OG are the best structure of all the plants on the hill so we might get a few packs of them for next season, they are 10' tall x 8' wide and were the last seedlings planted. suprisingly the one in a 400 is bigger than the 800.
