V
vonforne
Some of you are much better with your mixes than I am. I've never honestly tried a second cycle without adding something and recooking.
Again though, wouldn't this depend on veg time?
cycling is basically...´cooking´ once the plants are harvested you leave the roots and all intact along with any soil micro organisms. Now your plant will never use all of the nutrients in the soil. What you see at the end of a growth cycle is the plant ending its life.....not the soil running out of nutrients. Cannabis after all is an annual.
ML is also correct in his statement with the mulch whether it is alive or not. The entire grow cycle it is adding to the soil. And during the grow cycle you are adding compost teas and EWC slurries which add certain amounts of organic matter to the substrate.
After a cycle I like to add just compost and or EWC. I used to turn the soil but now just leave it be and add to the surface. I do top dress at times during a growth cycle. So, it all adds up in the end. A little here and a little there.
If in the beginning you have added rock powders, DE, SRF, Kelp it will remain for the most part in the soil. The benefits of rock powders for example will not be seen for 2,3 or 4 cycles because of the slower decomposition rate it requires.
And most of us here are soil builders over time. Mostly with compost in one form or another.
V