Hey guys, finally starting to add worms to my already established plants and want to add a dead mulch layer. Just wanted to check and make sure that I was going after the right products since it has been a while since I last read about both of those things. I plan on getting red wigglers and adding them right into the tops of my pots. I have 10 gallon smart pots, and was wondering how many worms I should do roughly per pot? And also, what type of dead mulch layer would be best? I have heard straw, barley straw, alfalfa, cannabis leaves, etc. So far I was planning on using one type of straw and also the waste from pruning (leaves, stems, etc). I also read that certain types of mulch are better during veg and certain better during flower (more wood and straw during veg for more bacteria and more leaf type material like cannabis and comfrey leaves during flower for fungi) and was wondering if this was true or whether I could add both at the same time for simplicity reasons. Thanks guys!
there is no need to change mulch from veg to flower. just use whats readily available to you. i use dry leaves.
Hey you're on the right track. Generally a handful of red wigglers is the recommended amount. You don't need many, they will increase their population based on the pot size and available food. The best mulch is the cheapest and most easily available. From there, you can consider things that break down slowly, like wood chips and straw (high carbon:nitrogen ratio); or quickly like comfrey and other fresh leaves (low C:N ratio). Probably the best would be a mixture of types and sizes. High C:N material will promote fungal growth, and remain in place for longer. Low C:N will promote bacterial growth, and will cycle nutrients more quickly. Comfrey has a lot of nutrients and breaks down quickly, which is why it is a popular "fertilizer." If you have a mixture of materials, you will get the best of both worlds, plus you will get air gaps and pores, creating an awesome spongy texture as the material decays. As scooby said, no need to change mulch from veg to flower. Decay is a slow process. Think of it as an investment for your next 1, 2, 3+ cycles. Consider the environment that a natural cannabis plant would grow in: layer upon layer of dead cannabis from years past. So twigs of varying thicknesses, along with leaves of different sizes. The leaves probably decay in one year, while the branches might take 2-3 depending on their size. To that end, definitely add your leaves and stems back as mulch. One other thing to consider is that some hay or hay/straw mixes will have seeds and/or herbicides in them, so know your source. In the end, don't overthink it. Whatever you have available will do just fine. toaster
@toaster37 Thank you for all the info man! So as for comfrey, is it worth buying some on amazon to mulch with? I notice its pretty expensive and Im sure it grows around my house but would I risk bringing in bugs or any contaminants with taking it from outside? I am also thinking of purchasing barley straw from amazon as I dont know where I could source it locally and I have bags in my freezer of cannabis leaves so Im thinking at first just barley straw and the cannabis leaves on top. Would this be sufficient?
If you can't get the comfrey for free by growing in backyard, I would skip it. Free is one of its biggest advantages. I do not use it, since I live in an apartment, but whenever I go hiking I keep my eyes out for other dynamic accumulators like stinging nettle, burdock, etc. You can start your search for dynamic accumulators here: Is this dock? Yes, you risk bringing in bugs. Have you thought about growing a cover crop, and chopping that to build up a mulch layer? Then you would know exactly what you were getting, and no bugs. If you do buy straw, I would check locally first, even home depot has bales this time of year. You will pay through the nose if you ship it. It depends how much and what you are top dressing, and how thick and how broken down your mulch layer is. Use your judgement on this one, as in, do you think the top dressing will make it most of the way to the soil. If it is a sprinkle of worm castings, that will basically get watered down to the soil layer. If it is 2 inches of castings, you might want to move the mulch, spread castings, then re-apply mulch. Most people around here tend to top dress once in between cycles, and once around the start of flower, at least for the first 3-4 cycles. It saves on effort, compared to a sprinkle every week. hth toaster
" ..would I risk bringing in bugs or any contaminants with taking it from outside? " You can put a cooler outside and place the mulch into it. Boil enough water to cover - pour the water in the cooler and close the top. After a few hours you can take it out and shake it off, any nasties are dead and it's ready to use.
dont buy comfrey from amazon. if you want to grow your own you must get the bocking 14 root cutting otherwise you will have to deal with one of the most invasive plants on earth, and nigh impossible to get rid of. the bocking 14 is a sterile cultivar so it wont spread, just make sure to plant it where you want it cause once its established you are not getting rid of it. If you are just looking for mulch, buy a stack of hay or gather some dry leaves.
Bugs will find their way into your house no matter what unless you live in one of those positive pressure, sealed, deals. Any fresh comfrey brought in goes in the freezer for a bit to speed breakdown, but also takes care of bugs/eggs from warm weather bugs that were recently laid. I mainly use pine bark mulch for mulch. I also use perlite as mulch (outside), whichever is closest to hand, I'm not real picky. Last year, by happy accident, I found that a blend of perlite and the pine bark worked really well and will be doing that more this year for outside. Inside, it's just the pine bark mulch, or none at all, depending on the size of the container. Small pots get none, it's more trouble than it's worth. Wet
I go with the hybrid approach. For big containers I like to build with layers. Small bark plus ricehulls. Then a layer of leaves (good way to use trim). Then some vmc. Then I kind of start over. The vmc I use has ricehulls and bark. I can get away with leaves, then vmc, then repeat. I go this route because it really encourages root growth all the way into the upper most layers. It also keeps the worms very happy and their populations prolific. I feel that leaves feed the bacteria, and the bark feeds the fungus. The worms eat them all. For those that don't know, bark breaks down and feeds the microbes in the soil. It also becomes humus in a short time period (less than a year depending on size). I now think of bark like its the 'really fast' rock dust, plus it holds a lot of water to keep the upper layers moist and thriving. I also agree that the mix of perlite in the mulch zone works incredible. For the easiest of all, and simplest mulch. Rice hulls are easy peasy! I like this approach for small or really crowded pots. They break down and turn to silica. Win win. cheers os
I REALLY got to get to the feed store and see if he can order rice hulls for me. Not only for everything OS mentioned, but the Biochar from hulls has sounded good to me for some time. Just the right size and way less fuss than crunching up lump charcoal. It just seems a win - win - win. Wet
@toaster37 Would a cover crop be something I would normally only do at the beginning of a cycle? I feel like currently it would probably not even sprout since my plants are quite big at this point. However, that is definitely something I will be doing for the next cycle, thank you for that tip! Also, yeah, I had been top dressing minimally every watering (i water once a week) but will definitely be switching to a once in veg and once in flower type cycle. @wetdog Ahh yes! I totally forgot about pine bark mulch! I believe what I will do is grab some pine bark mulch and apply it with my trimmings and either some rice hulls or barley straw. Also, is there a specific reason perlite works good as a mulch? Is it just for the aeration aspect or does it hold some type of nutrient within it? @Organic sinse Out of the rice hulls and barley straw, is there one you would pick over the other? The way I see it is that the rice hulls would probably decompose faster and lead to another source of silica which, as mentioned above, is a great plus but I didn't know if there was something regarding the barley straw that I was over looking. My plan now is to incorporate worms, then add pine bark mulch with either rice hulls or barley straw, then trimmings, and then some ewc on top. When I cycle these pots after I harvest Ill do a cover crop and then mulch that also to add to the full picture. Do you think that sounds sufficient? Thank you to all of you who are helping me understand this better!
Cover crops can be used in a lot of ways, but yeah they usually go in at the beginning of a cycle. You will do great with that plan.
Sorry, I hate it when my reply gets stuck inside of a quote like that ^^^ and really try to avoid it happening. Screwed something up. Wet