I just finished my first cycle of a indoor no till grow. Using 30 gallon smart pots. Used the watering schedule layed out in the no till thread. Everything through out the grow went flawless and I couldn't be happier with the yeild and quality. I'm about 2-3 weeks out from transplanting the next batch of seedlings into the 30 gallon pots. My question is is there anything I should be giving the soil in between cycles??
A thick layer of finely ground up leaves on top for a mulch works great. Dryer leaves grind up easy, greener stuff i shred and chop. I like a mix of both kinds. I would then mist the mulch to get it breaking down. cheers os
Be sure to keep your soil watered and 'alive'. If it has gotten a little dried out an EWC or compost top dressing, or an EWC tea will help. P-
I just top dressed with ewc, kelp meal, and neem meal then covered with straw and watered in thoroughly with plain water with 1/4 cup aloe per gallon. Also thinking of throwing some crimson clover in there to start a a living mulch on top of already existing mulch. Anybody have any thoughts towards this?
I personally feel that dead mulch is far more beneficial in container gardening than a living mulch. I always want to keep the decomposers happy in the soil, and hard at work. The top dress of neem, kelp, and ewc is a win. cheers os
I have the dead mulch ( straw) on the bottom would adding the living mulch upset the decomposes or do u just think it's a waste of time and not benificial?
The living mulch won't upset anything, I just feel its not terribly beneficial between cycles unless it is going to be a very long time between cycles. If it was a new mix that had never seen plant life, it would be more beneficial to run the cover crop to get the ball bouncing. Over the years I have tried the clover cover crops in containers and it just seems like piling on mulch really does more in the end, and its way easier. I used to be a huge advocate for cover crops, but mulching is where it is at. I first ran the clover because I didn't have mulch to add, and it was winter and couldn't get any. I also read about a lot of folks having issues with pests in their clover, but I never saw that myself. I do have a houseplant or 2 that are very old with clover growing in unison with the other plants, but for canna it doesn't work for me. There is no wrong way, just my $.02. What you have done so far is great. cheers os
That makes sense I'll hold off on the clover for the time being. it will be much better utilized in my outdoor gardens anyway as a fall cover crop thanks for the advice
You can talk dress with some help neem meal and working into the first inch of soil I personally like to use crab shell because it breaks down very slowly Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
I've stopped using living mulch for the most part. Like others have said if you get bug or mold problems the cover crop is a real pita. Applying compost and mulch works much better in my gardens. P-
That's the route I take. Its way easier to harvest some from the lawn or a bed, and then mulch it on a container. cheers os