This is a random plant that has been through hell. It has been rained on, sun shock, over fertilised, starved, strong winds, random organic lifter added and sea sol. It was just a bag seed and I didn't expect much of it. Untill it started showing signs of noticable growth with the last week of strong sun. I took it from outside and put it in the cupboard with a 130w 6400w CFL al foil for reflecting light. No fan or exhaust.. no timer.. or plumbing. Just a plant in a pot with light. I am watering with cheap granule fertiliser x sea sol (sea weed extract) x water in a spray bottle all shaken up. Using as a foliar too. Any comments or opinions ?
Plants need ventilation or they'll use up all the co2 and suffocate Al foil is dangerous because it conducts electricity and it's a worse reflector than plain white paint
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I know they need 02 but its a nice cupboard I don't want to paint it haha. I have a complete other setup I would like to show u guys. This is really an experiment.
Not bad considering what you say she's been through. I will have to report you to protective services as she's been abused and needs to go to a good home Btw do you grow in wood chips lol? Jk, in the one pic it just looks like you grabbed some wood chips off a playground
It's mulch that you see on the top of the soil Has been left to break down for 8 weeks then put 5 cms or 3 inches of chips and leaves in the pot. Adds nitrogen to the soil but if you don't wait 8 weeks for the fresh mulch to break down - it can steal nitrogen from your plant and the soil.
The microbes responsible for breaking down organic matter will steal plant available nitrogen. I see a lot of people mix in wood chips into gardens and soil. As long as you leave them on the surface and dont mix them into the soil you shouldn't see too much N theft.
How do micro pores "break down organic matter"?. They are microbes? Organic matter naturally breaks down with the application of heat and uv (and naturally in general). It wouldn't hurt to mix mulch with soil however the best results come from top application with mulch that's at least 8 weeks old. Mulch can't be a bad thing for your soil as it adds nitrogen and also the plants feed on the nutrients the mulch provides... Or something.
I didn't say micropores, as there's no way airspace in soil can break down organic matter. Reread what I wrote. You're wrong about organic matter being broken down by heat and uv. Microbes living in the soil break down organic matter, and create heat in the process. Think about a compost pile being broken down, it's not the heat breaking it down. It's the enormous population of microbes being housed that heat that pile and break it down. As microbe populations explode in the presence of organic matter (carbon), they take up and immobilize nitrogen, making a large part of it inaccessible to plants. As the mulch decomposes, the carbon levels decline and the microorganism populations die back, and release or mineralize nitrogen back into the soil. This is why we compost things (wood chips) before mixing them into our soil. But again, as long as they stay on top of the soil, you're fine. Happy gardening
How do micro pores "break down organic matter"?. They are microbes? Organic matter naturally breaks down with the application of heat and uv (and naturally in general). It wouldn't hurt to mix mulch with soil however the best results come from top application with mulch that's at least 8 weeks old. Mulch can't be a bad thing for your soil as it adds nitrogen and also the plants feed on the nutrients the mulch provides... Or something. I think that you are right. I know what you mean now. Your talking about fungi and O horizo b horizon ect? Was I wrong too that heat/uv/the elements do excel the rate of compostingk?
You are right that heat does excel the rate of composting. But it is not what is responsible for the break down of carbon.