Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS) and No Till Thread

[st0wandgrow]

Hey organifolk, this is what I saw when I lifted my pot out of the tray this morning after watering last night. I think they are springtails judging from a few pictures that I've seen online including the picture below this one. I know they're typically regarded as beneficial but what is considered an overabundance? This? lol .........This is what the entire perimeter of the 16 inch tray looks like.
View attachment 3495074
View attachment 3495073

They're harmless from what I've read, but they are a nuisance when sifting castings. I just lay a melon rind on top of my worm bin the day before harvest, and they accumulate on the rind which I then pick out and toss in the trash.

 

[bizfactory]

I just read the convo about dutch clover attracting spider mites a few pages back...I'm pretty concerned. Haven't had any mites the first two grows but I wasn't doing no-till and no cover crop / mulch. Should I chop them down and let them compost? Totally remove them? Stop freaking out about it?? haha

I have nightmares about spider mites..

 

[anzohaze]

I just read the convo about dutch clover attracting spider mites a few pages back...I'm pretty concerned. Haven't had any mites the first two grows but I wasn't doing no-till and no cover crop / mulch. Should I chop them down and let them compost? Totally remove them? Stop freaking out about it?? haha

I have nightmares about spider mites..

Flame thrower is a must... just playing just keep a close eye on them and watch for them

 

[bizfactory]

Is it really worth the benefits of the clover vs the risk of mites? At least my humidity has been pretty low.

 

[anzohaze]

Is it really worth the benefits of the clover vs the risk of mites? At least my humidity has been pretty low.

Well you could always switch your cover crop to something satisfying to you...
My friend has his own small business and what he does. Instead of actual clover or crops he will use micro greens arugula (not spelt correct) spinach I believe etc(not sure what all micro green he uses but it takes like 5 days to grow ( I think) he then turns around and sells it to
High end resturants for decent money. If the soil is not right it will be shit. But we'll established soil will shoot them micro greens like nothin

 

[DonBrennon]

Gave a friend 5 blueberry cuts (fem'd) & 5 bubblegum cuts (reg). Turns out the bubblegum has hermie tendance and has pollenated his grow, badly.

Couple of questions or points to ponder:

Anyone tried or had thoughts about sst with cannabis seeds, what the benefits may be?

Anyone tried or had thoughts about cannabis fpe? (The mother plant is getting it, just don't want them genetics anywhere near my room)

 

[Midwest Weedist]

Honestly I never had mite issues until this year, that's around a year and a half of having a decent amount of clovers growing inside before seeing spider mites. I think they're worth it, given that your rh stays below like 60% and you don't have a ridiculous amount of available nitrogen. My assumption of what spawned the mites in my case is an rh consistently above ~60% and higher temperatures. They also only showed up in my planters for my aloe that have clovers, but very little Neem/Karanja/Vermicompost/etc. My cannabis planters have at least three different species of clovers and absolutely no spider mites. Plenty of beneficial mites though!
My opinion, you're fine with clovers. Though if you're paranoid about it, there are a multitude of cover crops that work well indoors. BuildASoil sells a 12 and 15 species pack of cover crop seeds. Amazon has all kinds of legumes for only a couple dollars per pound. I think on the page before this or possibly one more back than that, someone listed a handful of them that work well.

Is it really worth the benefits of the clover vs the risk of mites? At least my humidity has been pretty low.

 

[bizfactory]

Ty midwest! I think i'll leave them for now, maybe try the chamomile / yarrow combo after harvest assuming it goes well.

 

[4ftRoots]

Ty midwest! I think i'll leave them for now, maybe try the chamomile / yarrow combo after harvest assuming it goes well.

I think if you keep your nitrogen in check the yarrow and chamomile would give your plants more benefit. The clover grows quickly and requires more mowing anyway.

 

[bizfactory]

Thanks for the tips...what exactly do you mean by keeping the nitrogen in check? I'm not planning on doing any particular feeding besides maybe a tea before flower. This is also my first fully organic / no till grow so I'm still learning.

 

[4ftRoots]

Thanks for the tips...what exactly do you mean by keeping the nitrogen in check? I'm not planning on doing any particular feeding besides maybe a tea before flower. This is also my first fully organic / no till grow so I'm still learning.

When I used the clover in my pots I relied on its ability to fix nitrogen into the soil to give my plants nitrogen. Now that I changed to my new cover crops I topdress N sources every so often since I lost my nitrogen source the clover. If you keep your soil well fed you shouldn't have a problem. Just wanted to make sure no one forgot that the clover does add a good amount of nitrogen.

 

[Pattahabi]

This is from New Mexico State, it might give some ideas on what is going on with fixation, and how you can control N levels accordingly.

Nitrogen Fixation by Legumes

P-

 

[Mohican]

I grew soybeans a few years ago. Their roots were covered with nodules!

The edamame was the best tasting I had ever had!

 

[ShLUbY]

Do any of you use sand in your mix? I live by lake huron and beach sand is an easy resource for me... good silica source i would think... maybe use as part of a rock dust blend?

 

[AllDayToker]

Well I know sand helps with drainage.

 

[ShLUbY]

So I just measured out my first batch of ingredients. I think this mix will be good enough for no-till for a few runs at least!

Soil Mix
9 gal of Sunshine #4 mix (it's 2:1 peat to perlite)
3 gal of the growstone gnat mix (recycled glass => pumice)
3 gal of wiggle worms EWC
3 gal of Ancient Forest

Rock Dust Mix
4 cups Cascade minerals
1 cup C.B.D. minerals
1 cup Azomite
1 cup Oyster Shell
1/2 cup Greensand

Amendments
1 cup Crab Shell
1 cup Neem Meal
1 cup Kelp Meal
1 cup Gypsum
1/4 cup Alfalfa Meal
1/4 cup Epsom Salts

I'm brewing up some Boogie Brew tea now, and as of this moment I have not mixed the soil together or inoculated it. It's going to be used in a 20 gal container and I'm hoping there will be a few inches of space left at the top of the pot.

1) is there anything that I missed? I don't think so but maybe I'm missing the obvious.

2) All i have is a plastic tote to mix in at the moment. Should I drill so holes in it to allow air to get to the soil? or will holes in the lid be enough to let it do its thing for 4 weeks?

 

[Rrog]

Clearly some but not all have issues with mites and clover. Not sure what is up, but since it's easy as shit to add N, try another cover crop. In my book the big benefit from a crop in between Canna grows is to keep the micro-herd busy and ready to go when I plug in the next Canna in the no-till sequence. The fact that clover might add N (if needed) was simply a plus.

 

[bizfactory]

Clearly some but not all have issues with mites and clover. Not sure what is up, but since it's easy as shit to add N, try another cover crop. In my book the big benefit from a crop in between Canna grows is to keep the micro-herd busy and ready to go when I plug in the next Canna in the no-till sequence. The fact that clover might add N (if needed) was simply a plus.

Yeah I think I'm going to switch but how do I go about that? I've been snipping the clover down slowly but surely each day. Will it keep growing back? It's still pretty small at this point.

 

[Rrog]

It'll keep growing back. I guess you'd pull it or start another pot fresh

 

[bizfactory]

Well fuck, I'm can't start any new pots soon. Oh well, hopefully I'm a lucky one.