Your first line is contradictory. I guess just why? Why introduce heavy metals and rely on them being sequestered? When you could be using cleaner inputs.
I meant “just any manure”. Gonna fix that now
Why? Because it feeds the soil and the microbial communities who clean up the issue. If you have healthy soil, good aggregates, good OM, and good microbial communities you won’t have to worry about the uptake.
My focus is on growing healthy soil that is fertile, self regulating, and sustainable. Its a shift in perspective from focusing on growing plants to growing soils and then letting the soil take care of the plant. I’m not worried about build up either because I rotate what I’ve got growing in either my pots or outdoors. That helps me keep disease and weeds (outdoors) down while increasing fertility and OM by leaving residues on the soil. If HM are a concern for me, I would grow something like sunflowers that are hyperaccumulators and remove heavy metals better than cannabis.
This can definitely be done indoors if you reuse soil as well. When you aren’t using a pot, plant clover in it. There are arabidopsis species you can get seeds for that will absolutely pull metals from that. Bring in a grass or brassica species and you’ve got a lot of functions working together to keep the soil healthy and your plants clean. The soil is an ecosystem and energy and resources cycle through an ecosystem.
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You’re not wrong, but why put yourself in a position to rely on what’s being done with those toxins? Many folks grow indoors. Especially in the u.s where it’s almost a necessity. Applying these concepts that work well with hectares of land will not work the same way in 5, 7 or 15 gallons of soil. My opinion is feeding as few ‘empty calories’ as possible. Just because you can stay lean off poptarts doesn’t mean you should.
I suppose it’s an agree to disagree situation. My experience is indoors. Yours seems to be outdoors and there are many things that can’t be used both ways.
We are applying this knowledge to different settings and that’s okay. I also focus on building soil but it’s done in a sustainable way than can be used indoors.
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We can agree to disagree on this, I think its a difference in our growing styles and philosophies.
I’d argue that things do work indoors like that even at that size. There are studies using mesocosms of various size not even close to an acre that support my choices. But I do it to reach my goal, not someone else’s.
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I would be very interested to hear how you are growing sustainably indoors!! This is a pretty hot debate right now and I am definitely curious to hear from people who are doing it and doing it well!
I appreciate this debate. I would argue that under 7 gallons, you aren’t going to see the same microbe populations or densities and therefore won’t see the same benefits expected from larger container sizes. Microbe populations and density will be different in 5 gallons vs 15 gallons of the same exact soil mix. Which, to me, would mean that things won’t be used in similar rates or broken down at similar rates. I have a thread documenting loosely how I’ve made my soil. I rely on compost(tea leaves, coffee, kitchen scraps, pine needles, coco coir, cannabis leaf, etc ) green wood chips, leaf mold, and composted walnut shells/cherry pits. I also vermicompost indoors, have outdoor compost piles and cover crop indoors. I look forward to seeing you start a log yourself. I’ve enjoyed the pictures you’ve put up so far.
That being said, I have VERY little experience with outdoor growing. One harvest of 5 plants outdoors. I’m a total novice there
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This was fun!
You will absolutely smack it if you do more outside. You clearly understand how to grow and what is needed!
I like that soil recipe! I love seeing what other people are doing. I’m definitely not a professional grower just a researcher with a passion!
Also…its not so much the size of the container you use (to a degree) its the density of the plants that are growing. I like options, you would be horrified with what I’m doing!
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I have been saying the same thing without much proof.
This question is directed at both @DirtySlowToes and the @ThePotanist
What is your opinion on the use of mycorrhizae indoors?
Will extra large pots make a difference when using mycorrhizae indoors?
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You can use a smaller pot because myc benefits go beyond just nutrient acquisition. You can feel pretty confident of inoculation if you have fresh spores (or a soil inoculant from somewhere outside, just check for pests) especially if you add your spores at the root zone when you plant into the container.
There is a caveat here, if you are using myc make sure you aren’t heavily feeding your plants. In the presence of excess nutrients plants stop benefiting as much as they don’t need to trade sugars for nutrients with fungus. This will absolutely effect your yield and shift the relationship from mutualistic to parasitic.
If you reuse soil, plant a cover in your pot after harvest and the roots will continue to feed the microbes, this will also help kick up soil respiration and help cycle nutrients from dead roots to soil.
I’ve done experiments with 4th graders illustrating the effects of mycorrhizae in small plots with high density plantings and with single plant plantings. I think the results are more apparent with high density, but we had noticeable and statistically significant differences in root length, shoot length, and yield in single planted pots as well.
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Hey man. I read somewhere that cannabis benefits from the same myco fungi that grow on onion roots. My question is - Have you seen any research about this? Also, I have an established onion and garlic bed. Do you think there would be any problems or benefits from planting cannabis into these existing beds with the onions and garlic still growing there? Thank you.
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Good question!
So when you talking myc arbuscular mychorizal fungi (AMF) are what you want. There are many genera and species of AMF but most of them are pretty general in what plants they associate with.
I would think it would be fine to plant Cannabis with your onions and garlic, but there isn’t much info on intercropping cannabinoid cannabis and other crops. Potential issues would be disease, pests, or competition. We don’t see much pest issues on Cannabis where I am, but we have a good amount of fungal problems if growers aren’t careful. Because onion and garlic tops are not very thick that probably wouldn’t be too much of a problem
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I’ve been growing Leeks and Scallions around my plants for a few years and will continue to do so in the future. I’ll try some onions this year too.
Some photos of my girls are here; [2023 Massachusetts Outdoor Growing]
(2023 Massachusetts Outdoor Growing) at Oct 4th, 92/146.
I try to use “Companion Planting” guidelines when possible and use flowers and herbs as
deterrents to insects and other critters.
Onions should be cool.
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Hell yeah @sunra108 !! I love companion planting! Just another form of cover cropping. Plants send out a lot of chemical signals in the form of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Often these are used to warn neighboring plants of stress and prime secondary metabolites responses so they can produce more as deterrents. They also attract a lot of predatory and parasitic insects that are friends in the field.
Id love to talk more about companion planting sometime! I don’t think people use them to their fullest effect, and to the surprise of no one who has read my posts I have some opinions on why we should use them more
I have used yarrow and stinging nettle as companion plants with cannabis. I tried oregano but the plants died. Too much water. I feel that companion plants help a lot.
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Yeah the hard part is finding the best companion!
I try to think of what I want a companion plant to do, what its function is. I like white clover because the roots don’t interfere with Cannabis and they can add some nitrogen for later on. Through in some broadleaves and flowers and you’ve got a lot of weed suppression, soil feeding, and pest control going on.
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Have you ever used composted chicken shit and straw on cannabis? what do you think is the shortest amount of time to compost and add to plants.
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@Magu I have used composted chicken litter before! I like straw as a thick top layer as it really helps to retain water.
When adding something that will need to breakdown to become available for plants, the rule of thumb is add 10-14 days early. The breakdown rate will depend on climate, microbial populations, and the carbon:nitrogen (C:N) of the material added. The higher the carbon the longer the breakdown process (why straw is good on top), if the ratio is low so high nitrogen, the faster it will breakdown
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Yeah, I am into plant/fungi communication.
Really enjoy Paul Stamets work.
His “Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World”
Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World - Search (bing.com)
discusses plant/fungi communications albeit more from a mycelium perspective than botanical but
it is all interwoven and interconnected. I find the discoveries and ever-increasing understanding of
how and why Nature functions from molecules to organisms fascinating.
I’ll be checking out your threads. I’ve got a lot to learn from you.
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Appreciate the kind words! I hope I can help those who want to transition or improve their grows to more sustainable and ecological based ideas.
As an undergrad my first research project was looking at floral nectar production and priming based on mycelium mediated communication!
DM if you ever specific questions or just want to talk! Im very passionate about sustainable agriculture and Cannabis! If we don’t share the information then we can’t change for the better
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