Cover crop on your soil?

Does anyone else have a cover crop on top of their soil while growing? (Or before growing?) Clover, and alfalfa are examples of a nitrogen fixing cover crops. Alfalfa grows a bit tall, but it was just an example. I think there could be some benefits to that, besides the nitrogen, it would add additional pro-bacteria I would imagine. Suggestions? Comments? Experiences?

@willd I think is the man to talk to about that!

:v::evergreen_tree::evergreen_tree:

2 Likes

There are a lot of people that seem to live by it. Iā€™ve even seen grass planted in pots lol. Apparently if you regularly trim the grass clippings have added benefit.

Clover mites

Are clover mites bad? Not all bugs areā€¦Grass? That would be another excuse to enter the grow roomā€¦ ā€œHoney, I have to mow the grow room, Iā€™ll be back in awhile!ā€ Lol I already was getting jabs for ā€œtending to the plantsā€ so often. My excuse was that they were needy seedlings that needed my attention.

1 Like

I donā€™t think theyā€™re good. But I couldnā€™t tell you why.

Iā€™m not sure on the whole grass thing, I just seen it somewhere on the interwebz.

I also saw the some clover somewhere on the internet. I saw it in the video that was posted on here somewhere. Thought it was interesting, if it had merit, i figured someone had to have tried it at least. Heck I would try it especially if it was beneficial. (Canā€™t hurt can it?)

I suspect thereā€™s probably some plants that are best to avoid, but if you had the right cover crop it wouldnā€™t hurt. Iā€™ve never used them, so canā€™t help much.

1 Like

So, intentionally cultivating anything other than your cannabis is going to sap more nutrients away from your plants than it could ever release back into the soil while itā€™s alive. Cover crops are intended to enrich the soil BEFORE you plant. We plant annual rye or buckwheat after harvest in fall and then till it under in spring.

I prefer to use mulch straw or wood chips but nothing works as well as landscape fabric.

7 Likes

I would absolutely agree that cover crop as well as companions for pests, etc. is a good idea because you are creating the symbiotic relationship between the plant, the soil and everything else. Also, anything with an aroma or a ā€˜perfumenessā€™ to it is good to keep most things away. I also added sunflower & marigold.

1 Like