First time organic grower so sorry if this has been asked a hundred times but how do you keep living soil after harvest ? And second do you pull the root ball out or leave it ? Does it still need to be watered ?
Thanks for any help.
Stage: Vegetative | Strain Breeder: 00 Seeds Bank | Strain: 🧬 Blue Dream | Environment: 💡 Indoor - Indoor
growithjane.com
Never pull foot ball in living soil. It's all about the rhizosphere. That's the world around the roots. You feed the life in the soil. Not the plant. Nematodes, predatory mites, red wigglers, microbes, cover crop (I grow basil, cilantro, mint, lavender, parsley in between. Preying mantis, lady bugs. Lots of clean air. But mycorrhiza is crucial and it's useless in small pots. It works best in big deep pots with multiple plants. Watch fantastic fungi. The fungi acts as a middle man, it attaches to roots and connects plants. If one is short on N it will ship N from another plant in exchange for carbs. They also act as root extensions, getting into places faster than the tree. And areas too dry for cannabis roots, helping prevent roots from locking up, and if you play with dry back get it. I start dry back generally the last week, and black out 3-4 days before harvest. I want the fungi stretching and thinking the plant is dying in shock so it pumps that plant with whatever it has until the plants turn. Always keep wet. Never gave water run through it. Don't worry about PH, true living soil PHs itself. But keep water under 100 ppm. Preferably RO. I use
mammoth silica, canna control, and P or you can make
Mammoth P it's so expensive. I use unsulfured black molasses for carbs. And avacado treatment to bring the red wigglers up from the bottom. They aerate, and after feeding you will have a well if fresh worm casings. If you get into living you will become a soil nerd. I vermicompst, spray nematodes on everything in and outside on 1 acre. Never use neem, chrysanthemum oil kills everything,
diatomaceous earth is your friend. But use correctly. It's the hardest to grow but best medicine, no salts, I can fit my nutes for 2 years in a small drawer. I let the life in the soil do it. In fact I've had to cut it because it was hot. If it dries all your bennys die. Bennys, Myko are what make living soil living soil. Careful not to dry out Bennys with
diatomaceous earth
I grow craft and build commercial grows, generally hydro. Imo if you're not in at least 30 gallons forget about living soil. I'm in 300 gallons. I cut and plant next to last harvest, 4-6 plants, 1 led light.