Mulch indoors anyone?

[stoned-monkey]

So i understand and use mulch outside, but what about indoors?

The only three things i see for mulch inside is stopping bugs (perlite to stop fungus gnates), looks nice, and possibly increasing fungi.

It may help reduce watering but if that much light(heat) is hitting your soil youre growing ineffeciently. Also i suppose certian materials like pine needles can alter soil ph.

So anybody use or tried mulch indoors? What, why, how? Did you recycle your soil still?

 

[ShLUbY]

So i understand and use mulch outside, but what about indoors?

The only three things i see for mulch inside is stopping bugs (perlite to stop fungus gnates), looks nice, and possibly increasing fungi.

It may help reduce watering but if that much light(heat) is hitting your soil youre growing ineffeciently. Also i suppose certian materials like pine needles can alter soil ph.

So anybody use or tried mulch indoors? What, why, how? Did you recycle your soil still?

of course we use mulch indoors. you don't need light for evaporation of water from the soil. entropy is what makes your water evaporate, heat (energy) just speeds up the process. Keeping the upper most horizon moist is crucial, especially if you are applying topdressings.

mulch also prevents erosion of your soil, caused by the force of water in direct contact with the soil. the mulch slows the flow of water into the soil so it doesn't run right through.

mulch also provides a dark, yet airy place for your organisms to reside in and also break down materials, keeping them happy and the soil food web more complete. that darkness also allows roots to grow right up the upper most horizon of the soil (where all the action is).

there are numerous posts and examples of this throughout the organics section. These are just my philosophies.

 

[stoned-monkey]

Otherthan the compost/topdressing what are you using? I think mulch and things like pine needles wood chips stone and straw come to mind. Maybe just overthinking the "indoor" part of it.
All my outdoor plants and in/out door plants get mulch.

 

[Tyleb173rd]

Mulching has been an issue for me. It can’t be dusty. I don’t want to track in bugs. I don’t want it to be messy either. What about a coco coir tree ring?

 

[ShLUbY]

Otherthan the compost/topdressing what are you using? I think mulch and things like pine needles wood chips stone and straw come to mind. Maybe just overthinking the "indoor" part of it.
All my outdoor plants and in/out door plants get mulch.

we're trying to simulate the outdoors inside . I just use what I have on hand: pumice, cannabis stalks (chopped into <1" segments) and leaves, rice hulls, straw, brown leaves from outside, sand.... pretty much anything pine needles are fine as well as pine bark fines, fine wood chips, brown cardboard, hell even a piece of panda film loosely covering the soil works.

 

[ShLUbY]

Mulching has been an issue for me. It can’t be dusty. I don’t want to track in bugs. I don’t want it to be messy either. What about a coco coir tree ring?

rinse pumice or perlite to get the dust off (pumice preferred, if you use perlite don't use the fine stuff get the slightly larger size)... easy peasy.

 

[kkt3]

According to Jeff Lowenfels, the author of Teaming With Microbes, a must read, pine needles make good mulch, but only after they have aged a bit. They contain terpenes that are volatile chemicals and could be harmful to plants.

I was wondering if the terpenes in the aged pine needles would aid the terpenes in the plant?

 

[kkt3]

According to Jeff Lowenfels, the author of Teaming With Microbes, a must read, pine needles make good mulch, but only after they have aged a bit. They contain terpenes that are volatile chemicals and could be harmful to plants.

I was wondering if the terpenes in the aged pine needles would aid the terpenes in the plant?

 

[ShLUbY]

According to Jeff Lowenfels, the author of Teaming With Microbes, a must read, pine needles make good mulch, but only after they have aged a bit. They contain terpenes that are volatile chemicals and could be harmful to plants.

I was wondering if the terpenes in the aged pine needles would aid the terpenes in the plant?

i would say unlikely, as the plant expresses terpenes from its genome, and would likely not uptake something like that from an external source.

 

[Richard Drysift]

Mulching helps defend against bugs and holds in moisture. Doesn't matter really what you use but I prefer a combo of pine bark nuggets and straw. The bark nuggets help dissipate water by giving a hard surface to bounce off during watering and they can be colonized by fungi among other things. The straw retains moisture and provides a microlayer of raised humidity on the surface. Both materials break down rather quickly, are very cheap, and reusable. That's why I use them but you could also use wet newspaper or cardboard, broken up egg crates or a slew of other stuff as mulch. It's up to you...

 

[pollen205]

Hello

First time having mulch...straw..
So when I water do I need remove straw or I can water over it...
What with top dress...?

 

[meangreengrowinmachine]

Hello

First time having mulch...straw..
So when I water do I need remove straw or I can water over it...
What with top dress...?

I water over mine but top dressing with say ewc I will move it and then re cover the ewc with the mulch

 

[DonTesla]

Mulch indoors EVERYONE!

HUGE HUGE HUGE bonus.. your mulched plants will be bigger and healthier. Period.. Do try it!

I now use CBD Sand on top of Diatomite Rocks over hay, straw, wood chips, dried pine needles, leaves, stems, rice hulls, everything.. Some biochar and castings / compost under that, and a spike or two, and you may never have to remove mulch and top dress .. not during a single cycle anyway.

Gotta find ways to keep it clean indoors!!

 

[meangreengrowinmachine]

Mulch indoors EVERYONE!

HUGE HUGE HUGE bonus.. your mulched plants will be bigger and healthier. Period.. Do try it!

I now use CBD Sand on top of Diatomite Rocks over hay, straw, wood chips, dried pine needles, leaves, stems, rice hulls, everything.. Some biochar and castings / compost under that, and a spike or two, and you may never have to remove mulch and top dress .. not during a single cycle anyway.

Gotta find ways to keep it clean indoors!!

I am just using leaves on top of my organic SIPS atm just trying to hold in moisture really is all I am going for.. nice profile pic btw (-;

 

[DonTesla]

I am just using leaves on top of my organic SIPS atm just trying to hold in moisture really is all I am going for.. nice profile pic btw (-;

A noble goal indeed.. but for sure you will be aiding fungals, and much more by achieving just that!
Way to SIP, by the way, and thanks for noticing the pic, haha!

 

[meangreengrowinmachine]

A noble goal indeed.. but for sure you will be aiding fungals, and much more by achieving just that!
Way to SIP, by the way, and thanks for noticing the pic, haha!

SIPs are the best SO easy to use and keep healthy and keep the bio-availability high, the one thing I run into is still having to use Cal Mag seemingly no matter what I try to add to soils to cook down not a big deal I guess, but would like to figure out a solve for it. Maybe its just that MJ loooves that Cal mag.

On the profile pic I assume that is un altered? I could have swore I had some like that in my last batch but attributed it to the reflection of the purple in the leaves as I have never heard of actual purple trichs before.

 

[Greenthumbs256]

So i understand and use mulch outside, but what about indoors?

The only three things i see for mulch inside is stopping bugs (perlite to stop fungus gnates), looks nice, and possibly increasing fungi.

It may help reduce watering but if that much light(heat) is hitting your soil youre growing ineffeciently. Also i suppose certian materials like pine needles can alter soil ph.

So anybody use or tried mulch indoors? What, why, how? Did you recycle your soil still?

I use mulch, some plants have a dried barley straw, others I do a living companion mulch! All work well and it does help keeping the top of the moist for the micro beasties! Plus the companion crops actually put nitrogen into the soil so it really helps on mothers that stay in veg for a very long time! Also yes I ROLS, and I just reuse my barley straw, and just chop up and mix in the cover crop! Hope that helps!

 

[Greenthumbs256]

Mulch indoors EVERYONE!

HUGE HUGE HUGE bonus.. your mulched plants will be bigger and healthier. Period.. Do try it!

I now use CBD Sand on top of Diatomite Rocks over hay, straw, wood chips, dried pine needles, leaves, stems, rice hulls, everything.. Some biochar and castings / compost under that, and a spike or two, and you may never have to remove mulch and top dress .. not during a single cycle anyway.

Gotta find ways to keep it clean indoors!!

Do you mix biochar in your soil as well? That's a great idea of having a layer of that and ewc right below the mulch layer!!!

 

[DonTesla]

On the profile pic I assume that is un altered? I could have swore I had some like that in my last batch but attributed it to the reflection of the purple in the leaves as I have never heard of actual purple trichs before.

Correct, buddy, no editing or altering, just 100% natural expression...

I too wasn't sure what to attribute it to at first, then I saw a post from Bubbleman from back in 08 that mentioned it was anthocyanin, and from there, the research took off a bit finally..

And you're on to something regarding the leaves having purple.. pigment/hues can actually be drawn in from the tissue, and the anthocyanin compound will tint the stalk of the trichome, but certain factors have to be in place..

Then yet another reaction / response is attributed to the heads or tips of the trichomes changing colour, its all really fascinating to me..

I look forward to capturing more shots of this, and in more colour ranges as well!!

Do you mix biochar in your soil as well? That's a great idea of having a layer of that and ewc right below the mulch layer!!!

Yes, sir, sure do, or have, I just mix into my worm castings mostly now, since I find that keeping really mature castings at about 50% aeration helps them from getting compacted and mucky, and biochar is my top choice here...but if i am short on aeration like pumice, i add additional biochar, to the soil directly, as it's one of my fav overall aerations for sure.

And the addition of a bit of a micro layer, yeah, I think thats a bit of a natural progression and good thing to implement, especially for smaller, weaker, and younger plants / no tills !

 

[natureboygrower]

Correct, buddy, no editing or altering, just 100% natural expression...

I too wasn't sure what to attribute it to at first, then I saw a post from Bubbleman from back in 08 that mentioned it was anthocyanin, and from there, the research took off a bit finally..

And you're on to something regarding the leaves having purple.. pigment/hues can actually be drawn in from the tissue, and the anthocyanin compound will tint the stalk of the trichome, but certain factors have to be in place..

Then yet another reaction / response is attributed to the heads or tips of the trichomes changing colour, its all really fascinating to me..

I look forward to capturing more shots of this, and in more colour ranges as well!!



Yes, sir, sure do, or have, I just mix into my worm castings mostly now, since I find that keeping really mature castings at about 50% aeration helps them from getting compacted and mucky, and biochar is my top choice here...but if i am short on aeration like pumice, i add additional biochar, to the soil directly, as it's one of my fav overall aerations for sure.

And the addition of a bit of a micro layer, yeah, I think thats a bit of a natural progression and good thing to implement, especially for smaller, weaker, and younger plants / no tills !

Hey Don ,what consistency/size is your biochar? I don't want that as dust correct? Little chunks?I grill with cowboy charcoal (hardwood chunks blackened up) can I use this and at what ratio? I'm going into 5 gallon pots.any info would be greatly appreciated