Living cover crop and worm question

Hey guys as some of you know I've been trying my hand at living organic no till. Well I'm not fully no till yet. I will tag a pic of my recipie that I've stolen from many ppl like subcool and many others. I have a few questions tho.

1. I'm using a living cover crop(barley, alfalfa, clover, and buckwheat. I haven't purchased any worms yet my question is do I have to have worms in order for the organic material(grass and stuff when it's gets too long) to be broken down and returned to the soil. Or is there a way I can keep this set up and never need worms.

2. I'm only using 7 gal pots bc it's what I had from my last run I plan to move up to 10g smart pots if I can nail down this no till part. Is that exceptional?

3 last question about cover crop, when it gets too long I cut it half way down and leave the clippings in the pot to decompose and return to the soil. Is this the correct way?
And some bud porn!!!

Those are some nice nugs

GrowGorilla said:

Those are some nice nugs

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Thank you, i work hard on my girls, got any advise on my questions?

Greenthumbs256 said:

Thank you, i work hard on my girls, got any advise on my questions?

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Sorry brother, I grow organic as well but I don’t do cover crops or no till. I’m very interested in no till though.

The worms are definitely great to have in the soil. They will feed on the cover crops when you chop them and do the lasagna tech. Adding a compost and mulch layer on top then regrow cover crops.

The root exudates from the cover crops attract bacteria and fungi and also mycos from the air. So its good to have the cover crops going.

hyroot said:

The worms are definitely great to have in the soil. They will feed on the cover crops when you chop them and do the lasagna tech. Adding a compost and mulch layer on top then regrow cover crops.

The root exudates from the cover crops attract bacteria and fungi and also mycos from the air. So its good to have the cover crops going.

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So i have to do the lasagna thing and continue to cover and re plant cover crop about every run or so? That explains why ppl recommend no pots smaller than 10g

To be honest I may be able to do 2 layers before my pots are over flowing. And that would also mean I have to have worms. Shit lol

Also could u tell me the best kinda of worms, red wiggles, and eruopean night crawlers I heard are good and easy to get!

GrowGorilla said:

Sorry brother, I grow organic as well but I don’t do cover crops or no till. I’m very interested in no till though.

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I can tell u this from what I've learned it's a lot of work to begin with but it's the easiest in the long run. And it's truly as organic as u can get.

Red wigglers is all you need. You can add both red wigglers and night crawlers to your pots. Night crawlers hang out at the bottom of the soil. The red wigglers hang out near at the surface.

You should just start a worm bin with red wigglers. Then add some of the worms to each pot.

I wouldn't go smaller than 15 gals.

Lasagna tech is great. It adds more nutrients to the soil too.

Chop the cover crops.
Top dress some em1 bokashi or gro kashi.
Top dress castings and or compost.
Cast some more cover crop seeds
Top some mulch, leaves or barley straw or rice hulls or wood chips.

I like rice hulls for mulch. They break down pretty quick. Worms love them. Straw is good for the same reason too.

Awesome thanks buddy I'm going to give it shot going shopping tomorrow

Greenthumbs256 said:

Hey guys as some of you know I've been trying my hand at living organic no till. Well I'm not fully no till yet. I will tag a pic of my recipie that I've stolen from many ppl like subcool and many others. I have a few questions tho.

1. I'm using a living cover crop(barley, alfalfa, clover, and buckwheat. I haven't purchased any worms yet my question is do I have to have worms in order for the organic material(grass and stuff when it's gets too long) to be broken down and returned to the soil. Or is there a way I can keep this set up and never need worms.

2. I'm only using 7 gal pots bc it's what I had from my last run I plan to move up to 10g smart pots if I can nail down this no till part. Is that 7exceptional?

3 last question about cover crop, when it gets too long I cut it half way down and leave the clippings in the pot to decompose and return to the soil. Is this the correct way? View attachment 4034418 View attachment 4034419
And some bud porn!!!View attachment 4034420 View attachment 4034421

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From the way your buds look you are doing a great job already. I don't do cover crops but I always mulch the top layer with straw. I don't put red wigglers in my containers directly either but some always get stuck in the castings when they are harvested from my worm bin. You don't have to keep live worms in your pots; you really just need their shit in your mix. It is beneficial to have them burrowing around but I've never found a live worm that survived all the way through a full bloom cycle. A grow container is not the best place for worms to exist; they prefer to stay in a colony where there is plenty of food and lots of other worms to fuck. All they do is eat and make baby worms. A few always make it into the mix but I try to keep them in the bin making compost for the most part. You don't even really have to have worms at all it's just that vermicompost is easily sustainable compost and the fresher it is the better it is. You can just add bagged EWC to your mix or top dress/ layer it but bagged castings are never as active as they are straight out the worms ass.
Nothing wrong with 7g pots. I bloom with either a 7g or 10g but can grow similarly sized plants in either. Go with the tens if you have the space and simply give more AACTs and use layering and/or spikes if you opt for smaller size pots.