For organic cultivators:
To Preface: I have grown NFTG, living soil in pots and beds with home-brewed compost teas, aquaponics, and have grown with and without cover crops.
I prefer to grow with a no-till living soil with a tailored nutrient application depending on soil nutrient composition analysis of the substrate.
In what manner does your utilization of cover crops alter your feed application?
If routine soil composition analyses alter your approach (minutely or massively) to applying a regular feed? (be that organic or synthetic - no judgement here)
-I am looking for input past comments pertaining to Nitrogen, Calcium, or Potassium Fixation
We can learn a lot from cover crops from row crops like corn.
When I did no-till organic for cannabis, I had no problem getting nitrogen, thus negating use for a cover crop. If you need nitrogen, clover is typically used.
My main concerns are potassium for flower, calcium (metabolism for the plant) and silica. This can all be easily done and quickly introduced with potassium silicate and KNF teas instead of cover crops.
The best soil amendment I have found for cannabis is cannabis. Dump a 50 gallon bag of old hemp in one spot in the winter, then plant there in the spring.
You bring up a great point. The biggest issues with reusing soil is compaction. Daikon radishes are fantastic. Some of the best outdoor I have had was sugar beets that cows were allowed to graze and poop on.
Re-using biomass for cannabis sounds like what grape growers do using pomace. Your spent materials would reduce extra supplementation greatly.
Using pomace for compost in the vineyard has many benefits. It can increase the number and variety of beneficial soil microbes, which better protect your vineyard from the ravages of pests and diseases. It increases the level of organic matter in the soil, adds to the soil nutrient profile (N-P-K-Ca is around 2.0-0.5-2.0-2.0), loosens heavy soils, and improves drainage. Compost is typically applied at a rate of 1–5 tons per acre, typically in the summertime around June or July, which can return anywhere from 1⁄2 to 1⁄3 of the nutrients back to the soil.
As beneficial as compost from pomace can be, it’s important to not over-apply it as too much nitrogen can cause overly vigorous canopies, can increase the number of hours needed to tend those big canopies, and can increase susceptibility to rot and mold. Once the compost is applied, its effects can be felt for 5–7 years afterward so it’s important to go gradually and not to over-add. Figure that about three tons of grapes will yield around 1 ton of compost.
I have never done cover crops but have done companion planting with mint and rosemary . Did not see a noticeable difference in the rest of the green house. This was all done with living soil and home made compost teas . There was also some thyme growing with one plant too
certain types of dandelions work for silica fixation from my experience, in addition to having some clay disruption, depending on the species cultivated
I don’t know, it would probably depend on what pest, what disease, and possibly one’s location. I think they would compost out with time. Heavy metals would be a bigger concern, if the fertilizer hemp was contaminated.