alfalfa and flax as cover crop

budznsudz

Well-Known Member
jus wondering if anybody has used this as a cover crop under their plants. im gonna give it a go and see what happens.
 

b4ds33d

Well-Known Member
alfalfa is the shit. especially if you keep bees. clover works well too and chelates nitrogen. you can run alfalfa AND clover.
 

Yodaweed

Well-Known Member
I got a nice cover crop going, got alfalfa , flax and clover in it with some other things, working amazing, the alfalfa is growing great i trim it back every month and let the trimmings fall onto the container as a mulch.
 

MistaRasta

Well-Known Member
There are conpanion plants and cover crops. Some do both and some dont.

The only thing id be concerned about using alfalfa is how deep it will push its root system. I use alfalfa in my beds as a cover crop through the winter because its a very hardy species, this is due to its room system being nice and full, and deep. Ive never used it as a companion plant as ive never been advised to.

Some good companion plants that will till the top of your pot with ease would be red clover and buckwheat, flax, vetch, fenugreek, etc..

Basil is also good
 

backtracker

Well-Known Member
There are conpanion plants and cover crops. Some do both and some dont.

The only thing id be concerned about using alfalfa is how deep it will push its root system. I use alfalfa in my beds as a cover crop through the winter because its a very hardy species, this is due to its room system being nice and full, and deep. Ive never used it as a companion plant as ive never been advised to.

Some good companion plants that will till the top of your pot with ease would be red clover and buckwheat, flax, vetch, fenugreek, etc..

Basil is also good
jus wondering if anybody has used this as a cover crop under their plants. im gonna give it a go and see what happens.
alfalfa root system one year old plants. where are the cannabis roots going to grow they don't share space and alfalfa needs no N while pot needs a lot and alfalfa is a heavy feeder of P, K. so how do you get around that problem
 

budznsudz

Well-Known Member
alfalfa root system one year old plants. where are the cannabis roots going to grow they don't share space and alfalfa needs no N while pot needs a lot and alfalfa is a heavy feeder of P, K. so how do you get around that problem

What if i cut the plant at the base when it got too big so it can decompose roots and all.. i will have earthworms in the soil and mykos if that makes a difference. i always thought the fungi would network all the roots but i could be wrong.
 

backtracker

Well-Known Member
What if i cut the plant at the base when it got too big so it can decompose roots and all.. i will have earthworms in the soil and mykos if that makes a difference. i always thought the fungi would network all the roots but i could be wrong.
pot plants put roots out to the drip line and farther if the soil is there it doesn't seem like a good idea to put something in the way of those feeder roots because they will feed the plant when it flowers and you want them as massive as you can get them it looks like any benefit from the alfalfa would be canceled out from the competition and root blockage from the alfalfa..
 

MistaRasta

Well-Known Member
What if i cut the plant at the base when it got too big so it can decompose roots and all.. i will have earthworms in the soil and mykos if that makes a difference. i always thought the fungi would network all the roots but i could be wrong.
Only use companion plants. Alfalfa is a bio-dynamic accumulator which means it digs its roots deep to get LOTS of minerals and nutrients from the soil. This will steal energy from the cannabis plant being you only have so much room in a pot/bed for roots to stretch.

Again, buckwheat is a great one. Its very hardy, tills the top couple of inches and works well for me. I only use cover crops in between runs, i let them die off as my plant goes through veg. Just chop and drop, mulch and im done.
 
Top