Companion plants
Companion plants
Its been a decade or two since I've had any sort of plants growing but when I was last trying to grow I was looking into companion plants. There are some that are pretty much ancient standards like beans corn and squash, but does anyone know plants that have a similar beneficial relationship with cannabis?
Look into living soil. I don't know of any direct companions, but people grow cover crops like clovers to keep the soil alive between cycles.
If you're not doing living soil, just forget about it.
I've only had a year experience with growing crops but learned a lot about how important "living soil" is from having a bioactive terrarium.
Bioactive refers to making an active ecosystem with plants, insects and even microfauna. In mine I had plants, isopods (land shrimp) and springtails. The isopods break down fruits, veggies, poop and decaying matter like fallen leaves. The springtails eat fungi and mold that forms from constant moisture. The plants thrive off the nutritious bug poop.
Learning about this cycle was important to me understanding that creating a garden means creating a home for all the insect and microfauna first, the resulting crops were the tasty bonus.
Clover is amazing for ground cover. The roots will help losen soil. Along with underground insects, this helps create air pockets in the soil for all plant roots to breath. It helps prevent moisture loss, keeping enough moisture for roots to gather nutrients with less watering. The roots also act as a home for bacteria, fungi and anything considered microfauna really. The flowers attract pollinators which is so important for both crops and local pollinator populations. It may also bring nitrogen into the soil providing food for other plants or crops. I'm recalling most of this from memory so there may be outdated or slightly misremembered info but that was my take away from my initial research into healthy, living soil.
My first year of crops grew amazingly and I hope for more of that. This year I'm adding walking planks and a few large stones to my garden. Between the clover ground cover, stones and wood, that should give even more protection for my tiny insect\microfauna friends. I even went as far as to add a layer of fallen leaves over the soil to help protect it during the winter.
I can never look at "traditional" western farming practices the same again. Soil health is just not given the attention it truly needs.
For some crops, living soil also provides the necessary CO2 supplementation. I've read reports of people who only slow down the exhaust and reach the same CO2 levels as people who pay to pump it in.
Soil health is just not given the attention it truly needs.
Not being able to till or use synthetic fertilisers makes it a lot harder to scale up production.
Also a tip for living soil: utilize natural hormones and enzymes.
Alfalfa: veg growth hormone and nutrients (gigantic leaves)
Malted barley: enzymes that speed up maturation by up to 30% and flowering nutrients
I grow with a cover crop that's like a bunch of different clover plus some other things like cow peas and flax. They fix nitrogen really well, which is nice on account of the fact that cannabis is so nitrogen hungry. They also look really pretty when they get established, which is always a plus.
Another good one is basil or lavender, which helps cover the smell from your square-ass neighbors (looking at you, Julie, you fuckin fed!)
full disclosure i do not grow - but i do consider myself an avid gardener/nature enjoyer.
assume you’re talking about outside - i’ve heard good things about pest repellent plants to keep…more important…things safe. things like cilantro, parsley and dill are supposed to have pest repellant properties. edit to fix typos
flowers like chrysanthemums and marigolds attract ladybugs and other pest killers.
things like chives also allegedly have antifungal(?) properties.
if you’re talking not outside, i agree with shareni - cover crops are great. i buy a 1lb bag of mustard seed every year and sprinkle that shit everywhere and then let it grow/die/fertilise the soil.
It's also good to plant accumulators nearby. Some plants like nettle actually draw in a lot more nutrients than they require, so they're great as fertilizer, while they also keep nosy humans and animals away.