For those of us working with living soil, it is important to give your soil quality inputs in order to maintain proper nutrition in your soil. One type of food every living soil gardener should be using are grains. Grains are full of carbohydrates, which feed the microbes in your soil, and therefore your medical cannabis. If you have earth worms they will love this amendment. Let’s have a look at my favorite two grains in living soil.
Oat Meal: This highly nutritious grain is not only good for people, but for your soil biology as well. Just have a look at the label on a box of oats; it is packed with carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and an array of vitamins and minerals. These minerals include calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and more. Last, but not least, oats are also extremely high in silica which can lead to bigger, stronger plants with thicker cell walls (protection against bugs). I like to top dress my planters with oats every 3 weeks or so and watch as my earthworms convert them into castings. Mix into your new living soil at a rate of ~1/4 cup per cubic feet.
Malted Barley (malt): Like oats, malt is full of nutritional value including minerals. The real magic of malt though has to do with how it is made. Barley is germinated (until a root tip shows) and then heated to kill the seed. This is important because when most plants germinate they change the contents inside the seed into something usable by the young seedling. This is done with enzymes. Adding enzymes to your organic grows are all the rage presently, so why not do it in a natural form?
Malt has enzymes that act specifically against malicious fungi like pythium and fusarium, thus clearing the way for fungi like myccorhizal fungi. A tonic made from soaked malt is great for a seedling’s first watering. Further, you can also find enzymes that break down carbohydrates, proteins, phosphorus, etc. Best of all, it also contains chitinase, an enzyme that breaks down chitin which is a core component for your beneficial fungi. Used in conjunction with insect frasssolid form of insect excrement; bug poop More and/or crustacean meal (both laden with chitin) you have a recipe for a fungi-friendly soil.
I top dress with a little freshly ground malt every 2 weeks. I also recommend adding ~1/4 cup of ground malt per cubic feet of soil I am mixing. Anecdotally, my flowers seem to finish earlier when using this amendment regularly through the growing cycle.
There are many grains that may work for your living soil. What you select may depend on local availability. I’ve selected these two for the silica content of oats and the enzymatic activity of the malted barley. Both are relatively inexpensive as well.
Happy Harvests!
— The Lit Farmer —
