Should grow beds be cleaned??

[KoiKush]

I just recently harvested my first crop of medical marijuana. Everything was a success!........Now I its time time to pull out the stumps. I pull out the stump and the bulk of the roots, but there's thousands of fine hair like roots left behind...........So heres my question, Will the roots degrade after time and wont rot?...... Or will these fine roots that were left behind settle and rot,cause bacteria or mold? Please any comments,tips and advice will be greatly appreciated.=]

Thanks!

[Cadillac Snow]

With the right amount of bacteria turning all those solids into nitrates, you shouldnt have any problem. Youll probably have to re cycle the system or have very bad mood swings if you clean it out. I went further and added worms and snails to my system and they just go through any organic material pretty quick. With the Beneficial Bacteria living in sponges at the bottom of my system, cleaning it is a no no. Id basically kill colonies of bacteria that are essential for the system. The organic matter will decay but if you have a well cycled system, it will turn it into fertilizer. You can control it further with different chemicals to control algae growth in aquariums. So instead of cleaning it all out, test the water regularly and keep up maintenance on the aquarium. Let all that good stuff at the bottom work for you.

[Rich File]

Yeah, I added a ton of red wigglers to mine too and they do great. I also have frogs (leopard) and I think they eat the red wigglers and keep the population in check.

[Jim Kamen]

Steve, Florida has Medical Marijuana coming up for a vote in November. I don't know how to send you an email, but if you could give me give me any information about growing it would be appreciated.

Jim

[Rich File]

I would say to NEVER clean the beds. I think of mine as a real flood plain next to a river.

[Steve R]

Every now and then you need to move around the grow media some might call that cleaning but its just getting out old dead roots or other debris into a bucket or some other way outside the system. The need to do this can be dramatically reduced by adding aquarium black worms to your system to eat the junk at the bottom of your system. They are tiny and seek out low oxygen zones and help eliminate those zones and prevent sludge build up.  Jim or anyone else can feel free to email me directly at [e-mail] I would be more than happy to help with any any all legalization efforts!

[mark gordon]

I was also worried about roots and left over plant materials,  the answer is Red Wigglers,  they live in your grow beds, and basically eat the old plant material, and help overall,  doesn't matter if its tomatoes, or maryjane, they make the job simple. 

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

I just moved a system with media bed after 3 years. There were no stinky anaerobic zones. The beautiful rich earthy smell would be a sin to clean. Red worms that I put in almost 2 years ago were still kicking. Just throw the media in some contractor bags, set it up and add fish.