Thank you brother,a lot of reading,trial and error and long convos with Eyes put me on the right track..Still working on my skills,but we are always learning.. The barley straw does maintain my moisture somewhat especially with the breeze from the fans to circulate the airflow and strengthen the stems.I don't have any live worms in my pots, but if I did, the mulch would be ideal for their environment as well providing food and shelter. sorry for the late response, I had so many notifications pop up I missed this one by accident.