Table of Contents
- What is Living Soil?
- Why Living Soil is Better for Cannabis Growing
- How to Make Living Soil for Cannabis Growing
- How to Encourage Organic Living Soil
- The Best Organic Cannabis Products
- Living Soil for Organic Cannabis
How do cannabis growers turn up the caliber of their plants? Many organic farmers and cultivators are digging into the world of geoponics and living soil, integrating thousands of years worth of evolution into their soil-plant relationship.
What is Living Soil?
Living Soil Growing is a method of plant growing in soil that utilizes the microbes and living components of the earth to help plants reach their full potential. The organically developed soil has not been altered, and no living components have been removed.
The living soil method is also referred to as “no-till” and “true living organics”. The exchange of carbons and sugars between the plant and microorganisms of the soil form a powerful symbiotic ecosystem.
Organic farmers use living soil, and the method is becoming more popular with amateur growers, small grow ops, and even DIY cannabis cultivators!
What Part of Living Soil is Alive?
Is living soil alive? It sure is! The term “living soil” refers to soil used for cultivation that has not been altered and still contains natural nutrients that have developed over time. Living soil includes a cocktail of complex, living nutrients such as fungi and bacteria that benefit the plants being grown.
Like the plants it grows, the soil takes in oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon through the plant-to-soil ecosystem.
Living soil allows plants to get required nutrients through an organic structure where the soil’s natural makeup of bacteria, insects, fungi, and protozoa combine for a cooperative process between soil and plant. Over time, the elements develop to form the perfect environment for growing with nutrients explicitly tailored to the plant it’s growing!
Why Living Soil is Better for Cannabis Growing
Growers are exploring the cultivation of microbial life in the soil and how living soil takes cannabis growing to the next level. The symbiotic relationship between living soil and organic growth is something every cannabis grower and farmer should understand.
Typically, grow ops and large farms producing cannabis use hydroponics, aeroponics, and soil-less growing systems for mass production. However, the benefits of living soil geoponics are coming to light, and living soils farms see the benefits of spending less time maintaining soil nutrients and letting the environment develop naturally.
What is Geoponics?
Unlike hydroponics which removes the need for soil, geoponics takes advantage of the natural benefits found within the living soil system. Growers using geoponics are allowing the plant and soil to work together organically.
The methods of growing through geoponics is not something new! It’s the age-old philosophy of working with nature rather than against it. Growers keep it simple, letting the soil develop with the specific plant to nourish and flourish.
Benefits of Living Soil
New and innovative methods of growing organic weed through living soil lead to plenty of benefits for small-time growers and mass-producing farms alike.
- Naturally developed bacterias and nutrients
- Eliminate the need for planet-harming chemicals
- Natural pest-resistance
- Cultivate organic weed plants
- Less time maintaining soil components
- Less cost over time compared to hydroponics
- Earth-friendly process
In terms of product quality, living soil raised plants also come out on top with:
- Higher potency
- More impactful CBD/THC content
- Distinct flavour profile
For the sake of our planet and our personal health, organic products are growing in popularity across the board. If you’re someone who pays close attention to what enters your body, the movement of shifting away from chemicals and toxins is becoming increasingly important.
Organic Weed Facts
Organic growth, living components, and natural substances are ingredients for high-quality, organic cannabis products.
Choosing organic weed as a consumer is kind of like shopping in the organic aisle at the grocery store! Organic weed or craft weed products are grown using the plant-first approach that many farmers and growers are adopting.
- Natural plant products
- Free of chemicals
- Non-synthetic
- High quality
Organic weed grown in living soil is made with the goal of maximizing the potential for plant growth and, by extension, high-quality cannabis products.
How to Make Living Soil for Cannabis Growing
Can you create living soil at home? It may sound like the all-natural approach to growing, but cultivating living soil involves a few crucial steps.
Living Soil Recipe for Organic Cannabis
Over time, living soil using the gifts of mother nature’s natural collaborative process to create the perfect blend for its plants. What some cannabis connoisseurs want to know is, can we “fake” it?
In the wild, levels of nutrients like sulphur, potassium, and calcium in the soil result from eons worth of soil-to-plant cooperation. At home, you can cultivate living soil by introducing certain living elements to organic topsoil.
Organic Ingredients for Living Soil
- Organic Topsoil
- Sphagnum peat moss
- Biochar
- Buckwheat hulls
- Neem seed meal
- Organic Compost
- Worm castings
- Kelp Meal
Depending on your garden or cannabis plant goals, a combination of these organic ingredients can create the perfect recipe for your DIY living soil at home.
Living Soil Cultivation: How Often to Interfere
Your living soil mixture can also benefit from a layer of organic mulch. After you’re happy with your balance, let the soil take over, integrating with the living ingredients and introduced plants.
While living soil is relatively low-maintenance, expect some time spent researching nutrient ratios and living component levels to maintain a hospitable environment for your baby weed plants. Full cultivation of the plant-soil relationship can take up to three cycles to fully form and develop.
The ROLS (Recycled Organic Living Soil) method is also a popular option among full-time growers, which lets farmers add new organic material periodically between growth cycles of the plant to help the soil form a deeper connection to the plant’s needs.
Managing Organic Cannabis Plants
To establish plant growth in living soil through the geoponic philosophy, growers must understand the relationship between plants and soil and the natural process of nutrient production that occurs over time.
- Watering – Correct watering techniques encourage quality geoponic growing
- Managing Roots – Cannabinoids and terpenes begin in the roots, so early root health is an important part of growing in living soil. Learn more about terpenes in this recent blog post.
- Pest Control – Organic Preventative IPM (Integrated Pest Management) spray can be used on living soil to ward off unwanted insects.
- Balanced Nutrients – Keep the nutrients balanced and ratios of ingredients on track to ensure long-lasting living soil
The most important part of managing living soil plants at home is to remember to keep the soil happy and healthy! It’s alive, after all.
How to Encourage Organic Living Soil
When thinking of how to create living soil for cannabis growth, consider the long-term cultivation of the soil’s nutrients. A large part of living soil’s organic growth is left up to nature, while another part of in the hands of the farmer.
Like any living thing, living soil needs care and attention. From year to year, living soil must be maintained and protected from pests and predators. After a while, natural protection against nature’s enemies will develop, but until then, it’s up to you to keep an eye on your budding garden.
Why Cultivate Living Soil for Cannabis Growing?
Growing with living soil allows cultivators to fully utilize the benefits of mother nature’s fertility. It’s the beautiful method of letting soil do its thing! For growers interested in exploring a holistic approach to cannabis farming, living soil is the way to go.
When using living soil for cannabis growing, plants are cultivated in a clean environment, yielding higher quality and toxin-free plants. Better crops mean better cannabinoid and terpene content, leading to better cannabis products!
Living Soil VS Regular Soil
At mass-producing farms and commercial growing operations, you’re likely to find a plethora of harmful chemically fertilized crops and toxins used to encourage plant growth and keep pests at bay. Low-quality soil often contains added non-biologically active ingredients like wood chips and peat. Living soil is different.
You can tell no-till living soil plants from conventional soil plants or synthetically grown plants thanks to their ability to reach their full scope and spectrum of colour, flavour, aroma, and CBD/THC content.
The Best Organic Cannabis Products
Consumers in Canada will be happy to learn that the organic movement is extending beyond the grocery stores and into your favourite online dispensaries. With a new consumer priority placed on planet-friendly cultivation and growing methods, brands and growers have no choice but to hop on the living soil wagon!
- Craft Cannabis – Like craft beer, organic craft cannabis is well on its way to becoming the hottest thing in the world of weed. The Craft Series Premium Line on Kootenay Botanicals features quality cannabis grown in living soil environments and produced in small batches for an extra squeeze of exclusivity.
- Organic, Small Batch – These farmers know organic growing! Small batch canned cannabis products with AAAA ratings grown by experienced growers. Skookum Cannabis is a planet-focused brand with some top-notch products to try.
- Albatross Collection – Experience the essence of the west coast and all the good things craft cannabis can offer. This line is about as natural as you can get!
Living Soil for Organic Cannabis
More and more, dispensaries are choosing products from organic growers and living soil-raised plants due to the higher quality and richer consistency of terpene and cannabinoid content.
If you’re ready to invest the time and learning into crafting living soil at home for personal cannabis growing – we say go for it! Organic weed products are a great way to shift away from planet-harming chemicals and toxins that we just don’t need.
Browse through Kootenay Botanicals for more organic weed products and locally grown cannabis delivered safely and securely through the online dispensary.
Sources:
Whole Grow: What is Living Soil?
Pot Guide: Growing Marijuana in Soil vs Hydroponics
Cannabis Tech: The Philosophy of Living Soil
Merry Jane: What is Living Soil?
MJ Biz Daily: Living Soil Cannabis
