Cannabis growers make many decisions about how to best grow their plants. Usually, deciding whether to grow their crops in an indoor or outdoor environment is the first step. If a grower decides that an indoor environment is for them, they will have to choose to grow cannabis either from a soil or a hydroponic-based method. If you have not explored both these options yet, before you spend the money and time on a hydroponic set-up, it is important to know the basics of soil-based grows. One of the most important aspects of making that decision is knowing the best soil for growing cannabis indoor and outdoor.

Most growers naturally start to cultivate their own plants in a soil-based environment, so in order to start growing more plants, or an entire crop, learning which soil is best for cannabis will help you cultivate a plant(s) successful harvest without risking a lot of money and time spent in research.

Growing Cannabis in Soil

Cannabis roots expand deeply into the soil as they search for the best resources of nutrients and water. For this reason, indoor growing takes a different approach than other methods to help make up for the limited rooting space of containers. Generally, the growing containers of indoor cannabis plants are smaller in size and the water and nutrients are supplied directly from the grower, unlike the natural sources found in the wild. Proper management of an indoor grow will allow the plant(s) to flourish without the root system being compromised. Proper management includes taking two equally important aspects into consideration, the growing environment needs to stay around 680F and plenty of oxygen and water are spread evenly throughout the soil.

The Pros and Cons of Soil

One Pro (or benefit) of using a soil-based growing method is that irrigation can be done easily, especially in comparison to the Con (negative) of hydroponic grows, because initial errors can happen more often in a fragile, and unknown method. Another Pro is fertilization since it is a much simpler process with soil-based grows, and considering that humans have been growing in the soil forever, there is a great deal of advice and details out there about the best soils and soil-based growing. One important Pro to soil growing is that the ground types and growing environments could make a huge difference in the flavor of the cannabis, otherwise known as a terroir. These distance differences in flavoring through soil cultivation can be a considered a craft strain and is marketable under what is commonly known as an appellation. While there are many Pros to a soil-based grow, soil isn’t always ideal. Soil needs a lot of space to store it, and it weighs a lot and takes effort to move around. Insects and pests can be within soil as well, and the sheer fact that not all people will have the experience necessary to grow plants indoors (or at all), are the Cons of soil-based grows. BUT, understanding the following items will help you make a wise and informed decision about your type of growing environment…

Size Does Matter When Comparing Containers

Size does matter when comparing the methods of indoor and outdoor grows, since limiting the growing container size equals limiting the growing space of the root system, which could lead to complications such as stunting the plant’s growth.

So to ensure proper growth, plant your cannabis seedlings in a container that’s 10x10x10 cms. This size container will aide in your plant’s growth until the it gets to the height of between twenty-five and thirty-five centimeters. At that point, you will need to transplant your plant into a container that is two times larger, roughly 15x15x20 centimeters. If the plant exceeds the 80-centimeter mark, a transplant into a 10-12 liter container will make sure the root system has the room to grow properly.

Cannabis Soil Nutrients

Soil is a naturally nutrient-rich compound full of organic resources such as decomposing materials, or excrement, that organically aide in a plant’s ability to flourish. Soil nutrients are best cultivated by the assistance of commonly found earthworms, insects and water, which all help to dissolve soil compounds and allow the nutrients to be absorbed easily by the plant starts.

While these processes happen naturally in an outdoor growing environment, it isn’t the case with an indoor system. That’s why starting with soil that’s abundant with nutrients is very important to indoor farmers. The easiest method to sanitize soil is by using heat, which isn’t totally effective yet it can help secure your plant life.

Nutrient-rich potting soil mixes are available at your local nursery, and they can be made by you as well. All you need is Oxygen (O2), a warm environment (around 200F), lots of water, a well-balanced pH, and a lot of nutrients, all of which can create an environment that encourages healthy growth in virtually any cannabis plant.

Being an inside grower, you will need to be especially aware of what your soil’s pH level is, and the humidity, and nutrition, which will all combine to make a big difference in what you can expect to harvest, so tracking these things is absolutely necessary. Also, if your indoor growing environment doesn’t maintain water very well, plant life will not have the ability to “drink” as much as they need, and any excessive amount of fluid retention may motivate yeast development, which usually could result in devastating damage. Indoor growers will definitely want to use vermiculite, peat moss, or perlite to improve the retention of your soils.

Beneficial Microbes And Soil Solutions Are Your Friends

An important aspect of adding nutrients to your cannabis soil is to consider the retention of the nutrients in the soil. How much of the nutrients can the roots of your plants take in before the nutrients dissolve? Many times, growers will spend too much money on buying more nutrients when the smarter option would be to find a way to get a bigger bang for their buck with their current nutrients.

The best way to do that is by adding beneficial bacteria to the soil. Adding microorganisms to the soil (or other medium) created a small ecosystem in which the microorganisms cycle the nutrients and allow the root system to use the full potential of your nutrients.

So before you pick up more nutrients, consider buying a full spectrum microbial solution like Organitek.

Prepare Cannabis Soil Yourself

Cannabis soil is fairly simple to blend, as long as you focus on the proportions. These proportions will change depending on the stage of your cannabis plant’s life. For the first stages of life, soil will require well-balanced amounts of perlite, turf and warm meal. The vegetative stage along with the flowering phases will need to have balanced levels of turf, worm food, and fragment instead.

To diminish a large level of compost, simply add chalk. You can also use liquid fertilizers as a way to add nutrients to your soil, and they can be made easily by yourself. Just make sure that the liquid is homogeneous and has balanced nutrients, thereby avoiding it from “burning up” your crops. For an anxious new grower, a store-bought option is your safest choice.

We trust that all of the information in this article will help you understand the best soil for growing cannabis, and how best to utilize soil-based grows for your best cannabis harvests in the future!