Organic Soil - Getting to the Roots

Taking a step into the organic approach of nourishing our soil, rather than our plants roots, helps us understand how important it is that we 'get it right,' when it comes to growing a healthy plant, and maximizing our yield!

Feed Your Soil

Have you ever heard of the statement "Feed your soil, not your plant"? The statement may seem strange, but it's focus is on feeding the bacteria, microbes and fungi in your soil with natural ingredients, as opposed to feeding the roots of your cannabis directly with synthetic chemical nutrients.

Growing media, or medium, is defined as a substance that a plant's roots can grow within to extract water and nutrients.

Since going organic in my home and grow tents, I've definitely learned this focus of feeding, and ensuring that my soils or 'grow mediums' as they are commonly referred to, are thriving with microbes. The results, in my opinion, are amazing. I grow bigger yields of cannabis, more vegetables, have more success with seedlings, and I don't need to worry about measuring nutrients and burning my plants. The work of getting your soil ready may take a few extra steps, but once growing, it is as simple as watering, and giving a top coat around the flowering stage.

The First Step

When wanting to understand and grow organically, choosing and creating your preferred growing medium is the number one place to start. Growing media or medium, terms you will notice I use often, is defined as a substance that a plant's roots can grow within to extract water and nutrients. Some examples of mediums are things such as coco coir, vermiculite, sphagnum moss, perlite, sand, or even the best, compost. A ready to use organic ‘soil’ will have multiple growing mediums blended together to ensure your plants get the best water supply, aeration and nutrients to its roots.

Certain growing mediums can support, and naturally contain tons of microbes, bacteria and fungi that live together harmoniously, and when happy and thriving, will produce all the nutrients to feed the roots of your plants! There isn't a need for synthetic fertilizers that drowns your roots with chemically created nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium. The microbes and fungi in your medium will eat the organic nutrients you supply and do this job for you! However it must be noted that not ALL growing media's contain nutrients, peat moss and perlite are good examples of this. Therefore the goal is to decide on your preferred blend of mediums, ensuring to include media that holds nutrients, and enrich it with as many organic nutrients or 'food' needed to create and sustain a healthy environment for your microbial friends! If you go with ready to use organic soils, this is already completed for you, and all you have to do is enrich it with nutrients, and possibly make a tweak to your lifestyle.

Something to keep in mind when making or beginning to use your blend, is your lifestyle and schedule. If you are commonly busy and won't be spending too much time with your plants, consider adding a slight bit more of a water retaining element to your medium. Something like vermiculite, or compost would work well, as it is more dense, and tends to dry out slower. If you tend to have a heavy hand at watering, consider adding a draining element, such as perlite or coco coir, as it improves drainage and increases aeration.

Building Your Soil

To create your organic 'soil' or growing media you will have a few options in terms of convenient to more complex. If you wish to build your living soil from scratch, you can buy many organic mediums separately from companies, or you can purchase ready to grow soils that are stocked full of happy organisms! Buying ready to grow 'soil' media is the most common way to go, as you can either get right to it, or build beyond. Below I have listed a few of the best ready to go soils, stocked full of healthy bacteria and microbes.

Top Suggested 'Ready to Use' Organic Soil Companies

- Stepwell Soil - mycorrhizae soil blends and top dressings

- Bluesky Organics - supersoils and other blends

- Pro-Mix - customized supersoils and other blends

If you wish to create your own from scratch organic 'soil' media, which is super fun, but much more complex and truly skill building, below is a chart to show the aeration, nutrient and wettability of each organic media. This does not nearly include all options however!

To read about organic nutrients and the process of feeding your soil, scroll to the bottom for the quick link!

Keeping It Alive

Maintaining the health of your medium mixture is also important to understand, as it will encourage the microbes and fungi in your soil to keep working full force, even when they are not feeding roots. Did you know living soils and most organic medium mixtures do not like to be bone dry? Letting any unused and stored medium go bone dry, also dries out the healthy bacteria and microbes in the media, killing them or stopping them from producing the nutrients your plants need. A great rule of thumb for soil mixtures is to grab a fistful and squeeze, if the soil clumps, it is perfect. If it crumbles, add a small amount of water. If the soil drains water, stop watering and let the mixture air out for a day or so.

One last step before using your medium, is to load up with organic nutrients or 'food' BEFORE you plant your seeds, let the medium sit for a week or so before use. This gives time for the organisms to break down the nutrients, and make it available for your plant to easily absorb. That way when you plant your seedlings, all you will need to do is water! No nutrients needed! Same rules will apply however, do not let the medium dry out significantly, but do not turn it into a mucky, wet mess!

To read about organic nutrient loading, click here!