Looking to cut out the middleman and try your luck at growing some pot? You really should try and grow organic weed as it will leave you with a finer end product and actually increase the life of your grow medium.
Growing cannabis is both rewarding and relaxing, as being with nature allows your heart rate to calm down and your body to adjust to suit its environment.
Learning to grow quality marijuana also takes patience, and you have to nurture your plants in order to achieve the best results for both you, and your plant!
If you are growing your buds in a medium that is rife with inorganic materials, there is a high chance that the medium will be either too acidic or alkaline for the plant to thrive, or there will be a heightened risk of pests and infection.
Growing your cannabis organically is better for both the environment and for your body, and it’s a great deal easier than bottled solutions or wacky chemicals.
Here are some innovative and simple ways to increase the organic biomass in your soil! Check it out and start growing healthier organic cannabis.
6) Pot Ash from Wood Fires – Potassium Booster
One of the most accessible items on this list, especially if you’re living in a cooler climate that’s prone to having indoor fireplaces, is pot ash from wood fires.
Pot ash is extremely rich in potassium (K) which is one of the essential nutrients that a plant craves during both the vegetative and the flowering stages.
Potassium is arguably the most important nutrient after nitrogen in terms of cannabis grow ops, and is fundamental for the development of big flavorsome buds, such as with any other fruiting plant.
If you have a fireplace of your own, obtaining some pot ash that’s potassium-rich is going to be a very simple task.
Feeling like a lack of fire-lighting is going to inhibit you getting that essential organic bloom? Get creative!
Heading down to a local campground or woodfire pizza joint will usually get you at least a bucket of ashy goodness. Similarly, if you are feeling the cool a bit, there’s always an excuse to curl up by the fire.
When you’ve got yourself from nice ash, preferably from hardwood which generates more ash and is more nutrient-rich, apply a hearty few handfuls to the top of your soil giving it a nice top-dress.
Alternatively, you can use this as a soil amendment and mix a bucket or so full into your garden bed, as this will help to develop a strong plant from seed.
5) Epsom Salts – Magnesium
Lacking a little magnesium in your soil? Magnesium helps your plant to increase its uptake of the other essential NPK nutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium and is essential in a super soil blend.
What is perfect about Epsom salts is that they are soluble, meaning they can be used both as a topdress, mix-in, or as a foliage drench.
If you are looking to grow organic weed, you are going to want to invest in some real Epsom salts from a health food store or online, as most of the cheap versions are just a sulfate.
The magnesium sulfate you can buy in large quantities from produce stores is great for your run-of-the-mill garden bed in small quantities, but too much salt is never good for any soil and can quickly cause acidity.
A little goes a long way with true Epsom salts, with most recipes only calling for a cup or so per 15-gallon blend of super soil, so you don’t have to worry about going out a buying a brand new box, a pinch will do as a top-dress.
4) Egg Shells – Calcium
You’ll find that most of the organic additives on this list will fulfill a number of purposes in the garden. Adding biomass is one thing, but the impact these amendments make is striking.
Egg shells are one of the easiest organic amendments to come across as almost everyone eats eggs or knows someone that does.
Again, if there is a breakfast spot in your area that has friendly, eco-minded staff, they’ll likely be more than happy to collect the egg shells for you so that you can improve your soil quality.
Egg shells are composed of calcium carbonate and are a rich source of calcium for your soil. Adding calcium helps to strengthen the cell walls and ultimately improves the structure and versatility of your plant.
To store the egg shells you’re going to want to wash and air dry them after they’ve been cracked. After they’ve dried, you can smash them up into little bits to conserve space or alternatively chuck them directly into your compost heap.
The shells do take quite a while to break down in the soil, so if you’re planning on using them in your compost to grow organic weed, make sure that they’ve been introduced early enough. Three months shall do.
3) Perlite or Vermiculite – Great for Aeration
One of the cheapest soil amendments, found in most garden sheds is perlite! Perlite is basically just little balls of Styrofoam that help to provide aerated spacing between your soil blend.
Placing a couple of handfuls of perlite into your mix will help to keep any drainage issues at bay and ultimately extend the life of your soil tenfold as it won’t be as susceptible to rot, although this is less of an issue if you grow organic weed.
Most artisan organic soil mixes you come across will call for at least 20% perlite in the mix to keep the soil nice and aerated, but some growers use even up to 1/3 perlite when conducting longer drawn-out grows.
Perlite is a highly-porous volcanic glass that’s quite similar to pumice, only it itself is an inorganic form that has been manufactured as opposed to mined.
Similar to perlite is vermiculite, which is basically just a spongy version that helps to increase the water content a little bit in the soil. If you can, always use pumice stones to aerate your soil, but they are hardly likely to be lying around the house so perlite is perfect in a pinch.
2) Common Vegetable Scraps – high in NPK
The easiest way to start a home compost mix to use in super soil or for fertilizer starts with your common household scraps!
Fruits and veggies are chock-full of essential plant nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, you’ve just got to let them ferment and do their thing.
Bananas are a great source of potassium and will add a richness and versatility to your soil, while bland cucurbits like watermelon, pumpkin, and zucchini will increase the levels of biomass and attribute some nitrogen.
Do you want to grow organic weed but are not looking devote a whole heap of time to hunting around your local area for sources of organic nutrients?
Starting a simple compost heap, combined with some sourced organic nutrients from a produce store, may be all you need.
1) Coffee Grounds – Nitrogen
Easily the most reactive out of all the components on this list is common coffee grounds from an espresso machine.
Now, I’m not saying that you should start chucking fresh beans away, but if you or someone close to you is a coffee fiend that brews their own Joe, your going to be able to improve the soil quality and make it a lot easier to grow organic weed.
Like with pumice stone, adding organic biomass like coffee grounds to the soil will ultimately help with drainage, aeration, and even water retention.
Aside from that, coffee grounds are a slow-releasing source of nitrogen, making them the perfect addition to any fertilizer or super soil mix as they are going to attract microbes and aid with your plant’s growth.
The strong odor that these brewed coffee grounds hold even after extraction actually helps to deter pest when used as a mulch.
Finding trouble sourcing some locally brewed bean mass? There are literally ten cafes within driving distance of my house and I don’t even live in a city. Sustainable-minded baristas will be only to happy to contribute to your ‘garden.’
If you’re looking to grow organic weed the world is your oyster shell, which funnily enough, are a great source of calcium and make great soil amendments!
Every conscious stoner should try and grow organic weed at some stage in their life. It’s simple, rewarding, and a great way to use up those old scraps around the house. Win-win, right?
Got an idea of a great soil amendment you can find around the house? Drop us a comment below!
- Dr John Teh & PlantMed Medicinal Cannabis Clinic: Greendorphin News Podcast #1 - February 7, 2019
- Anatomy of the Cannabis Plant: Grow with Greendorphin - December 6, 2018
- High Hemp Organic Wraps Review CBD+ [VIDEO] - November 26, 2018
