Growing Medium

 

Now that you have completed your grow structure, whether it is a tent, room, or and enclosed box structure, you are finally ready to do your planting. Of course, before you sow your first seed, there are a few decisions to make. Some of the things to consider are, what type of seed will be the best for your environment, your consumption requirements, and what medium will you use. Once you decide which plant(s) will suit your needs best, you can either grow your plants in soil, a soilless medium which is typically comprised of Coco and Perlite or using hydroponics (water).

Cannabis is sorted into three distinct sections, hybrid, sativa, and indica, each with their own distinct characteristics. Within these are also two sub-sections, the first being CBD-rich marijuana (used for medical purposes) and auto-flowering hybrids. It is important to understand how these plants differ in order to choose which one will fit your needs best.

Sativa – This plant will produce a crop that is high in THC and nonexistent or very low in CBD. THC is the primary intoxicant in cannabis, meaning it is the ingredient that gets you ‘high’. In direct contrast to THC, CBD does not produce an intoxicating result and its oil is widely used for treating and preventing a number of health conditions.

Hybrids – Traditionally, Hybrids are a cross of indica-sativa. This means that these plants have traits of both indica and sativa. The concentrations of THC and CBD will therefore differ from what is in either sativa and indica.

Indica – Just like sativa, indica is also high in THC. The difference is that indica contains a higher level of CBD than sativa. The result is typically that the user will feel a heavier body ‘stoned’ effect.

There is presently a growing body of research into which combinations of seeds are best for the very specific needs of users. There are several categories available to the recreational user including those for a euphoric high which is popular for socializing. Another example would be a strain that helps the user relax and sleep.

Some of the categories for medicinal use include those aimed at stimulating appetites, pain relief, migraines, anxiety, and much more. Research for the best and most effective natural medical remedies is on an increase and continues to concentrate on better understanding the vast number of cannabis compounds possible.

Armed with a knowledge of which seeds/plants best suit your recreational and/or medical needs, you can now turn to the type of medium you will grow your plants in. The choices here are:

  • Hydroponics
  • Soil (or Compost)
  • Soilless

 

Soil/Compost

 

The most common medium for most growers is a soil mixture or compost. This is typically the easiest and widely available. Soil that is specifically designed for cannabis will usually have some nutrients to help your plants through those first crucial weeks of growth. Sterilized soil which is a loose and non-peat-based compost designed for potting is the best way to start and is usually labelled ‘organic potting mix’. Your will want your soil mix to be made up of at least 20% or 30% soil conditioner. Perlite is the most common conditioner and is made up of small white rocks within the soil. This mixture will allow for faster growth as it provides drainage while keeping higher levels of air (oxygen) in the soil.

Plants that are grown is soil tend to grow at a slower rate compared to a soilless mixture, but they do typically taste and smell stronger. While it is perfectly acceptable to use a standard potting soil and supplementing it with nutrients added to the water, a better method is to use ‘living soil’. A composted living soil mix will result in buds that have a more complex and powerful taste and scent.

Living Soil – This soil actually contains a colony of microorganisms and acts like a natural ecosystem providing your plants with the best that nature has to offer. In this process, the roots of your plants are directly fed by nutrients that gradually break down in a natural and organic way. One of the greatest benefits with living soil is that, in most cases, there is no need to add any nutrients to your soil and the pH of your water tends to stay perfectly balanced.

What some might call the ‘downside’ to working with living soil is that you must re-pot using fresh living soil just before the plants begin producing buds. However once that is done all you need to do is add water and the soil will take care of the rest. Another factor to keep in mind with this method is that plants typically take longer to mature and produce buds that have quite a strong smell. When using this method, it is important that you have taken all the steps needed to contain both the strong bud smell as well as the smell of compost to your enclosed grow environment.

When working with soil there are a few things that need to be taken into account such as water retention, texture, and drainage. While nutrients and all additions to the soil are important factors, water retention, texture and drainage are paramount and need to be done properly. The roots of your plant must have a consistent supply water and oxygen throughout its lifespan. It is important to keep an eye on your plants and watch for these signs that indicate that point to a well-balanced water, oxygen, and draining system:

  • Soil has a loose texture
  • Soil is rich and dark
  • Water drains well and quickly
  • Soil holds water well without being muddy

Some of the ingredients that help your cannabis plant grow include:

  • Kelp
  • Coco coir/coco fiber
  • Fish meal
  • Bone meal
  • Perlite
  • Sphagnum peat moss
  • Composted forest humus
  • Crab meal
  • Pumice
  • Earthworm castings
  • Greensand

 

Soilless Mediums

 

Some of the soil-free mixture mediums that produce the best results include vermiculite, coco coir, peat moss, perlite, and rockwool. Growing plants using this method is very similar to growing plants in soil. The difference with soilless mediums is that the nutrients are delivered through the water and go directly to the roots. This method typically results in higher yields and are faster growing than in soil. Soilless systems also have a much lower likelihood of the plants being over watered or problems with bugs.

While there are many different ingredients that can be used for soilless planting of cannabis, most of them include coco and perlite. The huge success of using coco has resulted in other soilless mixtures being used less and less often. In fact, due to both perlite and coco’s ability in greatly enhancing soil based growing, it is commonly used in soil mixtures as well.

Hydroponics – Hydroponics is simply the method of growing plants whose roots sit directly in water. DWC (Deep Water Culture) is the most widely used system of hydroponics for growing cannabis. A popular adaptation of DWC is ‘bubbleponics’ or Top-Fed DWC. The advantage of DWC is that it is capable of supporting very large plants such as cannabis which require greater amounts of nutrients.

Although there are other types of hydroponics such as Aeroponics or NFT, they cannot provide adequately for large, nutrient-hungry plants such as cannabis.

A quick summary or check list for the different cannabis grow mediums can be broken down as follows:

 

Soil or Compost

 

  • Use of organic composted living soil
  • Easy ‘just add water’ maintenance
  • Produces stronger smelling buds
  • Option of using a cannabis friendly mix

 

Soilless Medium

 

  • Mixtures that do not include soil
  • Ingredients including perlite, coco coir, vermiculite, etc.
  • System in neither soil/compost nor hydroponics
  • Uses the best traits of soil/compost and hydroponics
  • Coco/perlite mix highly recommended for this method

 

Hydroponics

 

  • Very effective with a top-fed DWC system
  • Fastest growth results
  • Accelerate growth with HID grow lights (i.e. LEC or HPS)

 

Although this seems to be a lot of information to take in before you plant your first seed, it need not be complicated. The first step is deciding the type of seed you will need which simply depends on what you will be using the cannabis for; medicinal or recreational use. Once you have made that determination choose a medium that you feel the most comfortable with.

The biggest part of this endeavor will be in building you grow space. The rest of this adventure into growing your own cannabis should be an exciting one. With a little bit of routine maintenance, you will soon be enjoying the fruits of your labour. You can also be confident that you know exactly what has gone into growing these plants that all your seeds, soil and nutrients are producing an organic and natural harvest. Have fun with it and enjoy!