Properties of Soil

The soil or growing medium serves as a source and reservoir for water, air, and nutrients, and to anchor the roots. Since marijuana grows extremely fast, it has higher water and nutritive needs than most plants grown indoors. The success of your garden depends on supplying the plant with a medium that meets its needs without creating toxic conditions in the process.

There is no such thing as the perfect soil for Cannabis. Each variety can grow within a range of soil conditions. For healthy, full, growth, marijuana prefers a medium with good drainage, high in available nutrients, and near a neutral pH (7.0). These conditions result from a complex set of physical, chemical and biological factors. We will refer to them simply as: (1) texture; (2) nutrients; (3) pH.

Most indoor growers prepare the growing medium using commercial potting mixes. These mixes are usually sterilised or pasteurised and have good general soil properties. Since they seldom list the contents, nutrients, or pH, do some simple test of your basic soil whether you buy or dig for it. Then you can adjust the soil to meet the basic requirements of the plant.

Texture

The texture of the medium determines its water-holding and draining properties. Marijuana must have a well-drained medium for healthy growth. Soils that hold too much water or hold it unevenly can drown the roots, leading to poor growth or death of the plant. In a well-drained soil the roots are in contact with air as well as water. Soils that have too much clay, or are overly rich in compost or other organic matter, tend to hold too much water and not enough air. This condition worsens in time. This is especially true of the soil in pots.

You can determine the texture of your soil from its appearance and feel. Dry soil should never cake or form crusts. Dry or slightly moist soil that feels light-weight, airy, or spongy when squeezed, and has a lot of fibrous material, will hold a lot of water. Mix it with materials which decrease its water-holding capacity, such as sand, perlite, or even kitty litter.

Wet soil should remain spongy or loose and never sticky. A wetted ball of soil should crumble or separate easily when poked.

Soil that feels heavy and looks dense with fine particulate matter, or is sandy or gritty, will benefit by being loosened and lightened with fibrous materials such as vermiculite, Jiffy Mix, or sometimes sphagnum moss.

Soil Conditioners to Improve Texture

Perlite (expanded sand or volcanic glass) is a practically weightless horticultural substitute for sand. Sand and perlite contribute no nutrients of their own and are near neutral in pH. They hold water, air, and nutrients from the medium on their irregular surfaces and are particularly good at aerating the soil.

Vermiculture (a micaceous material) and sphagnum moss contribute small amounts of their own nutrients and are near neutral in pH. They hold water, air, and nutrients in their fibre and improve the texture of sandy or fast-draining soils. Jiffy Mix, Ortho Mix, or similar mixes are made of ground vermiculite and sphagnum moss, and are fortified with a small amount of all the necessary nutrients. They are available at neutral pH, are good soil conditioners, and are also useful for germinating seeds.

Sphagnum and Peat Moss (certain fibrous plant matter) are sometimes used by growers to improve water holding and texture. Both work well in small amounts (10 to 15 percent of soil mixture). In excess, they tend to make the medium too acidic after a few months of watering. Use vermiculite or Jiffy Mix in preference to sphagnum or peat moss.

Nutrients

Nutrients are essential minerals necessary for plant growth. The major nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K), which correspond to the three numbers, in that order, the appear on fertiliser and manure packages, and that give the percentage of each nutrient in the mix (see section 9).

Marijuana prefers a medium that is high in nitrogen, and mid-range in phosphorus and potassium. Generally, the darker the soil, the more available nutrients it contains. Commercial soils usually contain a good balance of all nutrients and will support healthy growth for a month or two, even in smaller (one gallon) containers.

Many growers prefer to enrich their soil by adding sterilised manures, composts, or humus. All of these provide a good balance of the three major nutrients. They also retain water in their fibre. In excess they cause drainage problems, make the medium too acidic, and attract insects and other pests. A good mixture is one part compost or manure to five to eight parts of soil medium. In large pots (four or five gallons), these mixtures might provide all the nutrients the plant will ever need. {Table 13.}

The many prepared organic and chemical fertilisers that can be mixed with the soil vary considerably in available nutrients and concentrations. Used in small amounts, they do not appreciably effect the soil texture.

Many prepared fertilisers are deficient in one or more of the major nutrients (see Table 14). Mix them together so there is some of each nutrient, or use them with manures, which are complete (contain some of all three major nutrients). When adding fertilisers, remember that organic materials break down at different rates. It is better to use combinations which complement each other, such as poultry manure and cow manure, than to use either fertiliser alone. (See Table 22 in section 13 for a complete list of organic fertilisers.

Table 14 - Prepared Organic Fertilisers

Type of Percentage by weight of Availability to fertiliser N P2O5 K20 Plant

--- Blood meal 13 0 0 Rapid/medium

Bone meal 0.5 15 0 Medium/slow Blood/bone meal 6 7 0 Medium/slow Cottonseed meal 6 2 1 Slow/medium Fish meal 8 2 0 Slow/medium Hoof and bone meal 10 2 0 Slow

Rock phosphate 6 24 0 Slow Wood ash 0 1.5 3-7 Rapid

Greensand 0 0 2-8 Medium/slow

Chemical fertilisers are made in about every conceivable combination and concentration. Pick one that is

complete and where the first number (N) is at least equal if not higher than both P and K. For example, rose foods may be 12-12-12 or 20-20-20, and work very well for marijuana. Others are: Vigoro 18-4-5 and Ortho 12-6-6. The higher the number, the more concentrated the mix is, and consequently, the more nutrients are available.

Don't use fertilisers which come in pellets or capsules, or that are labelled "timed" or "slow release." They do not work as well indoors as do standard organic and chemical fertilisers. Chemical fertilisers seldom list the amount to mix per pot. You can get some idea by the instructions for application per square foot. Use that amount of each one-half cubic foot of soil mixture.

Many growers add no nutrients at this time but rely on watering with soluble fertilisers when they water. These fertilisers and their application are discussed in section 9.

pH

The pH is a convenient measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the soil medium. It is another way of expressing whether the soil is bitter (alkaline) or sour (acid). The pH is measured on a scale of 0 to 14, with 7.0 assigned neutral; below 7.0 is acid and above is alkaline.

You can think of the pH as a measure of the overall chemical charge of the medium. It affects whether

nutrients dissolve to forms available to the plant or to forms the plant can't absorb, remaining locked in the soil medium.

Marijuana responds best to a neutral (7.0 pH) medium, although in a fertile, well-drained soil, it will grow well in a range of 6.0 to 8.5. The simplest way to check the pH is with a soil-test kit from a garden shop or nursery.

Test kits are chemicals or treated papers - for example, litmus papers or Nitrazine tape - that change colour when mixed with a wet soil sample. The colour is then matched to a colour chart listing the corresponding pH.

Nitrazine tape is available, inexpensively, in drug stores. Some meters measure pH, but these are expensive.

Agricultural agents, agricultural schools, and local offices of Cooperative Extension will test a soil sample for pH and nutrient content. Occasionally, a garden-shop person will check pH for you or will know the pH of the soils they sell.

Highly alkaline soils are characteristically poor soils that form cakes, crusts, and hardpan. Soil manufacturers don't use them, nor should they be dug for indoor gardens. Alkaline soils are treated with sulphur compounds (e.g., iron sulphate) to lower the pH.

We have never seen commercial soils that were too alkaline for healthy growth, but they are sometimes too acidic. The pH of acid soil is raised by adding lime (calcium-containing) compounds. Liming compounds come in many forms and grades. Some are hydrated lime, limestone, marl, or oyster shells, graded by their particle size or fineness. Use the finest grade available, since it will have more of a neutralising potential than a coarse grade. You need to use less and are more interested in immediate results than long-term soil

improvement. For indoor gardens, use hydrated lime (available in any hardware store) or wood ashes to raise the pH. Hydrated lime is rated over 90 percent for its neutralising potential. Wood ashes will neutralise soil acids roughly one-half as well as hydrated lime. However, they also contain some nutrients (potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and micronutrients) and are handy and free.

There is no exact formula we can give you for raising the pH. The pH does not have to be exact; it's and approximation. At low pH it takes less lime to raise the pH one point than it does when the pH is near neutral.

Sandy soils need less lime to raise the pH one point than soils high in clay or organic matter. In general, add three cups of hydrated lime or six cups of fine wood ash to every bag (50 pounds or a cubic foot) of soil to raise the pH one point. For soils that test slightly acid (about 6.5), add two cups of lime or four cups of wood ash.

Soil that tested below 6.0 should be retested in about two weeks, after thoroughly mixing and wetting the soil.

Repeat the application until the pH is in an acceptable range. Check the pH of plain water to see if it is influencing the tests. Distilled water is neutral, but tap water sometimes has minerals that can change the pH.

Hard water is alkaline. Sulphurous water and highly chlorinated water are acidic.

If you have already added lime to a soil that now tests from 6.5 to 7.0, don't add more lime trying to reach exactly 7.0. Too much lime will interfere with nutrient uptake, notably of potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium.

General Soil Characteristics

The texture, pH, and available nutrients of the soil are all related. The most important single factor is texture (good drainage). When soil drains poorly, it creates anaerobic (without air) pockets in the soil. Bacteria or microbes that live without air will begin to multiply and displace beneficial microbes that need air to survive.

The anaerobic microbes break down organic matter to a finer consistency, and release CO2 and organic acids to the medium. Drainage worsens, the acids lower the pH, and nutrients, even though present, become unavailable to the plant.

The result can be a four-month-old marijuana plant that is only three inches tall, especially if you use high concentrations of manures and composts, peat and sphagnum moss. If your soil lists manures or composts additives, add no more than 10 percent of these on your own.f

Drainage problems sometimes develop after several months of healthy growth. It is a good idea to add about 20 percent sand or perlite to even a well-drained soil. You can never add too much of these; they con only improve drainage. They dilute the nutritive value of the soil, but you can always water with soluble fertilisers.

Mixtures using many components in combination seem to work particularly well. This may be because, at a micro-level each component presents a slightly different set of physical, chemical and biological factors. What the plant can't take up at one point may be readily available at another.