When it comes to growing cannabis plants you want nothing but the best results. In order to get these results, it takes skill and practice. By listening to the mistakes of others and learning from these mistakes you can become a master in the craft of growing cannabis. Reaching the level of a master grower takes time and everyone seems to have a different way of growing cannabis.
Is there a right way and a wrong way? The easy answer to this is YES. Large yields, potent buds covered in trichomes, taste bud tantalizing flavors and invigorating aromas are what growers go for and the right way will produce these results. The wrong way will leave you holding the bag, empty handed, with a bum crop of swag pot.
Living soil aka Recycled Organic Living Soil (ROLS), and organic super soil could benefit your cannabis plants in ways you might not have thought. If you’re looking to grow cannabis plants that produces the following you may want to consider growing your cannabis plants using living soil.
- Large potent yields
- Massive amounts of trichomes
- Incredible flavor/aroma profiles
- Strong cannabinoid levels
Let’s look at what creates ROLS and the benefits that recycled organic living soil offers cannabis plants.
What Is Recycled Organic Living Soil
ROLS or recycled organic living soil is exactly what it sounds like. It is soil that contains organic compost and is alive. Unlike bagged soil purchased from the store where many are packed full of salt and other unnatural additives, ROLS creates a healthy environment in which a plant is nurtured during each phase of growth. This environment consists of beneficial bacteria, microbes and fungi. Someone considered to be highly knowledgeable in this field is Diggs, one of the founders of Humboldt Seed Organization (HSO).
Not long ago I had the chance to speak with Diggs on the phone before he took off to Europe for a few months. We had an engaging conversation about growing cannabis, in particular, we talked about soil. Not just any soil, Living Soil. “Collectively, Humboldt Seed Organization is committed to the preservation and progression of cannabis genetics through the art of building living soil.” Diggs_Terra707
Up until this conversation my understanding of living soil was limited to what I’ve seen attending expos and tradeshows in Colorado and Washington State. When talking about growing cannabis using ROLS I discovered that Diggs and HSO shared a passion with me. This passion was premium cannabis genetics. “Only through the use of regenerative and sustainable natural gardening techniques can we reach the maximum potential of genetic expression.” Diggs_Terra707
Why ROLS Became So Popular So Fast
When it comes to growing cannabis many of you may remember walls of nutrients and fertilizers. Of course, this was when hydroponic grows were king. Things have changed and many people are looking for alternatives to growing cannabis as well as many other plants. Due to the overwhelming abundance of chemicals used in hydroponic grows and emerging information about the complexity of health issues due to these chemicals, many growers are returning to the roots of growing plants, natural soil.
As you may well remember, soil in the past was often discarded after just one use as if it had expired. This is a practice that is being turned away from by many. ROLS isn’t new. Creating a healthy living soil has been a practice for a long time going back to techniques like slash and burn. When I asked Diggs his opinion on what was causing this growth in people using recycled organic living soil his reply made a lot of since.
“The addition of millions of new gardeners and small farms over the last decade worldwide has subtly brought our attention back to the land and has helped to have guided many of us to slowly understand the complex functionality of this mysterious and sacred plant.” Diggs_Terra707
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Stacked organic compost is used to help create living soil. This process can be done in many places. The method I looked into was done in the forest of Medford Oregon. Instead of being thrown into a big pile compost is layered and cultivated to perfection. This soil is packed full of nutrients and minerals making an incredibly healthy environment for plants to grow. When the soil is alive you don’t have to add fertilizers and nutrients. With living soil the necessary components such as microbes, fungi and bacteria used to promote healthy plant growth are found naturally. With ROLS plants have a better chance to reach their full potential from the start.
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What Goes In Recycled Organic Living Soil
A strong healthy organic soil is the essential base for ROLS. A few ways to induce or increase microbial life in soil are as follows.
- Homemade compost
- Worm compost
- Leaf mould
- Manure
- Bokashi
- Mycorrhizal fungi
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Adding any of the above-mentioned techniques to help create your recycled organic living soil or a combination of them will give you awesome results. Decomposition or the breaking down of decaying plant material creates microbes that seeds need especially during germination. In nature, this process happens naturally. Today we are just getting back to the roots of nature where many small farms and gardens are turning to sustainable and responsible agricultural practices.
A natural process combining fruits, leaves, flowers, and foliage is nature’s powerhouse used to create living soil. Seeds that fall into this mixture of soil grow to become the plants of the next season and the trees of the future. During the germination stage when seeds are grown in soil they exude sugars to lure beneficial microbes to them. The healthier your soil is, the more microbes there are to be drawn to the seed during its vitally important germination stage of growth.
A certain technique you may want to familiarize yourself with is called inoculating soil. This process occurs when you add beneficial bacteria to soil. This can be done by the process of lacto-ferment or by using compost tea. Lactobacillus is an anaerobic bacterium or a bacterium that does not grow where oxygen is present. Learning the process of how to ferment this inoculant will help the process of decomposition giving you a healthier ROLS.
Those who cultivate their own living soil will tell you it is paramount to do as much of this process yourself, while buying as little of the materials needed as possible. For example, making your own wormery is a great way to always have the fungi, bacteria and microbes on hand that you need. This obviously is one method that will cut cost while still allowing you to produce the results you’re after.
Where Recycled Organic Living Soil Can Take Us
Learning the process of creating our own beneficial bacteria and microbes to be used in living soil will help carriers in the future. As crops become harder to grow and soil becomes weaker from over farming having a healthy supply of living soil on hand can be the difference in eating or not. Water is another commodity that is becoming in short supply.
Countries around the world including the United States are experiencing droughts like conditions making water scarce. Recycled organic living soil can provide plants the necessary nutrients and nourishment to thrive where water is scarce. The process used to create recycled organic living soil also helps us to eliminate much of our waste.
Considering virtually all organic waste including meat can be used to create organic compost it’s easy to see why this method of growing plants is becoming increasingly popular. After all, why throw away valuable resources that can be utilized to create recycled organic living soil? Cannabis grown in ROLS require less water and produce healthier plants. This not only applies to cannabis but to all plants.
By learning methods of agriculture such as how to make ROLS and sharing/teaching the results with others we can help sustain the future of agriculture. The corporate farms that feed so many may not always be there. When it comes time for you to grow, grow like a pro. What you grow counts so get the most out of whatever it is by learning about methods such as the ones we touched on here.
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On a final note, I’d like to leave you with this quote about recycled organic living soil from someone I consider to be highly knowledgeable and an industry leader on the subject Diggs_Terra707 of Humboldt Seed Organization.
“Through the exchange of information and knowledge we have a unique opportunity to give rise to a new generation of change. We have the chance to influence the transcending of our own industry. To move towards the policies which govern the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink and lands we ALL collectively depend on.”
