Best Soil For Growing Weed
Fertile soil is one of the most important aspects for a successful breeding. Whether you are growing cannabis plants indoors or outdoors, autoflowers or photoperiod strains, a home grown weed plant needs nutrients from the soil for their growth and flowering.
However, many growers often wonder which soil is cannabis friendly and which soil should be avoided. While the right soil can come in different forms, they do have a few things in common.
Good cannabis soil has a loose structure, sufficient drainage, and is able to retain sufficient water at the same time. Soil quality is another important factor in successful cannabis cultivation. Continue reading to learn more about the best soil for growing weed.
Best soil for cannabis plants
Of course, you can already think about adding nutrients to your soil, but let's start off with the basics.
The best potting soil for marijuana plants is soil that provides a good balance between oxygen and water at the roots. Too much water causes stifling roots (the plant gets too little oxygen) or can, but if it drains the water too quickly, the roots can dry out. Poor drainage can also cause root rot and mold on your weed plants.
You need soil with a loose texture that is capable of retaining water and draining the excess water at the same time. This is most important for healthy root growth.
How to recognize the best soil for growing weed (indoors and outdoors)?
- The soil has a fairly dark color. Light-colored, sandy soil usually does not have (sufficient) nutrients that can reach the roots of the plant.
- Look at it and feel it. Cannabis grows best in the soil with a light, airy texture and good drainage, which appears almost fluffy when dry. As a test, you can apply the following: turn the soil into a ball. The ball of soil must stick loosely together, but also fall apart easily if you squeeze it.
- The earth contains small white downy rocks (perlite). This is usually a good sign because it means that this soil mixture has the potential for proper drainage. The structure is loose and drains well (after adding the water, the puddle of water on the earth quickly disappeared)
- Contains no chemical nutrients. Do you read the word "chemical" somewhere? Do not buy the product. After all, chemical fertilizers will release slow chemicals, which is something you do not want for your plant.
- Check for wood or bark in the soil. Often that is not a good sign. Unless it explicitly states that it is organically composted soil.
Below we discuss the best types of soil for best soil for homegrown weed.
What is the best soil mix for growing weed when it comes to photoperiod strains?
We have explained what the characteristics of good soil are for growing a weed plant, but you might still be looking for an answer to the question: what is the best soil for growing weed? These are the best possible option for photoperiod cannabis growers.
Super Soil - recommended for beginners
As a beginner, we recommend keeping your grow as simple as possible and choosing composted Super Soil. Although this soil isn’t cheap, it contains all the necessary nutrients, a loose structure, drains well, and retains sufficient water. So all you have to do is add water. With Super Soil, you don't have to add extra nutrients.
What is Super Soil and why is it suitable for growing cannabis?
Super Soil is a type of soil with slowly released organic food sources parallel to the life cycle of the plant. Moreover, the soil has a perfect PH value. The microorganisms that live in the soil provide nutrients to your plant, and in return, they eat the sugars that are secreted by your roots. So Super Soil is actually a living soil full of microorganisms and beneficial microbes, and it mimics very well what happens in nature.
When you decide to use Super Soil, it is advisable not to give too much water at a time. Watering too fast and too much can drain off the nutrients, and that is a shame, because your plant needs them. Make sure you give enough water to saturate the soil without draining much water from the soil.
Fox Farm Soil - recommended for semi advanced growers
Fox Farm Soil is very suitable for growing weed plants and is particularly popular in the US. The two most suitable types are the Fox Farm Happy Grog and the Ocean Forest.
Fox Farm Happy frog
Fox Farm Happy Frog is a very suitable soil for seedlings, but also contains sufficient nutrients for the entire life cycle. When you choose Happy Frog you do not have to transplant your plant if you don’t want to.
Fox Farm Ocean forest
In addition to the Happy Frog, the Ocean Forest is a very suitable soil type for growing your cannabis plant. Especially since the soil contains enough nutrients for the entire process from seed to harvest.
However, Ocean Forest is "hotter" than Happy Frog. This means that the soil contains higher levels of nutrients. This may be undesirable for seedlings. A cannabis seedling needs very few nutrients and is also capable of burning very few nutrients.
Although the chance is very small, your seedling can die from overfeeding, but you can easily exclude this risk by starting with Happy Frog soil and transplanting to Ocean Forest soil after two weeks.
Organic pot mix - recommended for advanced growers
If you cannot get Super Soil, we recommend you choose organic potting mix.
What is organic pot mix?
Organic pot mix is a natural soil mix without the addition of slowly degradable chemical release nutrients.
Points of attention
- In many stores, almost all pot mix is presented as "organic soil". It is, therefore, important to check whether your potting soil is really organic. Slowly degradable chemical release nutrients must be avoided at all times.
- Organic potting soil usually doesn’t have enough nutrients to feed your plants for longer than a few weeks. Because of this, it is wise to add extra cannabis-friendly nutrients, especially during the flowering phase, which will increase the phosphorus and potassium levels.
What's the best soil for autoflowers?
Autoflowers are known for their strong character and ease of breeding. Especially due to their low-maintenance nature and light-independent genes. The enormous resistance, rapid growth, and ability to flower without changing light make autoflower seeds a sought-after choice among both novice and advanced growers.
The autoflower contains genes from the ruderalis variety and is generally a small and compact plant. This is a species that is originally found in the high northern hemisphere and adapted to extreme weather conditions, which has resulted in a short vegetative stage
As a result, the autoflowering is not as fussy about the soil. Moreover, autoflowers don’t need many nutrients to flower successfully. In fact, too many nutrients can have a negative impact. However, this doesn’t mean that an autoflower cannot benefit from fertile soil. In fact, optimized soil and nutrients can significantly improve their harvest and quality.
What is the best soil mix for autoflowers?
For an autoflower plant, it is important that the soil is light and airy. Because the nutritional requirement, in contrast to photoperiod types, is lower, many premixed soil species aren’t suitable. In many cases, premixed soil contains too many nutrients.
We advise you to make your own soil mixture, when cultivating autoflowers. This also will prevent your earth from being overfed. Curious how you can make your own soil mix for your autoflower? Check the recipe below:
- One part pre-moistened vermiculite
- Two parts pre-moistened perlite
- Three parts of peat moss
- Three parts of compost
What else do you have to take into account?
- An autoflower seedling needs no nutrients in its first two weeks. It’s therefore important not to add any. By making sure you don't, you can prevent damage to your auto seedling. After two weeks, you can gently enrich your soil with nutrients but keep the dosage low. Even in the flowering period, the autoflower only needs a few nutrients.
- Like photoperiod types, autoflowering species prefer a slightly acidic medium. That means a PH value of 6.2 to 6.5.
- Add mycorrhiza fungi for an extension of the root system. Your plant will then be better able to reach more distant nutrients. In addition, mycorrhiza fungi help to catch and kill vermin such as parasitic nematodes.
What have we learned?
To cultivate a thriving cannabis plant, whether indoors or outdoors, one must choose the right soil. Look for dark, airy high-quality soil with good drainage and no chemical nutrients. Beginners can use Super Soil, rich in microorganisms and perfect for simple cultivation.
Semi-advanced growers may opt for Fox Farm soil—Happy Frog for seedlings and Ocean Forest for the whole life cycle. Advanced growers can use an organic potting mix, free from chemical nutrients.
Autoflowers, known for their hardiness, demand fewer nutrients, and a homemade mix of vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, and compost could be ideal. Remember, the right soil mix enhances the quality and yield of your cannabis crop.
If you want to learn more about the process of growing cannabis, you can visit our learning center, or read one of the following articles:
> How to grow cannabis indoors?
> How to grow cannabis outdoors?