Best Soil For Growing Cannabis

For our cannabis enthusiasts and those wanting to try their hand at their own grow, this article will be discussing how to identify the best soil for growing weed indoors, the best soil for cannabis in general, and how you can better inform yourself on which type of soil you need for the type of weed you’re growing.

How To Identify Quality Soil

The best soil for your weed should be balanced between its ability to retain water, drain water and excess nutrients, and have a healthy texture. Before growing cannabis in soil, make sure you’re familiar with how to identify healthy soil from unhealthy soil!

Check Your Soil's Texture, Drainage And Water Retention

To have the best soil for weed, the most important aspects of your soil will be its texture, water retention and drainage. Having a light and fluffy soil encourages microorganisms to move around, making it easier for your roots to grow. The soil's drainage and water retention are also crucial to ensuring cannabis health. Soil that retains the right amount of water will help you avoid overwatering, which can lead to root rot.

How’s My Soil's Composition?

The composition of your soil is also important to ensure a healthy community of microorganisms that can freely move around. It’s necessary for your soil to have a healthy community of fungi and bacteria while also avoiding the growth of invasive pests. Soil that’s composed of multiple textures helps these organisms function while also encouraging root movement and airflow.

What Ingredients Can I Add to My Soil?

Adding beneficial ingredients to your soil will guarantee the best soil for weed. Some common ingredients include:

• Perlite: small white “pebbles” that encourage drainage and add oxygen to your soil.
• Worm castings: these improve the texture of your soil and are a natural source of nutrients.
• Coco coir: coconut husks that are lightweight and improve water retention.

Other common ingredients to look into are peat moss, sandy loam, bat guano, fish meal, bone meal, pumice, kelp, mycorrhizae and dolomite lime. All of these, depending on your goals as a grower, can be helpful in enriching soil with beneficial macro and micronutrients.

What Kinds Of Nutrients Are In My Soil?

Soil is the direct pathway to providing nutrients to your roots. Cannabis needs three main macronutrients to maintain its health, which are nitrogen (N), the main component of chlorophyll; phosphorous (P), which is essential for developing ATP energy; and potassium (K), which enables photosynthesis and regulates carbon dioxide in the plant. Other micronutrients that are important to plant health are calcium, iron, zinc, boron, copper, sulfur and manganese, all of which can be found in worm castings, molasses, kelp and coffee grounds.

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How To Identify Bad Soil For Your Plants

Soils that are bad for your cannabis are those that contain too much moisture and retain too much water; thick, heavy and muddy soils can drown your plants and suffocate them from lack of oxygen. Cannabis soil needs to be rich and fluffy to encourage a healthy ecosystem for your roots to thrive; if the roots are the major organ of your cannabis, the soil is the body from which this organ is able to sustain its life.

Main Types Of Soil

Before we get started on which soil is right for your plants, we first need to identify the different types of soil that are out there and the qualities of each, so that you know which soil is right for you.

Sandy

Sandy soil is typically light in color and fluffy, with a large granular shape and size. Sandy soil has a low pH and good drainage, which prevents compaction. This increases the levels of oxygen in your soil, which is important for root health; however, because of the texture, it dries out easily and does not retain important nutrients.

Silt

Silt is pale in color and is medium in granular size. Because silt is a very firm type of soil, it keeps your roots grounded, which stabilizes your plant and is good at retaining water. However, because of the firmness of the soil, it has poor drainage and is easily compactable, which are unproductive to both overall root health and growth.

Loam

Loam is a combination of sandy, silt and clay soils. Loam should be dark, rich and squishy in appearance and texture. It’s also one of the best soils at retaining the necessary amount of water and maintaining good drainage, which prevents a plethora of plant diseases. The only real downside to loam soil is its price point.

Clay

Clay soil is reddish-brown in color and clumpy in texture, with a small granular size. Clay soil also has a higher pH, which can be unhealthy for particular strains of cannabis. Although clay soil naturally provides minerals – stabilizing for plants – and is good at retaining water, it is often too heavy, which causes poor drainage issues and can be hard to work with.

Supersoil

Supersoil is the best organic soil for weed, with well-mixed combinations of multiple types of soil. Supersoils are packed with nutrients and organic life in an almost-perfect combination, mimicking the root conditions that allow cannabis to thrive in the wild and therefore sometimes referred to as “living soil”. Supersoil creates a better taste, smell and smoothness in your weed, and makes your cannabis much easier to grow.

So, Should I Buy Soil Or Collect It?

In general, if you are a beginner in the world of growing cannabis, it’s safest to stick with a store-bought soil. As you can see from the descriptions above, the best growing media are those that combine different types of soil and textures, like loam or supersoil, which are difficult to mix on your own. Creating soil from scratch is time-consuming, technical and expensive, whereas store-bought soils usually do not need any amendments or added ingredients. Most store options are also organic, and it’s easy to buy high-quality supersoil at certain garden shops or specialty cannabis stores. However, be sure to watch out for “time release” soils, which release chemical nutrients over time, as these can release too much of one nutrient at once and harm plant development.

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Different Soil For Different Strains

The best soil for growing cannabis is dependent on the type of strain you’re growing. Different strains require different levels of nutrients and water, so make sure you know what type of weed you’re growing before you plant your seeds.

Soil For Photoperiod Strains

Photoperiod strains take a longer time to grow and also grow much larger than autoflowering strains. As saplings, avoid using nutrient-rich soils and go for a lighter, perlite-based mixture. As photoperiod strains mature, this is really the only place in which a supersoil, especially a homemade mixture, is appropriate, as photoperiod strains can easily thrive and enjoy living in a nutrient-rich environment. You will find an ideal recipe for a supersoil below which can be used for all your photoperiod strains.

Soil For Autoflowering Strains

Autoflowering strains grow much faster but do not grow as large as photoperiod strains. Unlike photoperiod strains, autoflowering strains favor light and airy soil that’s unfertilized; too many nutrients damage the growth of these strains. The ideal soil would be a 50-50 mix of coco coir in a light, peat-based soil with plenty of perlite to encourage aeration, especially as seedlings. Supersoils are not ideal for young autoflowering strains, as this will cause serious nutrient burn.

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Store-Bought Vs. Homemade Soil

Store-bought soil is an easy go-to if you’re a beginner at growing cannabis. However, if you want to try your hand at your own homemade mix, here’s a recipe that’s sure to make your plants extremely happy:

Recipe For The Best Potting Soil For Weed

This recipe is guaranteed to give you the best soil for growing weed. Here are your ingredients:

• 3 parts organic starter soil
• 1 part perlite
• 1 part worm castings
• 64g (2.2 oz or 1/2 cup) greensand
• 43g (1.5 oz or 1/3 cup) guano
• 64g (2.2 oz or 1/2 cup) dolomite lime

After mixing everything together, soak for two days in pure water, keeping it wet constantly. Make sure your soil is mostly dry before transplanting into the soil. Note: this homemade soil is super nutrient-rich and shouldn't be used for seeds, seedlings or clones, as it can result in nutrient burn.

Best Options For Quality Store-Bought Soils

If you’re not ready to make your own cannabis soil, there are plenty of options available to you to purchase on your own that are both high-quality and affordable. Here are some of our favorite types of soil for growing cannabis:

Try This: FoxFarm Happy Frog

FoxFarm Happy Frog is one of the best soils for growing weed indoors. This soil comes equipped with the perfect pH levels to ensure a high-quality bud, and naturally has the perfect blends of fungi and microbes living in the soil. Ideal for indoor growing, this soil is naturally aerated and doesn’t require added chemical nutrients. It’s also one of the highest-rated cannabis soils for growing on Amazon, so be sure to check it out if you’re an indoor grower.

Good Choice: Mother Earth Coco Plus Perlite Mix

With great texture and drainage, Mother Earth Coco Plus Perlite Mix is 70% coco pith and fiber blend with 30% perlite. Because this is not a potting soil, it’s best used in combination with your favorite soil. The perlite in this potting mix adds extra aeration and better drainage, which increases oxygen flow to your roots and ensures your plants will become extremely healthy and avoid becoming overwatered. The coconut coir resists compaction and lasts longer in containers versus other traditional potting materials.

Another FoxFarm Gem: FoxFarm Ocean Forest

Ready to use out of the bag with no need for extra nutrients, FoxFarm Ocean Forest is a wonderful blend of earthworm castings, bat guano, and fish and crab meal for a guaranteed nutritious environment for your roots. It also contains composted forest humus, peat moss and sandy loam for a light, fluffy texture and added aeration. With a pH between 6.3 and 6.8, this soil is ideal for many different strains of cannabis without any additional work necessary to ensure plant health.

An Excellent All-Rounder: Espoma Organic Potting Mix

This potting mix is excellent in providing nutrition to your plants throughout their life. From seedling to harvest, Espoma Organic Potting Mix improves moisture retention in the soil and allows your roots to absorb as much oxygen and as many nutrients as possible. This mix is also excellent to use with added perlite or peat moss, which will further improve water retention and increase oxygen levels. Moreover, Espoma Organic Potting Mix is an excellent option to use to avoid drought sickness.

Final Thoughts

If the roots are the vital organ of the cannabis plant, then soil is the body which hosts these vital organs and provides them with nutrients. Having a healthy soil and using the correct type is essential to guaranteeing a happy cannabis plant, ensuring a successful growth cycle with plenty of flowers coming your way.

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