So there’s organic and organicish. Organic as I view it is when we feed the soil and the microbes themselves, and allow the plant and the micro life to communicate with each other to decide what is needed and when. This method involves putting what is needed into the pot beforehand, and top dressing as needed, if needed. There are no acids, chelates, or additives. Just food for the micro life.
This will allow a plant to reach its maximum genetic potential, bringing out deep flavors and effects that are extremely impressive. There is no need for flower boosters, terp boosters, bulking agents, none of that. Allowing the soil food web and the plant to grow in harmony will produce a flower that no amount of additions or products can replicate or even come close to.
Then there’s organicish. Organicish is when you use organic products, sources, and acids. With this method you’re feeding the plant, not the soil, and are deciding what the plant gets and when. Oftentimes microbes and fungi are used to help feed or protect the plant, but the grower is still in charge of delivering the majority of the plants resources.
This will give you a noticeably higher quality flower than synthetic, but the plant won’t reach its maximum genetic potential. Terp and bloom boosters would probably have some decent effects with this method but you’ll still fall short of what’s possible.
1. have you had to deal with deficiencies often or do the microbes take care of most problems. how hard is it to maintain the living soil For lack of better words isnt it like its own ecosystem ?
Yes and no. I say this because it’s not so much a deficiency as it is, the plant has become too large for its pot. One of the best ways to avoid any sort of “deficiency” is to use an appropriately sized container to begin with. 7 gallons is the bare minimum, however I would recommend closer to 10. 15 if you plan on running a 120 day grow. If you use an appropriate size container, you will only ever need pure water, nothing else.
If you’re going to go below these pot sizes, then you need to be prepared for a lack of carbon in your grow making it impossible for the microbes to do their job. You’ll also run into the sources of food not being enough to keep up with the plant. This is when you’ll see problems that need correcting.
If you’re gonna grow organicish then going below pot sizes is fine since you’re gonna be pumping everything into them anyway, but if you’re shooting for organic (Living soil) you’ve gotta make sure to provide the proper amount of food for the micro life and enough carbon to power it all. The larger the container the less you need to amend. You can abuse this a little in smaller containers by using layers and spikes of microbe food and carbon but that’s getting ahead.
Maintaining the soil is really easy. It may seem daunting at first especially with all of the recommendations out there, but it really only boils down to a few main amendments that we use consistently. If you go the organic route you can recycle your soil over and over with it becoming more and more effective with every grow. This has a lot to do with rhizophagy bacteria but that’s also getting ahead lol.
2. they say it isnt necessary but do you use any micro or macro Nutrients? the only thing I would use would be Cal/mag and for flower terpinator for terps and Incredible Bulk (bud booster all phosphorous and potassium 100% organic
Cannabis enjoys a slow steady diet of calcium and magnesium to power the majority of its growth, signaling, processing, etc. I use non chelated calmag which is just calcium and magnesium, nothing else. No iron, no chelates, just calcium and magnesium. I’m trying to get Dolomite lime water working so I can replace the calmag bottle but as it stands that’s the only “nutrients” I use. I also only use 50 ppms at a time every time.
When I’m using pots that are too small like I am currently, I have to top dress food for the microbes to continue processing since the container can no longer keep up by itself. I also use aerated compost teas to keep the microbe and fungi populations up and happy. If I want to “enhance” or add to the plant, I use an aerated compost tea.
Another bit of info on the organic vs organicish is.. When growing organic, OMRI labels and things being called “100% organic” don’t really mean anything to us. We’re more concerned with what’s actually in the products that we are using. There’s tons of “100% organic” and OMRI certified products that I wouldn’t let anywhere near my grow due to the Chelates and organic acids that would screw up my micro life populations. Chelating is something microbes themselves do and stealing that job from them disrupts the soil food web balance.
If you’re going with organicish then 100% organic and OMRI labeled stuff can be useful, but it still doesn’t trump knowing what’s actually in the products.
Both methods in my opinion are better than synthetic. However the difference to me is sort of like the difference in buying organic fruit from a chain grocery or big box store versus buying fruit fresh from a farmer or fruit market. Organic is the farmers/fruit market, organicish is the big box store organic produce.
If organic seems a bit overwhelming then organicish is a great way to cut your teeth on your way to organic.
If it all seems like a bit much and you really prefer being able to precisely measure out exactly what your plant is getting and when, then organicish is the way, and is at least better than synthetic. This is all in my opinion obviously but I’ve seen and experienced the results of all 3 and there’s a clear winner in my mind.
Keep firing away with any and all questions. I don’t mind them at all, and if you need me to explain or expand on something let me know please
