In grade school, your science teacher must have mentioned that the best soil for any plant is loamy soil. Naturally, you will think that it's good soil for your cannabis plant, but it's a little more complicated than that. You see, the best soil for cannabis needs to have a balance of nutrients since it determines how your weed grows, the pace, flower abundance, and finally, how many buds you get.
Cannabis plants need a soil mix of clay, organic remains, and rock particles, which are mostly found on top soil. on top of that, it also needs to have the right texture, pH level, nutrients makeup, and drainage capabilities. So, out of all the soils found in the market, what's the best soil for cannabis to ensure growing weed promises abundant trichome? Let's find out.
Top 5 Best Soil for Cannabis Plants
1. FoxFarm FX14054 Happy Frog Potting Soil, 12 Quart
- Ready to use right out of the bag
- This unique mix is alive with beneficial soil microbes and mycorrhizal fungi
- Dramatically expands root development enabling plants to feed more aggressively
- Not for sale in: FL,GA,HI,IN,MO,SD
With weed, you don't want soil mix that's too rich in nutrients as it will burn your plants. This is where FoxFarm wins in the market. First, it's organic soil rich in mycorrhizal fungi and tons of beneficial microbes.
These properties make growing cannabis easy, right from seedlings to harvest. In terms of nutrients, Happy frog's potting soil has a soil mix of worm castings, bat guano, and forest products such as wood chips which are great for your plant. The soil is highly recommended for home growers with container plants. The good thing is, the soil composition has no sludge, topsoil, or fillers.
2. Roots Organics Soilless, Organic Coco Mix for Hydroponics
- Roots Organics Soilless coco mix is specifically engineered to allow you to feed heavier for greater yields,...
- Plants need to be fertilized in order to thrive and provide you with larger harvests. Roots Organics Soilless...
- Coco fiber, a by-product of rug and broom-making in East Asia, is a renewable resource.
- Ingredients: Perlite, Coco Fiber, Pumice, Earthworm Castings, Bat Guano, Leonardite, Volcanic Rock Dust,...
- Also contains beneficial microbes: Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizophagus intraradices, Septoglomus desertícola...
Roots Organic has been around for a while and is definitely one of the best soil for cannabis. It's an organic potting mix with high-quality coco coir to promote weed fast growth and root development. The coco coir also acts as an excellent placement for peat moss.
The soilless mixture has other nutrients such as worm castings, bat guano, extra-long fiber, perlite, volcanic soil dust, and kelp. Roots Organic Cocoa fiber is an environmentally friendly growing medium, has beneficial microbes, stable pH, and low lignin for best marijuana plants.
Whether you want to use a hydroponics setup or plant containers, this cannabis soil mix is everything you need in one.
3. Coast of Maine CMSBO15 Stonington Blend Organic Growers
Coast of Maine is specifically intended for cannabis growers who don't want to spend more money on pH monitors and other products. Think of it as a stand-alone organic soil mix packed with nutrients such as mycorrhizal, fish meal, kelp, alfalfa meal, and earthworm castings. These are enough nutrients to take care of young cannabis plants till they are mature.
It also has coco coir and dolomite lime as a medium, giving it a light texture perfect for growing marijuana. When growing cannabis, you are assured of high-performance growing with Coast Maine since the mix is an OMRI listed super soil, exactly what your plants need to thrive.
4. Fox Farm Ocean Forest 6.3-6.8 PH Plant Garden Potting Soil Mix
- 1.5 cubic feet of high-growth potting soil mix
- Has everything your plants need in 1 bag
- Blend of earthworm castings, bat guano, sea-going fish and crab meal, forest humus, moss and more
- Ocean Forest is pH adjusted at 6.3 to 6.8 to allow for optimum fertilizer uptake
- Encourages strong branching and sturdy, healthy growth
When looking for the right soil for your cannabis plant, you want to ensure you are maximizing fertilizer intake to increase your bud yield. The Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil mix is an organic potting soil best for indoor growers and outdoor growers. Obviously, as one of the best soil for growing cannabis, this potting mix has everything your plants need in a single bag.
For instance, it has worm casting, sea-going fish meal, crab meal, forest humus, moss, and bat guano, which encourages strong branching and healthy, sturdy growth. As a good quality cannabis soil, this super soil is easiest to use at any stage, be it cannabis seedlings or manure plants.
5. Super Soil Organic Concentrate
- Concentrated Strength Organic Super Soil (just add soil media)
- 5 pounds of concentrate mixed with potting soil amends 25 gallons of containers
- Just water from seed to harvest (microorganisms in the super soil provide nutrients to the roots over time)
- Living Soil technology for your vegetable garden
- Growing does not need to be difficult to get great yields and quality
The good thing with a super soil cannabis product is all you need to do once you plant your seedlings is water them and wait for harvest time. As the best soil for growing cannabis, this potting mix has everything you need for your cannabis roots. The main and best ingredient in this soil mix is SubCool, an organic cannabis farming formula.
Other added ingredients include alfalfa, blood meal, dolomite lime, aloe vera, kelp meal, fish bone meal, work castings, bone meal, and Epsom salt. It also has sphagnum peat moss and other microorganisms, which make it an organic super soil.
Tips for Picking the Best Soil for Cannabis
When it comes to potting soils, cannabis growers everywhere agree on a few things. First, your soil should be dark and rich and have a nice light texture that drains water but hold just enough for your plants. That is, you want wet soil, not the muddy mess kids play with in the backyard. Generally, there are a few traits you should look for when picking good cannabis soil.
In a nutshell, check:
- Soil texture - The best soil mix for weed should be light and airy as opposed to heavy and compact.
- Drainage - The best soil allows great drainage since water retention results in root rot and poor root health.
- Water retention - Plants can't do without water, so the best soil for cannabis should also retain some moisture even when it doesn't retain water.
- pH value - Weed like a pH of around 6, so buy specialists kits to test your soil if you prefer to go with your own soil. All products reviewed here are optimized for this pH to keep your marijuana healthy and strong.
- Nutrients - Each soil type will have some nutrients, but you will likely need to boost it with a bloom nutrient, especially when your plants are flowering. Mostly, you need to add Potassium and nitrogen.
Now, let's go back to grade school science and see which soil type will work and why.
Types of Soil and Whether They Are Good For Growing Weed
1. Sandy Soil
Sandy soil- Typically, sandy soil is coarse, which means it has good drainage, a quality the best potting soil should have. This means it won't hold water, your soil will be airily, and the oxygen levels high. Also, it's easy to work with.
However, its water retention is terrible, which means you will end up with dry plants. If you use this soil, then nutrients like nitrogen will easily wash away, leaving you with poor flowering and bud quality if your plant makes it to this stage at all. The remedy is to keep watering your plant.
2. Silty soil
Silty soil is obviously rich in minerals and organic particles with a reasonably coarse texture. It has great water retention, yet it drains water quickly, which is exactly what good cannabis soil should be. According to science, the minerals and organic substances in silty soil make it one of the most fertile soils. The only thing that makes it a downside when used as cannabis soil is that the drainage is fair, slightly lower than what you want. It may not be such a big deal until your plant roots begin to rot.
3. Clay soil
You probably experimented with molding a pot at school using clay because of its properties. That is, it has fine mineral practices, heavy, and with poor drainage. While these qualities are great for ports and other artifacts, they are the worst when weed growing. However, clay soils will remain wet even though it’s packed with tons of nutrients. The poor drainage, heavy and compact texture means your plants will either have too much or too little water.
4. Loamy soil
When you think of loamy soil, you have sand, silt, and clay soil mixtures into one blend of goodness for your weed plant. Some people prefer to call it sandy loam as these are the highest ingredients in the soil.
If you are using outdoor soil instead of a bough soil mix, this is by far the best soil for cannabis to use. It has excellent water retention, good drainage, is packed with tons of nutrients, and is high in oxygen levels. The only downside is that it's expensive.
How to Improve Soil Quality for Cannabis Growing
Some soil mixes often need additional nutrients even when they have the majority of properties that make them best for growing weed. Also, as mentioned, you need to improve your home soil if this is the route you choose to take. So, how do you add nutrients to your soil and make it cannabis-worthy?
Some soil mixes often need additional nutrients even when they have the majority of properties that make them best for growing weed. Also, as mentioned, you need to improve your home soil if this is the route you choose to take. So, how do you add nutrients to your soil and make it cannabis-worthy?
1. Coco coir
Coco fiber comes from coconut husks. Because the fibers are light, coco coir is a great water retention medium and light. Add at least 30% pf coco fiber to your soil to improve retention.
2 Perlite
This soil amendment is the most famous, and with good reason. It has light, bright-white rocks that improve your soil's airiness. It also has excellent water retention, so add up to 15% to boost your soil.
3. Clay pebbles
Although clay isn't the best potting soil, clay pebbles are the best, especially when using hydroponic setups and improving soil structure. Add clay pebbles to the bottom of your bed to assist in drainage and preventing water from pooling at the top where plant damage is likely. They also serve as mulch when placed on top of the Planting container.
4. Worm castings and vermiculite
Worm castings add to the soil's nutrition since they have numerous microorganism that benefits plant growth. Vermicular, on the other hand, makes your soil lighter and improves its water retention. Use up to 30% of worm casting and 10% vermiculite when improving your soil.
Conclusion
Potting soil determines how healthy your cannabis plants will be once the season is over. While growing cannabis is more than the soil, picking the best cannabis soil means you are halfway there, if not almost there. So, pick the best soil from the list, and if you are needed to add any nutrients, you now know how to go about it.
Best Soil for Cannabis Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the best organic soil for seedlings?
Your best option is to pick a mix with a basic cannabis soil recipe, such as super soils. From our lists, Super Soil Organic Concrete is your best bet. It has all the nutrients a potting mix should have and is still easy to use since all you have to do is water your plants.
2. What's so good about organic cannabis soils?
A lot of things make organic soils or living soil best for cannabis. First, it's perfect for cannabis seeds because of the organic nutrients. Secondly, it has a blend of ingredients such as bat guano, worm castings, dolomite line, and mycorrhizal bacteria. Lastly, it has great water drainage and retention,
