Microbes Make Soil Living: What Is Living Soil?

Our long time followers know that we speak about living soil all the time, but what exactly is it? For you newbies out there we will break down, pun intended, what living soil is and why it makes our hemp flower so terpene rich. Read on to discover the mysterious world of living soil and the microbes teaming in it.

Did you know that the soil beneath your feet is home to a vast and unseen majority of microbes? These tiny organisms are essential for breaking down organic matter and recycling dead plant material. By doing so, they provide valuable nutrients to plants and help keep the soil healthy. In this article, we will explore the important role of microbes in soil and discuss some of the benefits they offer to gardeners. Soil microbes are essential for decomposing organic matter and recycling old plant material. Microorganisms are the unseen majority in soil and make up a huge part of soil’s genetic diversity. This means easier absorption of nutrients by plant roots, reduced need for watering, limited erosion, and improved aeration. A combination of organic materials such as compost, coco coir, peat moss, aged tree bark, manure.

The microbes in the soil are responsible for decomposing organic matter and recycling dead plant material. Soil microorganisms break down leaf litter and other debris into nutrients that can be reused by plants to grow bigger or stronger roots. These tiny organisms also help keep the soil healthy by controlling disease-causing pathogens and keeping away harmful insects. The right mixture of microbes keeps your garden thriving, so it’s important to be sure you have a good mix of microorganisms in your soil before planting anything new!

Soil bacteria are also responsible for adding nitrogen into the ground which is an essential nutrient for plant growth. When organic matter is broken down by bacteria, the nitrogen gas it contains is released into the air. This can be harmful to the environment if too much nitrogen is released at once, but fortunately, plants can use this gas to help them grow! By adding compost or other organic materials to your soil, you are adding nitrogen back into it that can be used by plants again.

Soil is a complex and fascinating ecosystem, and the microbes that live in it are a vital part of its health. By understanding the role of these tiny organisms, gardeners can work with them to create a thriving soil environment that supports healthy plant growth.

Organic matter is any material derived from living organisms such as plants or animals. Composted leaves, grass clippings, and food scraps are all examples of organic matter that contains nutrients which can benefit your garden when added to soil! This type of material is a valuable addition to any garden and can help improve soil health, water retention, and aeration.

As cannabis growers we first became aware of the term "living soil" thanks to Skunk Magazine's cultivation editor, "The Revs" book, "True Living Organics". In this book, The Rev explains how he switched to growing living organics for his indoor cannabis grows and found that the plants produced more terpenes similar to an outdoor grow.

Although cannabis grown indoors tends to have a higher cannabinoid content, i.e., THC, CBD, or CBG, it tends to lack the high terpene content of sun grown flowers. Inoculating your soil with microbes for your indoor grow will mimic what happens in nature and allow your hemp or cannabis plant to express itself to the highest degree.

When you grow indoors with dead, microbe deficient soil, the plant's roots are not as healthy and not able to uptake nutrients efficiently. Instead, you are essentially force feeding your plants, as opposed to letting your plants feed themselves as they need.

Even if you use organic nutrients, if they have not been composted, like in compost teas, your plants receive concentrated amounts of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. These nutrients then get locked in the flower and when you smoke these hemp buds, they burn "hot" and do not taste good.

White ash refers to cannabis or hemp flower which have been properly flushed of residual, unused nutrients and thus burn clean and leave behind white ash. If the ash is black, it is indicative of bud that has chemicals or nutrients locked in it. The result is a smokable flower that burns hot and does not taste pleasant.

The great thing about growing hemp or cannabis in living soil, is there is no need to flush excess nutrients, as the plant only uptakes nutrients as they need them. There is nothing to flush because whatever the plant uptakes is immediately used for plant growth. When you see white ash when burning your smokable flower, that is a sign that you are smoking organic buds.

The truth is that growing cannabis flower with living soil is relatively easy, inexpensive and better for the environment. By staying close to nature and utilizing nature's amazing processes, you are able to harness all of its benefits.

Absolutely not. Flower is full spectrum by nature, however if the terpenes have evaporated out of the bud, it is debatable as to whether it is really full spectrum hemp flower. Vape carts are not full spectrum and neither is most of the CBD oil on the market. Many extraction methods strip out the terpenes, so your CBD tincture is likely not full spectrum. That is unless you are using our full spectrum CBD tincture, which is extracted with MCT oil, leaving all the terpenes intact.

We are always talking about the importance of terpenes and how they contribute to the entourage effect. The entourage effect occurs when these terpenes interact with the variety of other cannabinoids in cannabis. The result is a full spectrum experience where all of the beneficial elements of the plant are activated. Cannabinoids alone will not provide a full spectrum experience and that is why vaping does not produce the same high as smoking a flower joint.

Vaping hemp flower or hemp oil only activates the cannabinoids, so you do not get the full spectrum experience. Terpenes alone have been known to have a host of benefits in and of themselves. Maybe you have heard of aromatherapy, where simply smelling some of these plant oils can reduce stress, relieve anxiety and boost your mood.

• Myrcene - relaxing antioxidant which aids in sleep
• Caryophyllene - activates the CB2 cannabinoid receptor
• Linalool - stress reduction, anti-microbial, immune support
• Pinene - promotes alertness and mental clarity
• Limonene - mood enhancer, stress relief, anti anxiety

When you combine the benefits of terpenes and the benefits of cannabinoids together, you get the full spectrum experience referred to as "the entourage effect". On top of that the terpenes actually do something unique and play off each other and increase the bioavailability of the cannabinoids in your smokable flower. Nature is truly amazing.

That is why it's hard to take the credit of our extremely terpene forward CBD flower. It's really what we allow nature to do. We allow our hemp plants to organically express themselves, so you get to enjoy all of their potential benefits.

The first reaction we always get in regards to our organic, premium hemp buds is, "Wow, the smell!". While other hemp flower companies have to literally spray their plants with terpenes, ours are organically terpene rich. We let nature do the heavy lifting and just make sure to properly slow dry and cure our hemp buds. The result is some of the stinkiest hemp flowers you will ever find.

By growing your cannabis in living soil, you are ensuring that all the beneficial elements of the plant are present and working together. When all these elements come together, they create an experience that is truly unique and cannot be replicated by any other means.

Many nutrient companies sell "organic" nutrients which actually kill off the microbial life in the soil, making it lifeless. It's a lot more beneficial to your plants and the environment to use composted organic nutrients. These can be obtained easily in nature in a regenerative farming method.

Simply create a compost pile with leaves, grass clippings, organic fruit and vegetable scraps like banana peels and apple cores, etc. You can mix these composted materials into your soil at the beginning of the grow season and save yourself bundles. If you have a small craft farm like ours, you don't need to buy bottled nutrients.

Of course if you have an 80 acre hemp farm, this will not be sustainable. That is why we feel growing hemp industrially is great for fiber or seeds, but not so much for smokable flower. We talk in depth about the differences between a craft hemp farm and an industrial hemp grow in another blog post and we encourage you to read it if this topic interests you.

To wrap up, we hope you will consider growing your hemp or cannabis in living soil to get the most benefit from this amazing plant!

Want to try some organic CBD or CBG flowers grown in living soil, then click here!

Want to try some full spectrum CBD oil or CBD salve, then click here!

Stay blessed and stay healthy. Until next time.