by Greg Green
Some common soil types
There are many more types of soil mediums out there and here we will briefly go through a few. Marijuana can be grown in most of these soil types but you will see that there may be some problems with a few of them.
Sand and silts
Sand soils can be pure sand or a mixture of sand and soil. The problem with sandy soil is that it drains water and minerals out too quickly. This means that it is a very dry soil and not suitable for our needs. These soils can waste our time and money.
Silt soils are nearly the same as sand soil except they are more clay-like and of a darker color. Silts hold nutrients well but do not hold water very well. Like sands they are prone to quick drainage. Sands and Silts are rarely used on their own to grow cannabis. Mostly it is mixed with other soil types.
Clay
Is a stiff tenacious fine-grained earth consisting of hydrated aluminosilicates that become flexible when water is added. Marijuana roots do not really like clay. Clay can rarely be used on its own to grow Cannabis. Mostly it is mixed with other soil types.
Loam
Loams tend to be a mix of all of the above. The combination of the mix is always stated on the bag. In fact, in most cases normal soil that you buy in the shops has sand, silt and clay mixed in with it. When you encounter a bag of soil it is nearly always going to be a Loam. Loams are very fertile soil composed chiefly of clay, sand, and humus. They are highly recommended. It must be noted at this point that you do not want to bring natural outdoor soil in. This is because the soil may not be sterile and it may contain bugs and pests. Always buy soil from a gardening shop. Soil is the cheapest part of your grow.
Humus
Is the organic constituent of soil, formed by the decomposition of plant materials and can be bought in bags at the local gardening shop. Most of these products try to eliminate bugs and other living matter from the soil but sometimes this is not 100% successful. Don’t be too surprised if you find a worm or green fly in the package. Humus is also sometimes known as compost, but compost is the final mixture of manure (which is of organic origin), loam soil and some other mediums with added organic matter. Humus is that added organic matter stuff.