Soil Preparation for Medical Marijuana Growing

Only a few states in the country have marijuana dispensaries. In the others with legal medical marijuana, legal patients must either get their medicine from a caregiver or grow their own. Here’s the basics of soil preparation for growing medicinal marijuana.

When cultivating medicinal marijuana the cannabis plant needs exceptionally good drainage. When first preparing the are, the digging should encompass a hole with a 4 square foot minimum. One needs to make sure to dig through the hard pan and each year the hole should be dug slightly deeper and wider than prior to create improved drainage.

Before filling back in the created hole each year, drainage should be tested. Even if one will be using drip irrigation, this should still be done due to its importance. Water should be filled into the hole and then observed to ensure the drainage happens quickly with the level of water receding quickly. If proper drainage is not seen, one can try pushing a metal pole through the bottom of the hole in multiple areas to make the drainage better. This should be done repeatedly until proper drainage is ensured.

As soon as proper drainage occurs you can replace the soil and replenish it. Instead of just putting the soil back in the hole that was taken out, one should layer it with either homemade or organic compost while ensuring the hole begins and ends with compost. The hole will not contain all of the soil that was taken out initially in addition to the new compost, so one should use the left over amount to build up a raised hole around the hole. This may help a lot if the plan is to water the marijuana plants with a hose so a dam is created around the plant or if the summers are very dry and hot in the area.

If the plan is to go with something different than homemade compost, then one should purchase some high quality organic compost. This organic compost should not primarily consist of wood or bark products. Why not? These have very little nutrition and can actually deplete nitrogen from the soil, which it needs. Try avoiding compost with horse or steer manures because they often have high levels of pesticide or salt. Granular organic fertilizer should be positioned in the hole on the top 12 to 18 inches.

Want to find out more about AZ medical marijuana cards, then visit Arizona MMC’s site on how to obtain your Arizona medical marijuana card for your needs.