Best Compost and Fertilizers for Outdoor Marijuana Plants

Standard Fertilizers for Cannabis Growth

Standard fertilizers and soil enrichment products are readily available on store shelves and online. They’re often more expensive than potting soils and mixes, but you get more value for the money. When you’re looking at fertilizers, it’s important to keep the previously mentioned nutrient trinity in mind: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium

Fertilizers and other soil enrichment products clearly display the N, P, K ratio on their labels in that particular order. You’ll see three numbers separated by dashes on such products. Several variations exist, including 10-10-10, 5-10-10, and 20-20-20.

These numbers indicate how much of each element is present in the product in question. Fertilizers also contain other essential vitamins and minerals as well as fillers and materials for improving soil aeration and water retention.

Experts often recommend fertilizers with a 20-20-20 nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ratio for outdoor plants during the vegetative phase. At this stage, nitrogen will help your cannabis plants grow lots of leaves, and this is vital for drawing in sunlight and carbon dioxide to produce food and energy.

Phosphorus will help strengthen the roots for nutrient uptake and give your plants the upper hand when the time for bud production rolls around. During the flowering phase, you’ll want to switch to a fertilizer with higher levels of phosphorus. Potassium makes plants less vulnerable to diseases and harsh growing conditions.

The Downside of Fertilizers

Fertilizers are extremely helpful tools in the world of gardening. They have proprietary blends of the nutrients that plants need to thrive. They’re also simple to use. Still, fertilizers have certain drawbacks as well.

Most fertilizers contain chemicals. Some of those agents have been found to cause cancers and other illnesses. Though most are essentially safe, farming experts and experienced growers alike insist chemical-laded fertilizers can negatively impact the taste and aroma of marijuana’s buds. Because of this, many gardeners prefer a different approach to cannabis cultivation.

Taking the Organic Route

For those who’d rather stay away from chemicals and synthetic additives, composting may be the better alternative. This is a more time-consuming and labor-intensive approach, but it’s completely natural and won’t burn the plants’ roots or negatively alter the buds’ tastes and aromas.

Composting entails mixing organic materials and allowing them to decay over time. It’s the same process used by Mother Nature to create rich soil that’s optimized for growing, but human intervention tends to speed up the process.

Whether you simply create a compost pile in the backyard or purchase a composting bin, there are several materials you can add to the mix to give your plants a healthy boost. Grass clippings and dead leaves make a great base for compost. From there, the possibilities branch out significantly.

Save any raw fruit and vegetable peelings and scraps for your compost pile rather than tossing them into the trash. You can also rinse and crush eggshells to mix into the pile. Used tea bags, coffee filters and grounds, and shredded brown paper bags make helpful additions as well.

Some composters dig up earthworms from their yard to put them into the compost bin because they add helpful bacteria and aid in aeration. Other products you can add include fish emulsion, bone meal, blood meal, chicken litter, and cow or bat manure. All these items have valuable properties that add nutrients and break down organic matter. In turn, they’ll help give soil the right consistency to hold water, drain well, and allow for ample airflow around your plants’ roots.

Avoid adding meat scraps and dairy products to your compost pile. Animal-based products will add unhealthy bacteria to the mix and cause odors, and they’ll ruin your compost rather than helping it along. Compost piles can take six months to a year to become ready to use but turning them often will help speed the process.

All Things Said and Done

You have plenty of options for giving your cannabis plants the nutrients they need to grow, thrive, and produce loads of potent buds. Fertilizers are the simplest options available. They provide carefully balanced mixtures of the nutrients your plants need, and they’re simply added to the soil at regular intervals.

Compost offers a more natural alternative. Creating compost takes a certain amount of time, effort, and patience, but the end result lacks harsh chemicals that could potentially detract from your buds’ flavor and aroma or have other unpleasant effects.

Either way, the techniques you use for enriching the soil around your cannabis plants should not only add in nutrients but foster oxygen circulation around the roots and aid in water retention. In the end, you’re bound to reap a bountiful harvest as well as all the benefits those buds hold in store. Try our high-CBD seeds or the 710 seeds which are high in THC and perfect for making oil and concentrates.