Joe Moran of 1 Degree Consulting talks about the importance of a Soil Management Plan on this week’s episode of Joe Knows. Tune into the Humboldt Green YouTube channel each week for industry news and information.
Joe knows soil! Managing your soil is a huge component of growing cannabis. It’s important to test your soil and water, not just for a healthy yield, but you want to be able to past testing and get your product into the hands of consumers. There are two soil models in cannabis farming, managing native soils and importing soil to your farm. There are some negatives and benefits for each model.
When you import soil there are a lot of costs you have to consider. The purchase costs, freight, delivery, soil storage and above ground irrigation. The positives are that you don’t need a huge nutrient regime because the soil comes loaded with food. Water storage, diversion and reporting of water usage are some of the bigger elements to importing soil. Above ground containers can also use a lot of water.
Benefits of using native soil and having plants in the ground is that you save on purchasing and labor costs, plus there’s already a water source in the ground. The water retention value for native soil is greater than farming in a container. The native soil already has minerals and nutrients, but the important thing is that you want to get it tested because you might have deficiencies or too much of one property.
Farmers can consider both models, but you need a soil management program for farm to be successful. If you’re going after your County permit, you need an Operating Plan, Soil Management Plan and a Site Management Plan for your waterboard enrollment. The team at 1 Degree Consulting can help you write the plans that are needed for compliancy.
Seasonal year-round planning is important when it comes to soil management, whether you’re doing it during the growing season or during the wintertime. The Soil Scientists at Dirty Business Soil inside of Northcoast Horticulture Supply, can test your soil, water and plant tissue and create a custom Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) based on analytical results. NHS can then create a custom soil and amendment blend based on your NMP and offer Farm-Direct pricing on all of your supply needs.
