Hydrolife Canada February/March 2017

grow
“ Non-organic fertilizers
are typically made from
combining raw elemental
salts whereas organic
fertilizers are made from
plant and animal waste.”
With more and more people interested
in growing cannabis at home,
the question arises: Is organic better?
There is no easy answer as there are
no one-size-fits-all solutions to growing
quality cannabis. Many times, your purpose
will determine if organic is the best
solution for you.
There are many misconceptions about
organic cannabis production. Some think
that organic is automatically better, and
that isn’t always the case. The questions
to ask before undertaking an organic
cultivation regimen are, “Why am I interested
in organic production? Do I want
the best quality? The best flavour? Do
I just want to pump out as much a possible?
Am I concerned about pesticides?”
Understanding the benefits of organic
cannabis cultivation will help you answer
these questions and determine if it
is the right production method for you.
Fertilizers and Pesticides
In food production, organic holds a very
different meaning than in cannabis
cultivation. In agriculture, "certified
organic" not only indicates the seed was
not genetically modified but was raised
using an organic method of cultivation.
Products throughout the grocery store
that say they are “organically produced,”
however, only infers that the process of
growing the seeds was organic.
Genetically modified cannabis seeds
haven’t made their way onto the market
yet, so when you talk about organic
cannabis, you are only talking about the
cultivation method—specifically about
the types of fertilizer and pesticides
used. What differentiates organic
fertilizers from non-organic? Nonorganic
fertilizers are typically made
from combining raw elemental salts
whereas organic fertilizers are made
from plant and animal waste.
With the large number of commercial
cultivation facilities popping up and
vast quantities of marijuana being
pumped out, many are asking how the
big facilities are doing it. Due to the
sheer volume of required nutrients,
it is by far more cost-effective to
use elemental salts, as large scale
production with organic nutrients
cuts into profits big time. Just because
that’s how they do it, doesn’t mean
you should. Organic cultivation
techniques are much more suited to
home grows and boutique-type strains
than for mass production.
Pesticides also usually confuse
people when it comes to organic
cultivation. Organic doesn’t mean
you can’t use pesticides. There are
a range of organic pesticides that
are non-toxic and leave no residues
behind that affect smell or taste.
Organic pesticides are generally
safe and have a very short re-entry
time. The “interval of entry” refers to
the amount of time needed after an
application before humans can re-enter
the area safely. Non-organic pesticides
can have a re-entry interval of days,
if not weeks, compared to organic
pesticides, which have a relatively
short re-entry time of hours. Organic
pesticides can also be applied up to the
day of harvest in most cases, whereas
with non-organics, your pre-harvest
interval can be weeks or months.
The reality is, organic pesticides are
effective and all but gone from the
plant by the time of consumption.
The biggest question to ask is, “Why is
organic better?” The single biggest reason
is increased nutrient bio-availability.
Organic nutrients are closer to the forms
of nutrients plants would be exposed to
in the wild and are more readily absorbed
by the plant, which by definition,
results in higher bio-availability.
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grow. heal. live. enjoy.
myhydrolife.ca