Hydrolife Canada February/March 2017

grow
Bio-availability is the measure of
nutrients that can be absorbed by the
plant. When dealing with nutrient
salts, the electrical conductivity has
to be pumped up to much higher
levels to make up for the lack of bioavailability.
When using nutrient
salts, on average, you are only getting
around 25 per cent nutrient bioavailability.
With organic cultivation,
your bio-availability doubles.
The reason for that is when a plant
grows in natural surroundings, the
raw elements and animal matter that
breakdown to provide sustenance are
transformed by beneficial fungi and
microbes in the soil. Nutrient salts
are not friendly to this environment
and will result in soil that contains no
beneficial microbes or fungi. Organic
cultivation fosters the growth of these
microbes and beneficial fungi, which,
in turn, metabolize the raw elements
into a form more easily absorbed by
the plant. People will try to supplement
non-organic grows with microbes,
however, the pH of the nutrient salts is
typically enough to kill them, leaving
you with no added benefit.
To maximize nutrient bio-availability,
veganic cultivation is an option. As growers
search for the most natural methods
of growing cannabis, veganic cultivation
has become the talk of the town.Veganic
cultivation redefines simplicity and, as
you could have guessed, involves no
animal products. This isn’t necessarily a
statement about animals per se, it’s about
maximizing nutrient uptake through fostering
an environment in which beneficial
fungi and microbes are free to thrive.
Veganic cultivation revolves around
the use of compost and compost teas
to enrich the soil. Grass cuttings,
vegetables, cannabis leaves, and any
other greens will break down over
time, which allows a compost heap to
form a black sludge at the bottom. As
it decomposes, the compost becomes
home to a world of insects, larvae,
and fungi. One big shovel of compost
placed into a five-gallon bucket of
water, then strained, creates one of
the single best nutrient and microbe
cocktails on the planet. Advocates
of veganic cultivation claim that the
nutrient bio-availability is as close
to 100 per cent as it can get. Thanks
to beneficial microbes and fungi, this
massive increase in nutrient uptake
results in greener fan leaves, fuller
buds, and a flavour free of residues
left behind by animal waste in typical
organic cultivation.
So, is organic better? The short
answer is yes. Understanding
your need, however, is paramount.
Nutrient salts are cheaper and
they work. However, they are not
nearly as effective as organic
supplementation. The increase in
nutrient uptake alone makes
organic cultivation worth
exploring. If you are
looking to produce
commercial quantities of
cannabis, organic will
be pricey and harder to
implement: however, for
a home grower, organic
is by far the way to go.
“
One big shovel of
compost placed into
a five-gallon bucket of
water, then strained,
creates one of the single
best nutrient and microbe
cocktails on the planet.”
Cory Hughes is a former police officer turned full-time
commercial grower in Denver, Colorado.
26
grow. heal. live. enjoy.
myhydrolife.ca