Contrary to what many may think, growing cannabis isn’t as easy as throwing seeds into a hole and watering them every few days. It’s an intensive process that requires plenty of dedication to detail throughout every stage to ensure the plants come up healthy and in plenty.
In addition, marijuana cultivation isn’t always easy on the environment. A single cannabis plant can drink up to a gallon of water per day and requires 16 essential nutrients to grow healthy and strong. Studies have found that without proper regulations and growing practices in place, marijuana grows can contribute to ecological issues, including water waste, land degradation, and even wildlife deaths.
Although some of these issues occur due to illegal cannabis grows on public land, unscrupulous licensed growers can also contribute to environmental degradation due to poor growing practices. One solid way for marijuana cultivators to reduce their impact on the environment is to use “living soil.”
Living soil refers to growing material such as compost that’s teeming with microorganisms such as protozoa, healthy bacteria, amoebas, and worms as well as their casings. It could even contain glacial rock dust and kelp extract.
This living soil is a much cleaner alternative to filling your grow medium with artificial nutrients than throwing it away once the plants are mature. Living soil also reduces the need for pesticides and fungicides because it spawns strong plants that can fight these issues themselves.
This soil could also be a cost-effective way of growing cannabis. According to Tom Moylan, the director of cultivation at Maryland-based cannabis company Culta, using living soil for cannabis grows will be significantly cheaper in the long run. While building up a reserve of organic soil may be a little costly, the investment will start to pay off by the second year.
Culta, which grows cannabis outdoors, was using around 20 tons of soil when it started its outdoor cultivation operation. This soil would have had to be replaced each year, increasing the company’s operational costs as well as its impact on the environment.
However, living soil doesn’t need to be replaced every year. Moylan says that once the soil and nutrients are mixed and installed in growing beds, the mixture can be used for years. Culta has also included cover crops to reduce erosion caused by aerating the soil and to increase the nitrogen content in the soil.
The resulting grow medium is full of nutrients and retains water naturally, making it suitable for cultivation even when there is drought and extreme heat. Living soil has the potential to significantly reduce impact on the environment by eliminating the need for a new grow medium and artificial nutrients every year.
Since cultivation methods can have an effect on the bottom line of a company, it is likely that established companies such as Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: FLGC) are exploring all ways to continually reduce their costs and minimize their carbon footprint in every aspect of their operations.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Flora Growth Corp. (NASDAQ: FLGC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/FLGC
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