Why do cannabis growers compost their soil to create organic “super soil” instead of just using “regular” soil from the store? Why is super soil better than other types of soil for growing cannabis?

“Super soil” is a term that started being used widely after a famous cannabis grower known as Subcool released a specific set of instructions for creating composted soil that delivers everything your cannabis plant needs, at exactly the right time, without needing to manage your pH or add extra nutrients.

Ever since Subcool taught other cannabis growers how to make their own super soil, organic growers around the world have been using this “secret” to harvest incredible top-shelf organic buds!

Organic “Super Soil” makes cannabis grow like a weed in the wild!

There’s lots of reasons to use super soil for growing cannabis. In addition to being able to create a fully organic growing medium, the correct “recipe” for composted super soil actually mimics the root conditions that make cannabis thrive in nature.

That’s why with super soil, your main job as the grower is to simply water your plants and watch them grow. There’s no need for complicated nutrients, chemicals, managing pH and other factors that can make growing cannabis more difficult or time-consuming throughout the grow.

It is easy and low-effort to grow incredible-quality cannabis buds in composted super soil; just water your plants and wait for harvest!

With super soil, you’re re-creating the environment that causes cannabis to grow like a weed in the wild. You’re creating a “living soil” that acts a lot like the most fertile types of soil in nature.

This means a lot less work from you during your grow. In fact, needing less work during the grow is why many organic growers feel that growing cannabis in super soil is easier than growing cannabis any other way.

Plus there’s the possible taste/smell/smoothness benefits…

Let’s learn more about the pros and cons of using amended and composted super soil for growing cannabis…

Pros of Super Soil

• Better Taste, Smell, Smoothness – Many growers believe that growing cannabis in super soil enhances taste and smell compared to other growing methods, while producing smooth buds with less of a chance of “harshness” from over-fertilization
• Great for Indoors and Outdoors – Super soil is a versatile growing medium that can be used to grow thriving cannabis plants almost anywhere
• Natural – Super soil can be created using only organic ingredients that have been broken down naturally – this closely mimics the best and richest soil found in nature
• No Need to Flush – Since there’s no chemical salts to alter taste and smell of buds, many organic growers feel there’s no need to flush before harvest
• Can Be Easier to Grow – Once the amended soil is composted, growing cannabis in super soil is easier than pretty much any other type of growing medium; with super soil there’s less of a need to worry about maintaining pH or nutrients! As long as you’re starting with a good water source, you just water your plants and wait until harvest

Cons of Super Soil

• Expensive & Best Suited to Bigger Grows – Can be expensive to get started since you generally compost a lot of soil at once – it’s difficult to scale the organic super soil process down to smaller grows that need less soil at a time. However, if you do want small amounts, or if you don’t have time for the composting process, you can actually buy pre-made super soil from experts who specialize in growing cannabis.
• Need to Plan Ahead – Composting take 30-60 days before your soil is ready to be used by your plants, which means you have to plan ahead before each organic grow
• Mixing Soil Can Be Tiring – The amending and composting process involves some physical work (mixing the soil)
• Slightly Slower Growth than Liquid Nutrients – Although you don’t have to do anything to make super soil work for you, cannabis plants grow slightly faster in the vegetative stage when using liquid nutrients. Since nutrients are provided in the absolute most available form without needing any help from microbes in the soil, using liquid nutrients can shave a couple weeks off your grow compared to super soil. You can grow using organic soil with organic liquid nutrients to get some of the benefits of both.

Growing with super soil is a completely different experience compared to most other forms of growing cannabis. Instead of using unnatural chemical salts created in a lab to provide your plants with nutrients in the most easy-to-absorb form possible, you are re-creating an optimal version of how cannabis grows in the wild.

Organic growing uses only natural sources of nutrients, and is much closer to how cannabis grows in nature.

Today a lot of growers use non-organic, liquid-based cannabis nutrients. When using liquid nutrients, you must act as the “middle man” who takes care of your plant roots. That means you’re responsible for maintaining the soil pH and giving specific nutrient ratios throughout your plants life to achieve optimal growth.

When using amended and composted super soil (like this recipe by Subcool), you are creating an entire soil ecosystem that extracts organic nutrients in their natural form and makes them available in a form that your plants can easily use.

Basically using organic composted super soil means your soil is acting as the “middle man” instead of you. The microbes, fungi and other tiny organisms in the soil which have been cultivated during the composting process will take care of your plant roots, delivering nourishment directly to your plant in the form it needs.

Once you’ve created a living super soil via composting, you pretty much just need to water your plants and wait for harvest!