 Living soil is the symbiotic relationship between organisms working together to break down organic matter in your soil, which, in turn, provides valuable nutrients to plants and the microbial world. This style of cultivating allows the newly formed soil to function as its own ecological community, feeding the cannabis/hemp plant roots itself. This is known as growing with mother nature and was first called the "soil food web" by Dr. Elaine Ingham. The soil foodweb world consists of composting worms, beneficial nematodes, protozoa, bacteria, and fungi. Living soil cultivation methods have proven time and time again to produce extremely high-quality cannabis. They generate these results by breaking down the organic matter that collects on the soil floor. Then specific decomposers like red wiggler composting worms, roly polys, and white springtail mites break that organic matter down into carbon. The ground that doesn't contain beneficial organisms is not living and should be considered DIRT. Dirt requires nutritional supplementation via fertilizers and compost teas just to produce mediocre medicine. Red Wigglers and African Nightcrawlers will work in a symbiotic relationship with the microbial soil foodweb to help build dissolved oxygen channels, which allows newly formed roots to begin to grow a larger circumference. This symbiotic relationship also helps to control dangerous pests and improve water retention, thus reducing the amount of attention needed to produce abundant, high quality cannabis and hemp yields.  Why Is This Style Called "Beyond Organic"? USDA Certified Organic has come to mean any farmer that uses organically certified input materials. Many would argue that this is a very watered-down version of the original meaning. Even focusing on “soil health” is not necessarily enough, because some farmers and growers get caught up on the chemistry of their soil, thinking that they need to add various mineral and chemical nutrients in order to balance their soil. However, the focus of a truly organic farmer - or what we are now calling “beyond organic” or “regenerative,” is on biological soil health. When a farmer promotes the right microbes and the accumulation of organic matter in their soil, everything else will follow. Tilling creates a Catch 22 for the organic farm: tilling speeds the breakdown process of organic matter but also dramatically minimizes the lifespan of the organisms living in the newly tilled soil. Essentially, excessive tilling kills off the microorganisms in the ground rather than nurturing them. As a living soil farmer, learn to trust the process and let Mother Nature work synergistically with the microbial world by pulling down the organic matter. This organic matter becomes the living soil we are after and naturally boosts the amount of active organic matter that is bioavailable. This entire microbial world operates on this life source for creating energy and receiving nutrition, improving its organic content. This is fantastic for achieving the full cannabis genetic profiles we are after. A beyond organic farm will use little or no tilling.  In a Living Soil, a complex and high glomalin soil will begin to form. This kind of soil is drought resistant and has impressive water retention capabilities. Increasing micro-diversity has many beneficial and long lasting effects that you can see all the way up the food chain, such as producing high-end cannabis/hemp flavor profiles that you enjoy smoking for their medicinal values. There is a direct correlation between biodiversity in your soil and the complexities of taste and oil production in whatever you are growing. The Benefits of Growing Cannabis in Living Soil When cannabis is cultivated in a no-till/living soil system, it begins to emulate the more delicate complexities like that of aged fine wine. A healthy microbiological ecosystem MUST be alive and thriving for you to achieve these same results building your living soil system. The full genetic profile of the plant relies directly upon the quality and level of microbiology in your soil system. The higher bio-diversity increases over time and creates a healthy closed-loop system where more top quality microbial levels are achieved. If you are looking to start cultivating your own THC/CBD medicine, then there is no better cultivation style. Since the medicinal values of the plant are determined by the oil production, you will end up with a much more complex therapeutic profile, allowing for the actual medical potential of the plant to be achieved. Your end product will be looked upon as high end and will have a far superior cannabinoid profile.  THC has become the most commonly known psychoactive compound in the cannabinoid family. When the levels of these other cannabinoids are raised, there seems to be a direct correlation to the medicinal value pulled from the compounds and their medical applications.
When grown in a diverse microbiological environment, cannabis becomes a much more potent and diverse medicine. Any increase in the levels and varieties of cannabinoids should be the goal when growing medical cannabis. Below are the most commonly known cannabinoids besides THC, and their effects:
Conclusion If you’ve been considering making the switch to cultivating with true living soil, there’s no better time to do so. With the rapidly changing landscape of the cannabis industry, and new competition entering the growing game every day, there’s no better way to stand out.
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 There’s one fact that all farmers know to be true: using N-P-K fertilizers will increase your crop yield. But today, the scientific foundation for this supposed fact is eroding faster than dirt in a downpour. And what farmers are realizing is that the benefits of using fertilizers are starting to be dwarfed by the side effects. For one, fertilizers lead to empty growth. If you’re trying to grow high quality flower for CBD, this means less terpenes and cannabinoids per pound. For another, feeding a plant N-P-K fertilizers leads to a decline in the soil microbial population which is ESSENTIAL for protecting the plant from pests and diseases. Many people believe that hemp is naturally resistant to pests. Yet we’ve already seen hemp farmers fall victim to the same problems’ other farmers face. Fungal diseases like Fusarium and Pythium are ravaging entire crops. Grasshoppers find hemp leaves especially tasty. Spider mites and root aphids have a particular affection for the hemp plant. While fertilizers might appear to increase your yield, they will ultimately leave your plants vulnerable to a disease or pests that could decrease your yield dramatically. The use of chemicals- such as synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides- is a relatively recent agricultural development. For thousands of years, chemicals were not needed or used in farming. Despite what we’ve been told about the necessity of the “green revolution,” countries like China, Japan and Korea managed to sustain very dense populations for hundreds of years using only techniques that feed the soil and promoted healthy microbial life. Sensibly, chemical inputs are not required when you are working with, not against, the systems that Mother Nature already has in place.  The Fundamental Principles of Farming Are Changing The past two decades have seen rapid advances in our understanding of soil science. We now know that a healthy soil microbial ecosystem is the most important factor in getting a high yield, healthy crop. Healthy, regenerative soil should become alive and thriving with an abundant and diverse group of microbial life. Biodiversity is critical, with an average of 90% of soil functions created by different microbes. This is because microbes are what make nutrients bioavailable to plants. Most soils have plenty of nutrients in them, they are just bound to other elements in a form that makes them not available to the plants. Microbes can unlock these compounds and ionize the nutrients, allowing plants to take them up through their roots. Soil microbes also perform two other key functions: preventing runoff and minimizing soil erosion. Bacteria bind the soil together, allowing the land to take in more water and oxygen, and that results in less runoff. With solubilizing minerals in the ground, this will slowly feed the plants, helping them grow the way nature intended. Bare soil is damaged soil, worthless soil, and should be defined by its proper lifeless name, dirt. Dirt only occurs where farmers’ pesticides or other chemicals have interfered with the natural ecological balance. Once the land has been bare, it becomes susceptible to further damage from harsh elements: sun, wind, and water. Thus, the use of the conventional plow in cultivation not only damages soil life processes which are crucial for plant nutrient uptake, but may ultimately cause more extensive yearly hemp crop loss. The three main approaches to preserving soil life in intensive hemp cultivation are as follows: • Planting divers cover crops and rotate crops • Reducing tillage and implement alternative weed control strategies • Add organic matter and microbial supplements to jumpstart soil life We will discuss these three techniques in detail below. Some of these measures are easier to implement than others. It also may be difficult to implement them all in one season, but by introducing one of these methods in three consecutive seasons, farmers can move toward producing a healthier crop, healthier profits, and a superior product.  1. PLANT DIVERSE COVER CROPS AND ROTATE CROPS Next level hemp farming begins with comprehending that mother nature never lets soil to become bare. Newly developed soil microbes depend on plants, and soil health depends on the bio-diversity of the living soil microbes. How we manage plants is critical to not only restoring but also rebuilding the microbial health of the soil. Cultivating a diverse mix of healthy cover crops and other plants does many useful things for you, including: • Cover crops rebuild microbial populations and allow composting worms and white springtail mites to break down organic matter in the soil, producing more carbon and nitrogen for the Soil Food Web. • Protects and covers the earth, regulating and maintaining its temperature during extreme hot or cold environments • Allows another level of security for your hemp plants to defend and fight off bug infestations We have found that the more attention to detail and diversity in the cover crop seed selection, the easier it is in the summer months for the hemp farmer. Diverse seed selection helps create the level of health the farmer needs to achieve by beginning to build a thriving microbial ecosystem. Here are the twelve best cover crops to use in conjunction with the hemp plant: 1. Flax - Carter 2. Clover - Yellow Sweet 3. Clover - White Dutch 4. Clover - Medium Red 5. Clover - Crimson 6. Lentils - Indianhead 7. Millet - White Proso 8. Vetch - Hairy 9. Vetch - Common 10. Cowpeas - Red Ripper 11. Buckwheat - Mancan 12. Pea - Forage Cultivating a diverse variety of plants to the soil, the microbial population in the ground becomes stronger and better able to fight off invasive diseases and pests. Diversity also gives the plants access to more nutrients that were bound up in the soil and previously not bio-available.  2. REDUCE TILLAGE AND IMPLEMENT ALTERNATIVE WEED CONTROL Our ancestors brought a wide variety of knowledge from Europe, and one of the most detrimental "pearls of wisdom" they brought with them was the art form of tilling the land. Their thought process was that by tilling, they could "fluff and soften" up the soil, mix in oxygen, and increase water infiltration. It turns out that they were sadly misinformed. Tilling is exceptionally destructive to our land and atmosphere. Tilling the land: • Destroys the rhizosphere, which is crucial for peak soil function • Destroys mycelial networks which bring nutrients to the plant • Reduces soil organic matter and releases excess carbon into the atmosphere as CO2 • Increases the presence of weeds (contrary to conventional wisdom) • Decreases water infiltration While tiling is often seen as crucial for controlling weeds, there are many other, less destructive ways to do so. And in fact, tilling only causes weeds to grow back with a vengeance. Properly timing the planting and harvesting of a cover crop can do a lot to slow down weed growth. If the field is covered with a dense and diverse cover crop, this crop will typically out-compete common weeds. During the main planting season, companion crops can be planted with hemp, which can also reduce weed pressure and protect the hemp plant from pests. Mulch is also an effective weed control strategy. Woody mulches will also break down during the season and supply extra organic matter and nutrients to the soil. Biodegradable plastic mulches are also an effective way to control weeds. Finally, if you introduce the right kind of grazing animal into your field during the growing season – one that will eat the weeds instead of the hemp plants – this can not only control weeds, but provide organic fertilizer to your field in the form of manure.  3. ADD ORGANIC MATTER AND MICROBIAL SUPPLEMENTS TO YOUR SOIL Soil organic matter is the key to fostering healthy and diverse microbial life. There are many amendments that can add organic material and a boost of microbes to your soil. Some will work quickly, while others will build up the soil organic matter over a few seasons. Aerobic compost is the most common soil amendment used to add organic matter and beneficial microbes. This compost can be made on your farm with your own organic waste materials, but the process can be labor intensive. Purchasing compost from a reliable, tested source can be a good alternative. A lesser-known and less widely available form of compost is Bokashi. This originates from a Japanese technique of essentially fermenting organic waste material, without the labor-intensive process of turning and aerating. Biochar is an amendment that’s very high in carbon and in surface area, making is super-absorptive. This can be extremely beneficial for holding water, nutrients and microbes for plants. However one must ensure that biochar has been inoculated with microbes before being applied to the soil, otherwise the raw char might temporarily suck up nutrients and microbes, depriving the plant. Balancing the pH of biochar ahead of application is also important, as biochar is naturally very alkaline. Worm castings are one of the most effective organic soil amendments, because they contain some of the highest density and diversity of microbial life, as well as bioavailable nutrients, since this is essentially worm manure. Producing worm castings at scale is challenging, but they can often be bought and made into a tea, which can be applied to crops through the irrigation system. Actively aerated compost tea (ACCT) is a water-based oxygen-rich tea containing large populations of beneficial aerobic bacteria, nematodes, fungi, and protozoa; these microbes work in a symbiotic relationship with plants. Quality compost tea breeds thousands of beneficial microorganisms as well as a stable balance of bacterial and fungal ratios. Compost tea allows you to breed a small amount of compost into a dispersible liquid form, letting a little fertilizer to go a lot farther. All it requires is an inoculant of beneficial bacteria and fungi, some key food sources, chemical-free water, oxygen, and slight agitation. Finally, fermented plant juice, produced from anaerobically fermenting organic material, produces a liquid microbial similar to compost tea, but with a few additional advantages: 1) it doesn’t have to be aerated, and therefore has a longer shelf-life, 2) it is guaranteed to be pathogen free because the fermentation process kills human pathogens through acidity, and 3) the organic acids produced in the fermentation act as growth hormones for the plant, causing a more rapid response in plants than a compost tea. CONCLUSION
The goal of the modern hemp farmer is to learn to Feed the Soil, Not The Plant" and use knowledge and products to improve on Mother Natures' wisdom. That is why Everflux has created an organic handmade product that is like a "Kombucha for your Hemp plants." Our all in one formula allows you to feed the microbes at an optimal level so that your hemp farm can produce a higher quality product year after year.
The Benefits Of LIVE Composting |
 Composting worms dig and build dissolved oxygen channels and allow soil mites, especially the white springtail mite, to "hitch a ride" onto the worm's bio-film. Then, they move around the soil system working in harmony with the composting worms to break down organic matter into carbon. The more composting worms living soil farmers have to work and continue driving the soils engine, the quicker the newly created soil life can keep up with the high nutrient demands of the cannabis plant. If you’ve considered adding live worms to your soil, you’ve probably realized that composting worms can quickly become one of the most expensive parts of any living soil growers budget. What many don’t realize is that once the soil’s microbial life begins to thrive, we can purposely increase our worm’s populations by using a technique that our VP of Soil Science Bryan Wachsman made famous on Instagram, known as "AvocadoTech." This is a tried and true method of saving facilities hundreds to thousands in upfront costs on worms. | Composting worms, like all other organisms in the soil food web, form a symbiotic relationship with their neighbors. One of these groups of creatures that live in symbiosis with worms are mites. In order to become a true organic farmer, one must learn how to control pests without using pesticides, and a very effective way to do so is using predatory insects and predatory mites. So by encouraging composting worms to grow in our soil, we can also encourage these beneficial mites. Adding this skill set to one's Cannabis and Hemp IPM playbook allows the organic farmer to learn to trust and believe that mother nature will combat the plant's health issues. This gives freedom and time back to the farmer so they can focus on other things, and become a proactive farmer instead of a reactive one.  |
How To Speed Up Composting Worm Breeding
Composting worms are hermaphrodites, and as such, they can reproduce in a much quicker fashion because of this genetic trait. Composting worms love the oils and fats that are found within the avocado and seem to prefer to "congregate" around avocados over other food sources.
Therefore, we can begin to attract worms from all over the soil medium by using an organic avocado. Organic is important, because we don’t want to potentially introduce any pesticide residue into our soil, even if it’s on the avocado skin.
Therefore, we can begin to attract worms from all over the soil medium by using an organic avocado. Organic is important, because we don’t want to potentially introduce any pesticide residue into our soil, even if it’s on the avocado skin.
Here Are Six Easy Steps To Implementing "Avocado Tech"
 |  |
1) Cut the avocado in half exposing the fleshy green side and the pit.
2) Remove topsoil to allow placement of one half of the avocado in the soil, face down.
3) Do the same for the second half of the avocado.
4) Only bury the avocado halfway, exposing the skin above the soil line.
5) Lightly mist water over the avocado skin and surrounding area every other day.
6) Allow two weeks to pass without disturbing the avocado.
2) Remove topsoil to allow placement of one half of the avocado in the soil, face down.
3) Do the same for the second half of the avocado.
4) Only bury the avocado halfway, exposing the skin above the soil line.
5) Lightly mist water over the avocado skin and surrounding area every other day.
6) Allow two weeks to pass without disturbing the avocado.
This will jumpstart the breeding not just of composting worms, but of all of the diverse soil microbial life a cannabis or hemp farmer needs to grow a high-end product using only mother nature to feed our soil and our plants.
This will also spur the reproduction of isopods (roly polys), white springtail mites, rove beetles, Hypoaspis miles mites, and predatory mites.
This will also spur the reproduction of isopods (roly polys), white springtail mites, rove beetles, Hypoaspis miles mites, and predatory mites.
| One of the concerns we hear about transitioning to cultivating living soil cannabis is, "How are we going to be able to afford the amount of composting worms it takes to fill a commercial facility?" With these conditions, composting worms will begin to double in population every 90 days. We recommend transitioning one grow room at a time, and using the surplus of worms you will create to populate the next room. Calcium sources such as Gypsum, Oystershell flour, and eggshells, aid in speeding up this reproduction process as well. Calcium is KING when it comes to next level worm farming and vermicomposting.  |  There is a disconnect with some cannabis growers about the real power of having the nutrients they feed their cannabis or hemp plants come from soil microbes instead of synthetic salts. The living soil system relies in part on the quality of the organic matter that the microbes are breaking down. Quality inputs will always equal quality outputs. So take the plunge by starting to introduce and breed live worms in your soil, and we promise you’ll see a big difference. |
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Sign up for our Natural Farming webinar series, where we work with some of the brightest minds in the industry on next-level cannabis cultivation methods.
Sign up for our Natural Farming webinar series, where we work with some of the brightest minds in the industry on next-level cannabis cultivation methods.
| 3) Add Organic Matter & Microbial Supplements To Your Soil Soil organic matter is the key to fostering healthy and diverse microbial life. There are many amendments that can add organic material and a boost of microbes to your soil. Some will work quickly, while others will build up the soil organic matter over a few seasons. Aerobic compost is the most common soil amendment used to add organic matter and beneficial microbes. This compost can be made on your farm with your natural waste materials, but the process can be labor-intensive. Purchasing compost from a reliable, tested source can be a good alternative. A lesser-known and less widely available form of compost is Bokashi. This originates from a Japanese technique of essentially fermenting organic waste material, without the labor-intensive process of turning and aerating.  Actively Aerated Compost Tea (ACCT) is a water-based oxygen-rich tea containing large populations of beneficial aerobic bacteria, nematodes, fungi, and protozoa; these microbes work in a symbiotic relationship with plants. Quality compost tea breeds thousands of beneficial microorganisms as well as a stable balance of bacterial and fungal ratios. Compost tea allows you to breed a small amount of compost into a dispersible liquid form, letting a little bit go a lot farther. Be cautious of variations in compost quality, as well as the potential to reintroduce pathogens when making compost tea. If not constantly aerated, compost tea will go bad in 24 hours!   |  Biochar is an amendment that's very high in carbon, and in surface area, making is super-absorptive. This can be extremely beneficial for holding water, nutrients, and microbes for plants. However, one must ensure that biochar has been inoculated with microbes before being applied to the soil. Otherwise, the raw char might temporarily suck up nutrients and microbes, depriving the plant. Balancing the pH of biochar ahead of application is also important, as biochar is naturally very alkaline. Worm castings from composting worms are one of the most effective organic soil amendments because they contain some of the highest density and diversity of microbial life, as well as bioavailable nutrients since this is essentially worm manure. Producing worm castings at scale is challenging, but they can often be bought and made into a tea, which can be applied to crops through the irrigation system.  Finally, fermented plant juice, produced from anaerobically fermenting organic material, produces a liquid microbial similar to compost tea, but with a few additional advantages: 1) It doesn't have to be aerated, and therefore has a longer shelf-life, 2) It is guaranteed to be pathogen-free because the fermentation process kills human pathogens through acidity, and 3) The organic acids produced in the fermentation act as growth hormones for the plant, causing a more rapid response in plants than a compost tea. |
3 Part Series Conclusion
The goal of the modern hemp farmer should be to learn to "Feed the Soil, Not The Plant" and use knowledge and products to improve on Mother Natures' wisdom. Everflux Technologies offers a range of products and services that can help farmers take advantage of over 3 billion years of evolution - Mother Nature's R&D - to produce the largest, healthiest, highest quality plants possible.
The goal of the modern hemp farmer should be to learn to "Feed the Soil, Not The Plant" and use knowledge and products to improve on Mother Natures' wisdom. Everflux Technologies offers a range of products and services that can help farmers take advantage of over 3 billion years of evolution - Mother Nature's R&D - to produce the largest, healthiest, highest quality plants possible.
About the Author
Daniel Enking is the founder of Everflux Technologies. He is a life-long environmentalist and practical dreamer who is obsessed with resource efficiency and imaged an "everything recycling machine" at age 10.
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