The Real Dirt with Chip Baker

It's time to figure out once and for all if living soil meets the hype or if it's just a bunch of bro science.

A top tier product doesn't sprout up over night. In the case of Colin Bell and the development of Mammoth P, it also took a $1 million grant to fund his research. But it all paid off.

Now Mammoth is a growing start up with a huge social media following and a strong reputation built up by thousands of positive reviews by industry growers. With a focus on sustainable practices and organic inputs, Mammoth P is a standout product that gets standout results.

The Start of Organic Growing

In the early days of legal cannabis in Colorado, Mammoth P was fresh out of development but a lot of growers didn't care much about growing organic. It was about yields, bigger plants, fatter buds. But when pesticide regulations got more strict, things changed.

Soon, it was a major sell point to say that you "grow organic", so people knew you didn't use products from the restricted pesticides list. But from this transition also came a new wave of growers who were really committed to growing organic. No synthetics at all, only natural inputs, and most importantly, and probably the biggest change to growing organic: living soil.

What is Living Soil?

"Living soil is the same thing to me as the soil food web. Quite simply, soil IS living soil."

Living soil is a perpetual cycle of moving nutrients through different mediums that gives way to all life on Earth. The elements in soil are difficult for plants to pick up, but the life that is in that soil helps make it easier. Think about it like nature's compost.

Small life in the soil breaks down the elements plants need to thrive. Those small creatures are then eaten by slightly bigger creatures, like mites or nematoads, and are then reintroduced into the soil over the time. Millions of years of evolution have developed this process, making all soil living soil.

But is it sustainable? With the microbes in Mammoth P, it is.

Is cannabis better organic?

A grow team Colin met in Uruguay wanted to really test the differences between growing organic and synthetic. They split a grow room in half, filling one half with plants grown with synthetic nutrients, and the other half 100% organic.

According to Colin, when it came to the end results, there was no comparison. The organic side looked like an entirely different strain, with better terpene profiles, healthier plants, and more. But that doesn't mean just growing organic results in better quality plants. You still have to know what you're doing.

Dive even deeper into the real dirt of organic inputs and living soil in this week's episode of The Real Dirt Podcast!

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More states are legalizing, and that means more people are starting to grow their own cannabis compared to any other time in modern history.

While it might seem like indoor growing is the predominant method for most cannabis cultivation today, some of the largest cannabis producers in the country grow all their cannabis outdoors. Northern California supplies more than half of the countries cannabis, and a lot of that cannabis is grown in a big field outside.While there is a place for seeds in outdoor growing, clones allow you as the grower to select the best plant in your garden and reproduce it en masse. But an inexperienced grower that plants clones outside in late May and early June might notice a serious issue. Clones flowering right away.

Planting Clones OutsideThe number one mistake to avoid when planting clones outside is planting them too early. While the perfect time to plant is hotly debated, planting in early May is usually too early. Another mistake newer growers may make is using a bigger pot like a 5 gallon so they can grow a bigger plant in the end.However, a one gallon pot will work just fine, with a clone about one foot tall. As long as your clones are not root bound already, you're odds are good that you won't have too many problems. For ideal results, keeping your clones in a greenhouse until they have developed sufficiently to about 4 or 5 feet tall. Once they're stronger and in the right place, you can plant them later in the season, after the solstice and before August 1st, and see great results.Another option is to start them a little earlier and smaller. When your clones are about 6 inches tall, they stand a better chance of acclimating to the outdoor environment, compared to larger plants that will need more help during the transition.

Tips for SuccessJason Miller of Kiskanu Farms has been growing the Bubblegum strain for years, a notoriously difficult strain to grow well, especially outdoors. But through his own techniques, Jason grows the best Bubblegum in Northern California. His main advice is to just keep your plants happy."It's difficult when you are moving your plants from a comfortable, controlled environment out into the wild. For us, we always try to make it as easy a transition as we can, moving them into a covered greenhouse to transition from high pressure lights to regular sunlight, controlling temperature and giving them time to 'harden off', so they are more prepared for sunlight when we move them outside."Moving your clones from a controlled greenhouse environment straight into the sunlight will almost always result in your plants burning due to the rapid shift in light power.

This Week on The Real DirtThis week's episode has full stack of expert outdoor cultivators. Jason from Kiskanu, Chris from Cultivate OKC, Brian from Yumboldt Farms and Jeff from Little Hill Cultivators all share their best techniques for planting clone...