Not all cannabis is grown the same way and if you’ve ever wondered why some buds taste better, smell richer or hit smoother, the secret might be in the soil. Enter living soil. A natural, eco-friendly way to grow cannabis that brings out the best in flower.
What Exactly Is Living Soil?
Think of living soil as a self-sustaining ecosystem beneath the surface. It’s packed with beneficial bacteria, fungi and tiny insects that work together to break down organic matter and deliver nutrients directly to the plant. Instead of feeding plants with fertilizers, growers using living soil let nature do the work.
Some Benefits of Living Soil for Cannabis Cultivation
The way cannabis is grown directly impacts its flavor, smoothness and overall quality—and living soil is one of the best ways to cultivate cleaner, more consistent flower. As Brighterside Farms COO Lyndsey Shaw puts it, “you should be able to purchase the same product at the same consistency year in and year out.” Living soil helps make that possible. Here’s how:
Less Water, More Sustainability
Living soil holds onto moisture better than traditional soil. According to NRCS’ Soil Health Division Director, Dr. Bianca Moebius-Clune, “Bacteria, fungi and other soil life build and stabilize smaller ‘micro-pores’ that further increase the soil’s capacity to hold water.” This also allows growers to use less water and runoff in turn, reducing the risk of root rot, mold and other plant diseases.
Clean, Chemical-Free Bud
Living soil = less reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Instead of artificial additives, plants get their nutrients from a self-sustaining ecosystem of microbes, fungi and organic matter. When you smoke organically grown flower, you’re getting clean cannabis—free from residual chemicals or additives that can affect flavor, aroma and overall quality.
Higher Quality Flower
When grown in living soil, the plant’s natural defense system activates, stimulating higher terpene production and creating a more complex terpene profile. Meaning richer aromas, more layered flavors and therapeutic benefits.
Thoughts From Our Budtender
“The thing about living soil is that the plant controls its own expressions, rather than us controlling it through nutrients and growth regulators. As a result, they tend to have varying and widely different looks, since the physical expressions are natural and completely controlled by genetics, microbes, and the plant. While it’s not always glaringly obvious, it’s definitely something that customers notice. I have had quite a few say things along the lines of “It was so pretty, but not in a crystal trichome way, it just looked so natural.” and to me that is really interesting feedback because it is hitting the nail right on the head, it is the most natural expression of the plant and likely the most natural version they have ever experienced. Living Soil is more organic than any products you’ll find in the grocery store organic aisles.
In some cases, the aromas and flavors are more profound, but the biggest effect it has on them is that it makes them deeper and more nuanced. Rather than just smelling like that one main note, living soil tends to have more layered and complex profiles. These complex profiles also lead to more profound and nuanced effects.
Additionally, Living Soil will have the longest shelf life of the cultivation methods. Most synthetic and even organic nutrients use Nitrates, a form of nitrogen that is available and usable by the plant, but is also much more volatile than the Nitrites that the plant would receive as part of the nitrogen cycle in nature, which is the process we are harnessing in living soil. Nitrogen is what makes plants green and gives them structure. If the nitrogen is breaking down, the plant is breaking down. Because plants in Living Soil receive the less volatile form of nitrogen, they also break down more slowly, leading to higher quality over time, which can make a significant difference when purchasing from dispensary shelves. This also helps with terpene retention, to the point that at times when you first crack the jar, it won’t smell as much, but when you crack the nug open, suddenly the smell permeates everything. This is actually a good thing; if you can smell the weed, it means the aromatic compounds are evaporating off and are no longer in your cannabis. Not smelling anything before you crack the nug means the nug is actually retaining those aromatic compounds. I found this to happen much more often with Living Soil flower than with any other medium.”
Visit Pure Blossom for Cannabis and Other Essentials
Explore Pure Blossom’s curated selection of New Jersey cannabis brands and essential accessories. Whether you’re doing the old Google thing, searching for a dispensary near me or nearby dispensaries in New Jersey, Pure Blossom is a short, scenic, calming drive away, and our friendly guide-connoisseurs are excited to take you through our curated selection of New Jersey cannabis brands (and other essentials). We’ll see you there!