Topdressing with ground cannabis

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
Saw someone doing this on IG and thought it was wild. Anything of benefit to come of this?
I'm guessing you're talking about the leaves? I always add leaves back to my soil, along with all my other organic inputs. I don't believe just ground cannabis leaves would be enough to feed the plant. You could make a ferment out of them though, that would be a lil better, imo, but again, it wouldn't be enough nutrition to feed the plant, just supplement.
 

Lilmink

Well-Known Member
I'm guessing you're talking about the leaves? I always add leaves back to my soil, along with all my other organic inputs. I don't believe just ground cannabis leaves would be enough to feed the plant. You could make a ferment out of them though, that would be a lil better, imo, but again, it wouldn't be enough nutrition to feed the plant, just supplement.
No.. that's why this is wild.. he too buds ground them in a blender until powder and then topdressed.
 

Hollatchaboy

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't use bud, considering the bud, is what I'm going for in the first place. If I were to though, I would only use them in flower.
 

green_machine_two9er

Well-Known Member
Some would say the flowers and leaves of cannabis plants have the perfect npk ratios that future plants need when broken down.
Personally I would compost plant matter or ferment but this method does work mainly in a no till environment where there is already tons of foliage and “green manure” being applied to container. Andddd the soil itself must be healthy and active enough to break down these inputs. Doesn’t work by accident. Takes a plan a lot of practice to do it right.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
It's no different than farmers tilling the parts of the plants they grow that are not harvested back into the soil so that the nutrients are put back into the soil. It adds organic matter and nutrients which makes the soil better. It's a practice that's been used long before some cannabis grower on IG started doing it. I know cannabis growers that were mixing their trim back into the soil decades ago.
 

green_machine_two9er

Well-Known Member
Isn't it mostly for the slow-releasing nitrogen/nitrates from the "green" plant matter?
I don’t think it works like that, but I could be wrong. I think of leaves like Forrest tree leaves. Provides slot of top down organic matter and starts the whole process of building a mulch layer. This takes seasons not isn’t a one and done deal.

my opinion take it or leaf it. Haha.
Either dry leaves up and crumble and use as one would use alfalfa meal. Or Be no tilling in large containers and incorporate leaves and prunings on a bed. It takes a large surface area to be able to handle green manures like that. And of course dropping all your cover crops to be applied the same way. It’s like a garbage disposal. Thing will break down quickly if the bed is healthy.
 

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Blue brother

Well-Known Member
I constantly add every bit of waste to the top of my beds, sometimes I snap up branches, sometimes I push them down vertically into the soil, I also use all my spent bud after dry extraction and water extraction, I have a healthy population of worms that make easy work of breaking this down. Just remember to cover it with some extra soil or castings to keep it moist and dark, I also use cannabis material as mulch. Waste not want not!
 

Kindbud421

Well-Known Member
Back in the day, we used to grind up leaves and stalks and add them to the soil… mostly to get rid of evidence… and the plants liked it…
 

Greengrouch

Well-Known Member
Sounds wasteful, should compost though. If you’ve got a bunch of mids why not just make an infused oil for edibles and re-amend your potting mix with organic fertilizers.
 
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