It’s difficult for me to imagine a better day than walking on a sandy beach with a joint in my hand. There seems to be a magical marriage between cannabis and the ocean, one that goes beyond just a good day at the beach — one that represents a more direct and literal relationship.
Using ocean-derived ingredients in your grow can help bring your cannabis crop from good to great with beneficial, organic nutrients.
Using Seaweed In Your Grow Op
Seaweed is a superfood for your plants. In the ocean, seaweed absorbs major and minor plant nutrients (vitamins A, C, B12, K and E) and trace minerals (sulfur, magnesium, boron and calcium), so when it’s ground into meal, it can deliver those nutrients and minerals directly to your plants.
According to a study published in the horticulture journal Scientia Horticulturae:
Seaweeds are widely used in horticulture crops largely for their plant growth-promoting effects and for their ameliorating effect on crop tolerance to abiotic stresses such as salinity, extreme temperatures, nutrient deficiency and drought.
Seaweed has also been said to fend off pests, bad bacteria and invasive fungi, while encouraging the growth of beneficial bacteria and fungi.
With all of those beneficial properties found in seaweed, using the likes of Advanced Nutrients’ B-52, which utilizes the power of kelp in particular, is a no-brainer.
Fish Fertilizer For Your Flower
Fish fertilizer has been a secret ingredient in many gardens for centuries, tracing back to the Roman Empire. It took a brave and intelligent person to connect the dots and figure out that all that stinky fish waste would help their garden thrive, but luckily, as science seems to confirm, fish fertilizer does just that.
In a study from Waste and Biomass Valorization, results of fertilizing with fish waste on another leafy plant were positive: Soil fertilization with the compost from fish waste caused an increase in leaf yield of ice lettuce, and had a significant effect on increased contents of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium in leaves of the test plant.
There are two other popular forms of fish fertilizer that most gardeners use: fish meal and fish emulsion. Fish meal is extracted from whole fish, whereas fish emulsion is the fluid left over after those fish have been harvested for their meal and oil. Each product has its own benefits, but fish meal is more commonly used for cannabis.
Fish Meal For Your Marijuana
Fish meal is a commonly used ingredient for cannabis growers in their nutrient blends.
According to a table cited in Hort Technology, fish meal or powder has an NPK (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium) rating that makes growers swoon. The table below shows how fish meal, along with several other oceanic ingredients, stacks up.
With an NPK rating that is perfect for leafy plants, cannabis included, it makes sense that a lot of nutrient blends made specifically for cannabis use fish meal. Not only is it effective, but it’s also natural and uses parts of the fish, like scales and bones, that may otherwise go to waste. Good for the planet, good for your plants.
Seabird Guano For Your Ganja
Another gift from the sea is the guano, or droppings, from seabirds. These feathered friends of the ocean subsist on a diet largely comprised of fish and other seafood, making their guano rich in nutrients for your plants.
In the above table, seabird and bat guano’s NPK rating comes in on the high side for nitrogen. An oily fish diet is more likely to produce guano high in nitrogen, and since this particular study didn’t isolate seabird from bat guano in the testing, one can assume the seabird guano would be on the higher side of that 9 to 12 nitrogen rating.
If you’re looking for a growth booster that harnesses the power of guano, look no further than bloom-enhancing Nirvana.
Crab Shells For Your Cannabinoids
Anyone who has eaten crab knows that for every bit of sweet meat you get, there is a lot of shell waste to deal with. Luckily, crab shell meal is made entirely from those waste products. Industrial settings like canneries are a gold mine, where instead of throwing out all that stinky crab shell waste, it can be turned into plant nutrients that gardeners can grow beautiful greenery with.
While the crab shell meal’s effectiveness was not isolated and measured against comparable nutrients, one Canadian study published in the early ’90s did have some promising findings for organic fertilizers in general:
Meal from blood, feathers, meat, crab shells, fish, cottonseed and whey by-products produced the best growth, significantly increasing the shoot dry weight by 57-83% compared with non-fertilized plants.
It’s not surprising to read that using organic nutrients is better than using none at all, but it’s still encouraging to know that toxic chemical fertilizers are not necessary to grow healthy crops.
Oyster Shells For Your OG
Oyster shells are an integral part of the ocean-floor ecosystem. The calcium-rich exoskeleton creates habitat for ocean-dwelling creatures, and fortunately for cannabis cultivators who want to harness those nutrient-rich shells, they don’t have to skim the ocean floor to get them. Oyster farming is a sustainable and popular form of aquaculture wherein abundant oyster shells are brought to the surface as a byproduct. These oyster shells offer gardeners a plethora of benefits.
When added to soil, oyster shells provide calcium and micronutrients, help regulate pH and improve nutrient uptake. These super shells also provide a habitat for soil microbes that help break down organic matter into nutrients for your plants to enjoy.
But it’s not just what oyster shells add to soil that makes them great. People who grow in the great outdoors will be pleased to know that oyster shells help keep away moles, voles, snails and slugs. Crab shells work for this, too.
If you’re looking for a source of organic material to help your cannabis garden grow, look no further than the sea. As most humans already know, the ocean is magic and can create some unbelievable beauty. And your cannabis can benefit as well.
