Outdoor soil prep, please help

hey everyone! We have had a mild Speer here this past week and I have been thinking about preparing the soil for my first outdoor grow in my new area. I dug a hold last year about 3 ft deep and I got a layer of dark rich soil on the top 4-6” and then I got a brown clay type soil after that at about 2 1/2- 3’ down I got a sandy type soil. I filled the hole with water and it took a long while to drain through, what can I do to improve the quality of the soil, I know I can add potting soil to it, but what else can I add to boost the nutrient content and to also better the soil for drainage. Also i would like to go as organic as possible. Thanks in advance

The way i would go about it would be to dig the hole, and then mix up the existing soil that was dug out with compost, bark chips, well draining potting soil mix, with regards to potting soil i always say be careful as its often shitty quality and doesnt drain well at all. You can purchase soil mixes specifically for cannabis, or you get ones that are advertised as patio mix etc that have perlite (those white styrofoam like balls) that add to aeration and water drainage which is literally one of the most important factors when it comes to growing any plant well. You could also just move the existing soil somewhere else and fill that hole with a nice quality weed mix and call it a day lol.

So you could find another article on this forum for specific soil mixes but i say just focus on getting a nice mix of compost, bark chips and good potting soil, mixed with the existing soil and then throw it back into the hole. Other additives could include bloodmeal, mycorrhizae, worm castings.

When it comes to planting your weed plant, make sure you have grown the seed in a small container and then once big enough move that to a slightly bigger container, and then finally when its quite a big plant and root bound move it gently into a nice little hole in the ground you prepared. Planting the seed directly into the soil is a bad idea in my opinion!

Just remember! DRAINAGE, DRAINAGE AND MORE DRAINAGE!

Good luck have fun!

I would fill the hole with 1/3 compost and castings, 1/3 sphagnum peat moss with added lime, and 1/3 aeration like perlite, rice hulls, crushed lava rock. Chicken manure pellets are a good cheap source of feetilizer I use the espoma brand at 1/2 cup per cubic foot along with 1/2 cup of bone, kelp meal, and lime or oyster shell flower. If you mix your holes now you can add bone meal, I add it late fall but the animals will get used to it by the time you plant and not be a problem.

You can also go Native American style and place a whole Tilapia Fish at the bottom of the hole. The fish will decompose and provide nutrients to the plant.

What about using grow bags on top of the ground?

G'day Highwayman,

I'd probably test the clay first, to see what i'm dealing with. I would test for dispersion, and ph too.

If i had a lot of dispersion, i would apply gypsum.

If the dispersion was minimal, and ph was ok, i probably wouldn't want to lime or amend with gypsum.

In either case I'd add a heap of organic material, lots of compost and manure. Lots of mulch as well, a fast composting one.
Then keep topping up the organic material. Particularly mulch, and compost.

There isn't really a quick solution to improving the soil imho. Might take a few seasons.

In the meantime, digging large holes and filling them with new soil like suggested, is the way to go.