Why this marijuana farmer only grows his cannabis in soil — and never hydroponics

To hydro or not to hydro: Every master grower has his or her preference.

It’s a big decision, deciding to grow your cannabis in soil versus growing your marijuana hydroponically. Honest Marijuana founder Anthony Franciosi prefers one cultivation method over the other.

“I just feel essentially that soil-grown cannabis is a better product,” Steamboat Springs-based Franciosi told Cannabist editor-in-chief Ricardo Baca on The Cannabist Show recently. “I think it tastes better, and I think it has a better effect and more distinct and deep characteristics.”

Franciosi believes growing in soil helps showcase the individual genetics in his garden.

“When you look at the broader commercialization of cannabis and the way people are farming for the most part now, it’s all about yield and efficiency and how many grams per light,” Franciosi said. “I think you’re bypassing the way the plant has been cultivated on the Earth for 5,000 years. When you start using chemical nutrients and mineral salts and using a five-inch hydrocube that you plug in like ‘The Matrix’ and you water it five times a day with these synthetic nutrients that are full of chemical chelators that force the plant to uptake these nutrients, you’re kind of bypassing that microbial process when you grow in an organic system — you put nutrients in that need to be broken down microbially for the plant to consume.

“When you utilize that process and use a living soil system, you wind up with the most distinct display of the genetics.”

Learn more about Franciosi’s grow philosophy in the above video.

Watch the full episode of The Cannabist Show