soil is so rough to do, and so is organic. if you want good bud add the correct nutrients and flush it out at the end of flower. No reason to be that organic about nutrients. Salts are salts.
yes it gets hydrophobic just like peatmoss. I put my pots into oil drain pans and let it suck up the runoff and it stays very hydrated and grows great. People talk about salt buildup, but i dont agree.