Probably a dumb newbie question

Draglock said:

I see people saying you would be dissapointed in using your yard soil, sure... buying a proper soil fit for cannabis helps a ton, but I've found that I can use my yards soil if I thin it out using perlite, and add proper nutriens. I've personally only used my own yards soil for my grows and it's turned out great.

Click to expand...

It’s due to running the risk of bringing bugs in to your house and growing area. Growing outdoors you don’t have to worry as much because there’s plenty of preditory bugs that will eat them. There’s too many variables that you introduce to what should be a controlled grow.

If you bring in soil from outdoors, you can always bake it in the oven, at least a gallon or two at a time.

Most hardware stores will keep some gardening supplies on the shelves over the winter. I can almost always find perlite and seed starting mixes for example. A mix of 25% perlite and 75% seed starting mix would be fine as a medium.

Nobody is going to flag you as a weed grower if you buy perlite and a bag of compost in the winter. It's used for legal indoor planting all the time.

If your only choice is outdoor soil, at least try to amend it with 25% perlite and some bagged compost if you can find it. If you can find peat, use up to 1/3 peat by volume. A good mix would be 1/3 peat, 1/3 perlite, and the remainder a mix of yard soil and compost (or just all compost).

Just treat it like a soil less medium from a feeding perspective. Assume it will have a very low npk ratio.

Dixiepixie420 said:

This is my 1st grow and since it's January soil is hard to find could I use soil/dirt from my yard?

Click to expand...

You are likely to bring in insects from outside which may or may not be helpful. I'd ignore the first inch of soil as that is typically poor if not mulched.
I'd also mix in something to make it a light mix that resists clumping up or holding water. I'd add a crapload of extra drainage and oxygen holes on the sides and bottom of the pot.