Media and Nutrient Use

The vast majority of cannabis cultivators (85%) amend their base nutrients with a wide-range of supplements. The most commonly used supplements are “bloom enhancers/boosters,” which are in use by more than half (53%) of cultivators who participated in this year’s research. Fewer growers in this year’s study reported using “kelp” and “humic/fulvic acid” compared to 2019 report results—34% of cultivators noted they used “kelp” in 2021 vs. 45% in 2019, and 36% indicated they used “humic/fulvic acid” vs. 47% in 2019. In contrast, “silica” was cited more often in 2021 (43%) than in 2019 (30%). That said, more research is needed to confirm whether these are trends or sampling biases.

A plurality of growers (41%) indicated they cultivate cannabis using an “organic living soil/compost”-based media. Reported “outdoor field/soil” use dropped this year (23%) compared to 2019’s report (39%). “Deep water culture (DWC)” and “nutrient film technique” also saw drops in use compared to 2019’s report (down 4 percentage points each), but as with the supplements growers use, more research is needed to confirm or contradict a trend.