Understanding the Cannabis Terroir of Your Weed Gardens

Every day, as you start to take some casual strolls around your beautiful cannabis gardens, you may notice all the characteristics that have been building up until that point in time. Well, it would be quite surprising to know that your own cannabis gardens have a unique profile to them! The marijuana buds from your gardens may very well taste quite different from some buds that are grown elsewhere. In that same sense, a marijuana strain can pretty much display different characteristics. It is all depending on the environment that they are grown in! This explains the concept of cannabis terroir.

Don’t worry, this is a term which does not come around often, which means that many growers (including even the most seasoned ones) may have no idea as to what terroir refers to. But despite this, it can be pretty helpful to know how this affects things in your cannabis gardens! 

What is Cannabis Terroir?

Before understanding its impact on cannabis, it is first important to note that the concept of terroir was first used for the production of wines. If you are into wine drinking, then you would know. Wines that are made from the harvested grape vines of France are substantially different from those aged in Italy. This has a lot to do with the natural environment and growing conditions that the ingredients are expose to! 

The word terrior is a French term that directly translates to “territory”. This is used to connect the types of wines to different places in order to distinguish them from one another. Wine producers take great pride in the land that they use for developing their own signature products. Throughout the years, applying the concept of terrior has allowed the popularity of different types of wine to spread across the world! As such, it is also something people have carried over to the crafting of beer, the brewing of coffee, the breeding of cattle and livestock, and many more!

How does terroir translate to cannabis cultivation?

There are ongoing debates as to whether the concept of terroir can be used for the production of marijuana buds. However, a lot of people do not know that this has been used by cannabis plants for thousands of years!

It is as evident as ever with the development of indica, sativa, and ruderalis strains. Moreover, landrace strains have even started applying the concept of terroir well before people actually started domesticating the plant. Today, different marijuana seed banks and seed breeders have their own set of unique profiles. They have their signatures over certain marijuana strains. Thus leading us back directly to cannabis terroir.

A strain of OG Kush from Sonoma Seeds may very well display some different characteristics. While both may have the same appearance and taste. The OG Kush developed and bred by SunWest Genetics may suit well too! As such, terroir for cannabis is a pretty established theory that most (if not all) growers apply to their gardens without them knowing.

Different Factors of Your Cannabis Terroir:

To have your marijuana strains take up their own unique profiles, the natural environment that you will expose them to will play a major role. From their germination all the way up to their harvests and curing, growers will more than likely have their own way of doing this. The how, where, when, and what of cultivating weed seeds establishes the terroir that follows. It will all depend on how growers do their own thing!

While it isn’t all that complicated to understand the natural environment of your marijuana plants, here are the factors that will affect the terroir of your cannabis plants:

Provenance of the Cannabis Plants:

Do you grow your plants under the sunny skies of California or in the cooler climates of Colorado? Are the strains that you use originally from the plains of Africa or from the Hindu Kush mountain ranges? It is no secret that each cannabis plant has its own unique stamp and that is largely thanks in part to their provenance.

The climates of different places around the world work wonders for the cannabis strains that people tend to cultivate. Like how other products (like grapes for wine) rely on the seasonal climates of their original growing areas, cannabis strains will also vary based on this factor.

Land and Growing Medium:

Many places have soils and land that are extremely rich in minerals whereas others lack the same. While the technology and innovations in the cultivation industry today allow you to adjust the composition of your growing medium with different amendments and nutrients, the natural composition of the soils in various places aren’t all similar. This makes it an influential factor in determining just how your cannabis crops will eventually grow and turn out.

In addition to just the nutrients and minerals found in the soils, different regions’ climates will also affect the fungal and bacterial communities that house themselves inside the growing medium. This definitely impacts the way that your weed buds turn out due to the healthy microbes enhancing the development of your marijuana plants.

Altitude of the Growing Area:

This may seem like an odd ball to many of you but hey, there’s scientific evidence to back it up! You see, plants that indigenously grow up on mountain tops and elevated places tend to absorb more sunlight and take in a lot more fresh air! On the other hand, growing areas located deep inside the low ground of forests and thick foliage’s of leaves do not have that same benefit.

As such, the need for adapting to the environment has led to marijuana strains evolving and changing their growing patterns in order to properly prosper under their given conditions. Now, we know of certain strains that do well even with lesser amounts of sunlight and others that do even better under cooler, damp environments. 

Methods of Growing/Traditional Practices

Last and certainly not the least is, of course, the way that each grower and seed breeder operates their respective cannabis crops. Every cannabis distributor and marijuana seed bank out there is practically known to have their own distinct qualities and signature trademarks with the marijuana seeds that they have to offer. This gives them different advantages against other types of marijuana seeds, which then expands their markets.

Growing methods will generally refer to anything that you do when cultivating weed seeds. Germinating seeds may differ from one person to another. And so will the way that they approach the vegetative and flowering stages. In fact, a lot of options are present for people to dry out and cure their weed buds as well!

What Is The Importance of a Cannabis Terroir?

The main highlight of considering the cannabis terroir primarily deals with the branding of the marijuana strains that you come up with. This is extremely important for conjuring up an image that will let people distinguish a certain brand from others. With the use of classifying marijuana strains based on the terroir of cannabis. Each marijuana seed bank and company can offer different benefits to customers all around the world. 

The branding that comes with cannabis terroir also ensures that the legacy and traditions of certain cultivation cultures continue. All throughout the years without stopping. This can come in all forms, too!  For example, one marijuana seed bank is famous for the terroir of using all-organic minerals and ingredients. in Another one may be equally as famous due to the high THC levels that their seeds come in. There really is no shortage of different signature trademarks out there. This allows the significant expansion of the cannabis industry from generation after generation! 

Conclusion:

The terroir of cannabis strains is a concept that even the most small-time growers practice in their backyards. In addition to the thousands and thousands of different growing techniques at our disposal. Combining the different terroir of cannabis in order to maximize the most benefits is something you can always do!

Reading through this article will explain why strains of the same kind will often have subtle differences among themselves. The natural and phenotypic conditions that all your cannabis plants are placed under bring tweaks and turns to your growing experience. It is all about adjusting things based on your liking!