Probiotics for Healthy Plants
From the Hawaiian Ethos Cultivation Team
Big Island microclimates
Cannabis patients and caregivers have been perfecting the craft of growing medicine for years while facing the Big Island’s unique climate.
Enoch Wagner, founder of Garden Prodigy, tests and perfects products on his garden in Ocean View. On the mauka side at around 3000 ft. elevation, Enoch grows in one of the Big Island’s many microclimates.
Enoch’s location sees highs of 72-80 degrees during the day and lows of 50-60 degrees fahrenheit at night. Humidity remains constant day and night around 60-70%. The native soil in his area can be challenging to work with--primarily lava cinder and ash, which means that there is no water or nutrient retention. As a result, Enoch is engaged in a perpetual effort to remediate his soil with more organic matter accumulated from native perennials. He also enriches/inoculates his biome with high levels of microbes (fungal dominant) acquired from other microclimates around the Big Island.
Flower from Enoch's medical garden
Deep water hydroponics
When we went to visit him, he was able to show us his medical garden. Enoch utilizes an outdoor, deep water culture hydroponic system. Each plant has its own cell within the big tank with air bubblers under the root stocks. There is also a series of auto-top reservoirs to keep things as maintenance free as possible. At the time of our visit he had hearty 4-footers going that were just about ready for harvest.
probiotics: they're good for plants too
One of the interesting things about Enoch’s grow was that many of his inputs came directly from his land. Over the last seven years, he’s done a ton of composting and soil remediation to create a robust local biome. He even sources plant hormones from local perennials to add to his probiotic blend.
Enoch employs Bio-Fizz on his plants and uses his garden as proof that his probiotic works. Deep water hydroponic systems are unforgiving—with the plants directly absorbing whatever they’re exposed to with no buffer, any mistakes quickly become evident. Combining the probiotic with minerals and organics, Enoch is able to heavily feed the plants without burning them. His plants were strong and stable, with the evidence of health in their pearly white roots.