BLOG | Q&A with the Dirtiest Woman at Prūf Cultivar

We sit down with Megan Housman, assistant grower at Prūf and a trained scientist with a master's of science in soil biogeochemistry— the study of how non-living things like nutrients interact with living things like roots, bugs, and microorganisms underground—to talk soil and media at Prūf Cultivar.

Why do we call our soil “media?”

We use the word media to distinguish what we use from mineral soils, which are characterized by a mix of organic matter, sand, silt, and clay. Our media, on the other hand, is characterized by a mix of peat, coir, perlite, and our blend of organic amendments.

Are there places in the world where soil like we create, occurs naturally?

Our soils tend to most closely resemble the highly organic and nutrient-rich top layer. Arctic soils are exceptionally organic-rich, shallow, low-density peat similar to what we use. You know the smell of the forest floor when you’re hiking around the coast? On a good day, Prūf Cultivar smells like that.

How different is the dirt in our facility from the dirt outside, with pine trees and dandelions sprouting out of it?

Soils in nature get more complex as time progresses, depending on the rock below, the climatic conditions, and the organisms present. Plants that grow in any natural soil do so because they can thrive in that environment. In contrast, cannabis is the starting point in our facility, and we mimic only the best of what nature has to offer to benefit the plant and ultimately people.