With the broader legalization of marijuana in an increasing number of states in the U.S., more people are smoking recreationally at home. Now, the question has come up for many herbalists and plant lovers as to whether smoking pot at home can have a negative impact on your live indoor plants.
Furthermore, can the leftovers from joints or the water from a used bong be beneficial? These, and others, are fair questions as smoking marijuana comes with its side effects and leftovers. How to work with them from a naturalist point of view can have an impact on your home and everything in it.
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Is the Smoke from Smoking Pot Bad for My Plants?
If you smoke at home regularly, you might be wondering if it will affect your plants.
Is pot smoke bad for plants?
The answer is a definitive yes. It’s not just pot either. Any smoke will have a negative impact on your plants, whether that smoke comes from pot, tobacco cigarettes, or even from a fireplace.
Regular exposure to smoke decreases a plant’s ability to photosynthesize and grow efficiently. The plants tend to grow fewer leaves, and they even take the chemicals from the smoke into their soil and roots.
So while one of the benefits of having indoor plants is their ability to filter toxins and purify the air in your home, exposing them to smoke will inhibit those abilities.
Further, excessive smoke can even be bad for your artificial plants. Smoke residue tends to build up on the surfaces of these fake plants and can be extremely difficult to clean.
In the end, it seems for plant owners, at least, that you are better off having your smoke outside.
Is Bong Water Good for Plants?
Another question that comes up from smokers who love their plants is whether the water from a used bong is beneficial to their plants.
Does bong water help plants grow?
The answer is no.
Of course, you will hear many people anecdotally say they have been pouring bong water on their plants for years and have seen no negative side effects.
But, as of this article publication, the science does not seem to be on the side of the anecdote.
The reality is, if you would not want it in your body, it is also likely not good for your plant. You’re not drinking your bong water, so don’t feed it to your plant. And trust us, you don’t want it in your body.
Dirty, stagnant bong water attracts myriad bacteria, viruses, and other toxins and contaminants you don’t want in your body or in your plant. Dirty bong water is also highly acidic, which can be either dangerous or deadly to your plants.
Ultimately, plants want clean, room temperature water to thrive. Don’t drink bong water, and don’t give it to your plants.
Can I Use Incense Ash or Cannabis Ash for Plant Fertilizer?
The question of ashing plants has been around for ages. After all, our first form of heating our homes and ourselves was with fire.
We filled our fireplaces, our hearths at the center of our homes, with wood piled high for the season, and then we burned fires all winter long. The end result left us with tons of wood ash, and as practical and resourceful people, we wanted to use all the resources at our disposal.
So, we began to wonder what purpose wood ash has. Can we put it in our plants?
Now, with the advent of smoking, both cigarettes and pot, we wonder if we can put the ashes and leftover joints in our plants.
Can pot ash be used to fertilize plants?
The answer to this question is “it depends.”
Ash has high acid levels, so plants with lower acid levels in their soil could benefit from a little ash. However, plants or soils that are already acidic would be damaged by even more acid from the ash.
Also, as of publication, the only real studies done have been done with wood ash, and you need to know what kind of wood created the ash to know the acid levels and nutrient levels in the ash to make an educated decision.
Incense ash and cannabis ash have not been studied yet in terms of their fertilizer value, so currently, the answer for you should be a clear no.
You don’t want to harm your plants by altering their acidity levels, so leave the ash out.
If you’re wondering what to do with ash and the ends of stems, you can use the collection for your compost.
Can Marijuana Stems Be Used in Compost?
The final answer as to what to do with all your leftovers from smoking pot is compost.
For ash, for ends of joints, for marijuana stems, your compost will eat it all up, decompose it, and make beautiful new soil out of it all.
Bong water is still up in the air. No studies have been done to show benefits of bong water in compost, but, as with pretty much every other living waste, it can’t really hurt.
That’s the beauty of compost.
Do note that each state in the country has its own particulars as to how much cannabis can be included in your compost pile, but most states abide by the 50/50 rule, meaning your compost needs to be made up of no more than 50 percent cannabis, mixed with the other 50 percent of non-cannabis products.
So, when asking yourself “can I compost marijuana stems?” or wondering what to do with your marijuana residuals, your best bet is always going to be compost.
Keep it out of your plant soil and smoke outside to keep your plants healthy.
What other questions do you have around cannabis and its use in growing your plants? Leave a note in the comments below! I always love to hear from my readers, and this topic is certainly going to continue to be a hot one.
