Who Is Clackamas Coot?
Clackamas Coot — the pseudonym of Jim Bennett — is one of the most influential voices in the organic cannabis cultivation community. While he didn’t set out to become an internet legend, his decades of work with no-till gardening, soil biology, and homemade composting have earned him iconic status.
Coot challenged the traditional bottle-fed nutrient model and showed growers that they could create living ecosystems in their pots, where plants thrive off microbe-cycled nutrients — not synthetic salt fertilizers.
He’s considered one of the fathers of the modern “living soil” movement, especially within the cannabis industry.
🌍 What Is Living Soil?
Living soil is a style of cultivation where the focus shifts from feeding the plant directly to feeding the soil — and letting a community of microbes, fungi, and organic material deliver nutrients to the plant in natural cycles.
Rather than using synthetic nutrients and flushing regimens, living soil mimics nature:
- Worms, fungi, and bacteria break down compost
- Roots absorb what they need, when they need it
- Water-only grows are possible when the ecosystem is dialed in
- Soil can be reused for years, reducing waste and cost
Clackamas Coot’s recipe was one of the first standardized mixes to bring this concept into practice for cannabis growers — and it still holds up.
🧪 Clackamas Coot’s Original Soil Mix (DIY)
Here’s the classic recipe Clackamas Coot shared with the world. It’s a build-your-own soil blend that you mix, let “cook” for 2–4 weeks, and then use — with no need for bottled nutrients or pH pens.
🧴 Base Mix (1 part each):
- 1 part sphagnum peat moss (not coco)
- 1 part compost or worm castings (high-quality, local preferred)
- 1 part aeration (pumice, rice hulls, or perlite)
Example for 30 gallons: 10 gal peat, 10 gal castings, 10 gal pumice
🌾 Amendments (per cubic foot of base mix):
- 1/2 cup kelp meal (rich in micronutrients and plant growth hormones)
- 1/2 cup neem seed meal or karanja meal (natural pest deterrent, slow nitrogen)
- 1/2 cup crab or shrimp meal (provides calcium, chitin for pest defense)
- 4–6 cups basalt rock dust (adds trace minerals and increases microbial activity)
- 1 cup gypsum (calcium sulfate) (provides sulfur and loosens soil structure)
- 1/2 cup oyster shell flour (optional) (adds calcium and buffers pH)
🧠 No blood, bone, or guano is used — Coot intentionally left out factory-farmed and high-N inputs.
🐛 Why This Mix Works So Well
The Clackamas Coot mix isn’t just a random pile of organic stuff — it’s intentionally designed to build a soil food web.
- Peat moss holds water and provides an acidic carbon base
- Worm castings/compost are the microbial engine of the soil
- Pumice or rice hulls improve drainage and oxygen flow
- Kelp and neem feed both microbes and plants
- Crab and gypsum bring in minerals and pest resistance
- Basalt rock dust re-mineralizes the soil over time
By mixing this once, letting it rest (or “cook”), and then planting into it, you’ve created a self-sustaining micro-ecosystem — a true living soil.
🕳️ Cooking the Soil: Don’t Skip This Step
Once you’ve mixed your soil, it’s crucial to let it sit — ideally in a large tote or fabric pot — for 2 to 4 weeks before planting. This lets:
- Microbial populations colonize the soil
- Nutrient exchanges stabilize
- Hot compost materials mellow out
During this phase, keep the soil moist (like a wrung-out sponge) and turn it once a week for aeration.
🌿 How to Use the Mix
- Transplant directly into the soil once it’s cooked
- For seedlings, you can cut it 50/50 with peat or use a lighter mix
- Top-dress with worm castings, neem, or kelp every 30 days
- Reuse the soil after harvest by refreshing compost and amendments
With proper composting and maintenance, this soil can be recycled indefinitely — no need to buy new bags every grow.
♻️ Why Coot’s Soil Is More Sustainable
Clackamas Coot was one of the first to popularize closed-loop growing — the idea that a grower could build a sustainable soil once, and maintain it with compost, mulch, and minimal outside inputs.
Compared to synthetic grows:
| Living Soil | Bottle Nutrient System |
|---|---|
| Reusable for years | Tossed after every harvest |
| Minimal runoff or salt buildup | Flush cycles required |
| Supports soil microbiome | Kills microbes with salts |
| Organic inputs, often homemade | Industrial chemical production |
| No pH or EC meters required | Constant monitoring needed |
📢 Coot’s Impact on the Cannabis Growing World
Clackamas Coot didn’t sell soil. He didn’t start a nutrient company. He simply shared information — on forums, interviews, and blogs — and showed people how to grow cleaner, healthier cannabis by working with nature, not against it.
He helped pave the way for:
- The no-till cannabis movement
- Commercial living soil farms
- The popularity of DIY worm bins and homemade inputs
- A generation of growers who ask what does the soil need?, not what can I add to the plant?
His mix is still used today — often adapted slightly — by organic growers around the world.
🧪 Bonus: Modern Tweaks You Can Try
Many growers have built on Coot’s mix with some upgrades:
- Adding biochar (pre-charged with compost tea) for microbial habitat
- Including gro-kashi or bokashi for additional fermentation inputs
- Using DIY fermented plant extracts (FPJ, KNF-style)
- Layering mulch (straw, comfrey, etc.) for surface nutrient cycling
🌼 Final Thoughts: The Legacy of Living Soil
Clackamas Coot’s soil recipe isn’t just a growing medium — it’s a mindset.
It asks you to slow down, build relationships with your soil, and think of your garden as a living system, not a machine that runs on liquid feed.
If you’re tired of chasing bottles, fixing deficiencies, or wasting money on soil bags every cycle — it might be time to build your own soil and let nature do the heavy lifting.
Because when you build your soil… it starts building your plants.
