Raised beds are not at all going to work for an illegal crop, other than perhaps Poppies in a country they don't normally do well in (for drainage purposes). I don't know why raised beds would do well with cannabis, other than perhaps the drainage and the extra heat...which isn't that good later on in the season.
There is a better Iranian strain from a seed company many do not prefer, it's Black Indica. There are many good strains, if Reeferman ever gets his package to the Bay then try out Happy Hindu!
I prefer to find native soils, particularly humus. I find a tree, a very very large tree that is old, old growth. You ever see a huge tree that started rotting on the inside and left this dark, soft, deep bed in the hallow area or around the tree? That is humus, that is the best stuff on earth but it holds A LOT OF MOISTURE!
It's good for droughts but it needs some coco which is cheap to ship and quality as well as some perlite and vermiculite. Then of course all of your dried nutrients that are called 'meals'. Kelp meal (they are the best for plants as far as additives), Alfalfa meal, Blood and bone meal, as well as green sand. Normal sand also works well for the Humus that I find, there is hardly anything to pick out of this stuff and I find probably in the area of 40 gallon sources. The one tree that has kicked this stuff out, due to old age and bugs that push this stuff out to find a home (and nope, I haven't ever had any bug problems from this stuff, ever!)...plus it helps at home to put it in a crock pot and steam it, mostly to get some water out as it's probably over a decade old. I just did this to my last pick up from the outdoors, it was frozen and still broke apart with a shovel....your not going to get that from most 'soil'...which humus isn't soil, not even the humus layer of normal earth is this fluffy...it's not even integrated into the forest floor at this stage.
Humus is almost as good as biochar, which I am interested in working into the medium. Humus is just very mature compost, it's not going to break down anymore. The tree that I got some Humus for indoors from is a very old growth Beech or Birch, then there is an unknown family of tree that has turned onto it's side that has canoed itself. It has formed a canoe basically, that has rotted so all this humus stays inside. I do find some roots, but these easily pick out and I've never had weeds grow from this. A tiny bit of citric acid is also good to lower the PH since these dry fertilizers are quite alkaline for cannabis's preference. Citric acid is quite natural and it's a great idea to throw some citric peals into a compost pile. Test a tiny bit of the humus with a water sample that has a known PH. Humus is typically very high in humic acid, which some people pay to add to their grows. If you filtered peat moss, it's looks just like what passes through a fairly fine mesh.
I also am interested in a product available nationwide, it's by a company called Epsoma and it's a full range dry nutrient. They have a starter bag that is probably around three pounds and it doesn't have micro's but it has the fungus that aid's root uptake as well as the bacteria of every kind to colonize (not that these aren't around, it just might not be every strain of fungus and bacteria in your native soil). It is mostly feather meal, cotton meal and cow manure.
Some liquid fertilizers do well, I have PBP and pure blend as well as Maxi crop liquid. Some seabird guano, two forms, one is for veg and one for flower, I am curious what differences there are between seabird and bat guano. The epsoma product also works well for a top feeding, all three of these are alkaline so some citric acid is good to lightly mix in the powder for top dressings. Of course dry kelp meal also makes a fine top dressing and not just for mixing into plots.
So I know that people don't want to find native soils, but the good stuff doesn't look usable because it's not in a bag! The humus just takes an eye and knowing where to search, it's so very nice once you put it in a pile and put your hands into it and feel how lose and soft it is...cutting that with coco is a good idea so it drains better, then mixing in the dry nutrients. I always go through the humus with my hand, to find any chunks that may be foreign. I find very very little in there and it's mostly roots from local plants and sometimes moss...the moss tends to grow on a log that at times forms humus. It seems to take the perfect conditions to rot a log slowly in such a way to build humus...it just piles up!
I also find these rotting logs, they are red, they are soft and act like sponges that easily break apart. I mix this into my humus for a little more fresh organic matter that isn't decade or two humus (which your not going to find humus that old in a store!). It breaks into nice sized particles that are not chunky and retains water like a sponge...but it's porous enough to retain gases.
If you have clay soil, put some Gypsum into it. At least work that into the clay soil around your hole that you fill in. It takes about two or three years of treating the spot once a year, but it makes clay soil as soft and manageable as any other soil...so there are many options, it's all about how much effort you will put into what you have.
Also go for cover plants more than the local soil, you can haul in whatever you need. Unless your in the desert there are local plants putting large piles of humus back into nature. It's not infested, it's not rotted like compost that is moldy, it's good stuff. I don't grab the humus that is growing moss, or any weeds, it's usually to high up or still putting more out that covers any plants. I do find a little bit of mycelium in some humus, but that just means it's good stuff if shrooms enjoy! As a matter of fact I am considering using these humus sources as mushroom casings. There is at least one strain that is local to my state that loves birch and beech.
If you have ever seen a hole in a tree and put your hand in there, and grabbed soil from inside a tree....that's the gold, it is good enough to grow pot out of a tree that has one of these...they usually run deep and mix well with your dry nutrients.
I don't put lime into the mixes anymore since I get plenty of magnesium and almost ever single dry fertilizer is actually alkaline and cannabis likes a touch of acid. That and there is so much lime stone ins this area, that I find PH readings in local rivers at 8! That isn't low, I would of thought that local rivers in most area's would be slightly acid. So I have no problems with a lime shortage, it's an over abundance.
Don't forget at least a one foot fence around your plant and let some of the bottom sit in your hole before you fill it in....and wrap some copper around the base, then it's just inspecting for bugs and dealing with those as well as feeding (that doesn't mean over feeding or under).:hi
I hope that isn't over kill for you, but it's winter and I thoroughly enjoy quality soil. I have yet to find a bagged soil that floats my boat. It's expensive, especially if you ship the product (it's outrages to ship that much weight). They add good nutrients but typically have a crappy medium. Which is a matter of a fact just filler, even peat moss has stems and twigs which my humus that I find doesn't. Most of all, it's free and easily workable.
If I get my camera working or get a new one, I will show just how lovely this free source is and what it looks like finding it. Anywhere you have old growth that is rotting, your likely to find many gallons of this free, wonderful substrate.:icon_animal26: