Hydroponic growing is king when it comes to potency and yield, but let’s talk about growing in soil. Specifically No-till. Who else is running no-till?
Do you feel like an alchemist mixing your different nutrients together? I know I did. It’s all love though, there’s nothing wrong with YOUR way of growing as long as it works.
What is No-till? Here’s a quick breakdown for the uninformed:
Your main focus in No-till is feeding the Soil Food Web. When undisturbed the soil retains moisture along with the help of mulch. As a result beneficial relationships form in the rhizosphere between microbes (beneficial bacteria that cause decomposition in the soil), fungi, and nematodes. In no-till the soil is effectively recycling nutrients.
But hold on, here’s a quote I was very fond of in “Teaming with Nutrients” by Jeff Lowenfels (Great book by the way! Not done with it but…I’m loving it.
In other words, plant growth is limited by the least abundant mineral, no matter how abunant the other minerals happen to be.
Continued will be expanding on supplements such as coconut powder, aloe vera, beneficial bacteria, compost teas, malted barley powder, etc etc… all that good stuff!
Maybe throw in a couple of easy soil recipes…
PS I’m on my first no till cycle. What are you on? Flex your notill skills! Pictures very much welcome. I’ll add mine soon enough!
shameless plug: my ig is selsosativas. I follow back let’s help each other out! Happy holidays!
No till cannabis could work well, I think there are some pamphlet from WW2 on what to expect in low tillage production. I would guess they are close.
I think @Farmer_Dan, might have some real world thoughts on the subject. I know some hemp producers are looking at no till.
My guess the best method will depend on two things. One can you grow a cover crop in the non cannabis season? And two can you do proper soil analysis on your fields? Cannabis in a no till is going to rely on proper nutritional management to not trigger the secondary compounds to early.
I like no till in some situations. Cannabis could be a good candidate.
Just remember no till doesn’t mean less work. It takes more work.
It’d be nice to hear from someone applying it on a larger scale! I have 4 30 gallon pots going…might just upgrade to 6 but seriously!
Also, can you expand on secondary compounds if it isnt too much of your time? Thank you!
The initial investment I believe is what turns many people off of it…I’m not sure. Thinking about it, hydro is a set up as well!
What’s your grow set up like?
Wow, this is awesome.
I read your bio, you are inspiring. Thank you for your contributions. As someone entering the horticulture field, I’ll take notes and get to doing my hours on springer. Do you by any chance have any articles there you think is a must read when it comes to overall growing?
So it looks like in the biology of cannabis that during the growth stage the plant produces all the precursor chemicals in the root hairs. The protein is called PK1. Any stress in the plant start the conversation of PK1 into CBG, THC and some terpenoids. The CBG and the THC are great insecticide and ok fungicide. But, they decay rather quickly.
So from my growing experience I want a couple of things in my grow.
Cutting stage probably would choose oasis rooting cubes.
Once rooting is done into final pot! No transplant to bigger size or as I call it head patting.
Grow the hell out of the plant with concentration on nitrate and calcium and co2.
Respace as needed.
When the plant is the size you want switch to a bloom boost style feed 1:3:2:1 N:K:P:Ca about two weeks before you want to instancate flowering
Start flower cycle ie short days. This a natural stressor. All the PK1 is moved overnight to the areas with primordial flowers. Cannabinol synthiss starts as does THC.
Change the feed slowly back to a more balanced feed and begin tapering the feed until a week or two before harvest target. You should end up with big flowers and High THC and CBD.
Temperature post flowering warm roots cool tops. The cool leaf temperatures will promote any color special to the verity. Reds and yellow are sweet. Purple are more bitter.
Look for a post from me on two papers root hairs in cannabis is the secret. And cannabis a plant with more the six hundred compounds, nice metabolic pathways poster.
I have a whole list of papers that want, but will have to wait until I go to the science library. The old USDA publication for hemp for victory are online at the national Ag Library you get to them through the library of Congress site. The NIH has a lot online for free on CBD and THC synthesis in cannabis. The israel Ag station at Galat has houndred of papers on cannabis and hemp from 1960’s through today.
Knowledge is always appreciated, Ethan. I’m gonna get to reading. Bookmarked and everything.
Personally No-till has yielded me my most potent and heavy plants. I recommend it to anyone starting their growing journey cannabis or not…however it has sent me down holes of research. I’m not complaining!
Google scholar I get 1100 citations with no-till hemp or Cannabis. The best look to be older.
Lots of notation on potassium and calcium issues. In field where hemp is grown without a cover crops between rotations. Need to know a lot about your soils.
Someone is going to live soil science 101. You are going down a very hard road.
I am over the opinion that no-till is a site specific course of action. My ground is somewhat poorly drained and needs to be opened up with a plow. Yes, I have tried both ways and lost 60% of a crops from the poorly drained aspect of my soil. A plow, spader, tiller, and hilling is what my land needs to produce the most. I try not to let idealism dictate what I do, not everything that is ecologically best is economically best.
Really well stated. No till is most likely on going to work in the Midwest. The states surround Missouri have had the best experiences in notill and low till operations. But corn and sorgam are not cannabis. There is a war pamplit on no till cannabis or there version. It was Canabis planted in clover cover crop for a two part war effort project. Feed and fiber I think is the pamplit name.
Yes, I was going to add that I thought the midwest soils were best for that. Well drained, high organic matter content is where it is at for no-till without land improvements. I would need to file my field to make no-till work. Definitely not a high priority for me. I don’t have a ton of clay, it is a silt loam soil on the top 9", so I don’t crust over after ground work, it stays loose all summer, it is more of a topography and high water table issue for me.
let’s help each other out! Happy holidays!