Tillage is also popular especially on large hemp farms.

No till, in theory will lead to better soil health in the long run, since tillage disturbs soil biology.

Famous growers like mendo dope used fabric containers, inspiring others. They have similar advantages to raised beds, but they can be a cheaper option that doesn’t require construction permits and stuff. Plus people like the aeration.

There is also the risk for small scale producers that mites or other pests will raise form the soil and devour the plants. Not always the case but a worry.
Also depending ton the legality of the grow 20-50 gallon pots can be moved and relocated.

I reuse the soil at all my properties. They are either in beds or in fabric pots. I till my beds also

I'd think it would be to optimize the root structure, minimize water wasted, prevent ground pests from infecting the soil, and maintain a water table in the base of the root system. There are likely other reasons but those are the obvious ones that come to mind.

Notillers assume they have some magical fungal kingdom, they don't want to disturb it, whether it's actually there or not.

Gophers. Ive lost quite a few ground plants to them

I've got a farm I'm opening were gonna run the irrigation system off a big healthy pond thats stocked with fish and were gonna be planting in deeply tilled soil that we will fertalize with rabbit poop that we get from our rabit farm, I'll probably start a yt channel. Lots of the infrastructure will go in this winter.

The comment about maintaining the water table, uhm that can he done with tilled soil but you have to install a plumbing system under the ground that regulates the water table itself.

Thinking water tables makes me want to learn more.. do smart pots have "water tables"? That's worth a google lol

1stonedman said:

Thinking water tables makes me want to learn more.. do smart pots have "water tables"? That's worth a google lol

Click to expand...

Lol of course they do. It's called the saturation zone in the bottom of any container plant. If you cut the bottom off the container and place it on the ground, that saturation zone disappears and the water percolates deep into the ground into an aquifer or is channeled away.

Dirtbag said:

Lol of course they do. It's called the saturation zone in the bottom of any container plant. If you cut the bottom off the container and place it on the ground, that saturation zone disappears and the water percolates deep into the ground into an aquifer or is channeled away.

Click to expand...

Please forgive my ignorance, buy why is a consistent water table/saturation zone a good thing?

If you think about the best soil in the world for growing, why would you not want to emulate that for your plants, they could only benefit. No till out doors as it destroys the soil structure unless the land clogs, no wind and rain indoors, or frost.

Milson said:

Please forgive my ignorance, buy why is a consistent water table/saturation zone a good thing?

Click to expand...

Water conservation is probably the main one, and it also puts the bulk of the feeder roots in the water saturated zone. You get faster growth when the roots have easy access to water and nutrients in a saturation zone

i run no till commercially. I hand tilled using man power 7 acres this year. I harvested 40 acres of hay by hand. My hay turns out better. My crude protein was 4 points higher. This is one of those things i dont like to get into because its its more based on ideals of whats better. I think for the most part most people do tilling wrong. Dust bowl being proof and we arent far off from those conditions in some places in terms of dead amended soil. Could be more comparable to coco as a medium that holds water and nutrients then an actual soil. I could get into the whole science of it. but honestly im of the mind set you wont change a person. they either want to go no till or they want to till. when you look at most approaches to farming we have taken the last 250 years for the last 2500 years in terms of knowledge. There is a difference between growing something and something that is thriving while it grows. Its actually quantifiable in the metrics of testing of produce. Same with cannabis where you have more cannibinoids and terpenes. You get that in produce thats why that locally grown tomato tastes better. Since the market isnt based on quality but quantity. They get to skip most notions of actual quality. Taking it over with forms of science to boost yields, GMO, etc. The goal behind that mentality is how you can have the worst conditions and maintain increased harvests with less work. More chemicals.


In corn its simple why no til is better. Same way you cover crop for deeper penetration. Corn roots want to grow 60" before putting that energy into making that 1 ear of corn. its sole purpose is to make 1 ear of corn to reproduce (maybe 2 small ones). But that energy it puts into going 60" takes longer with compaction. stunts its growth. A more aerated soil allows the roots to not only go deeper during its development stage, but also through it easier. Allow it to naturally be able to put more energy into that 1 ear of corn. Thus can result in 2 large ears of corn vs 1 without GMO seeds.

This is why farmers leave the root systems for corn in the ground and cut the stalk. Without it would over compact and destroy their already terrible soil. If you have good soil its not as big of a deal. Those farmers tend to opt for pulling in the fall and either winter cropping or fall amending. University in WI has done studies on this for 40 years. Really cool people.

Small scale why wouldnt you no til? You'd be better off with a cover crop cleared and lazy bedded. In fact you can grow a cover crop that are natural pesticides that will help your entire grow. When we talk why i would til its because im one person and there is 24 hours in a day. if i had bills like most farmers id be on a tractor right now tilling my entire farm mechanized. But for cannabis. Lets say michigan where its 12 plants. I dont need to til 3 acres to grow 12 plants. Even then the bedrock in some spots maybe 10x20. You are better off preparing that entire bed then you are tilling the soil - in my opinion. 10x20 is huge thats like 400 cu ft of dirt at 2' deep. a little over kill. Honestly id go the prepared bed route vs til and no til. and if you do it right. You will just be turning over the soil each year by hand and re-amending. if you grid the spot right you can even do it proper and rotate grow zones each year. So the space between last years grow is now the grow zone. Or we just cut out the middle man and go straight to air pots. Full cycle why air pots have now become the best option. Without even having to bash tilling on my part(not that im against tilling, just over tilling and poor methods).

Edit: put 240 cu ft. Was thinking 10x12 when i wrote 10x20x2.

Tilling generally works the soil about 6-10 inches deep. Your cannabis will appear to be doing fine, with the roots able to extend horizontally.
then, most likely, the hot, dry summer months (here, end of July and all of August) will fry all the roots because they are just under the surface. Combined with a massive leaf mass sucking water from the roots the plants don’t stand a chance.
Deep holes with deep watering to keep the roots down works for me...several 100 f days and I don’t need to change the water schedule (hardly, lol.)

labor or experience

could also be one of those if it aint broke dont fix it type of mindsets

RippedTorn said:

Notillers assume they have some magical fungal kingdom, they don't want to disturb it, whether it's actually there or not.

Click to expand...

When you see mushrooms growing in your yard, that means you have a fungus kingdom happening. Thats how you know it is there.

1stonedman said:

Why is no till or growing in smart pots/cloth pots with a premium soil brand so much more popular on larger commercial manufacturer farms than tilling?

Click to expand...

There are a few factors here.
1. A lot of growers developed systems in soilless media that they scaled up to commercial scales rather than reinvent the wheel, so to speak.
2. Many startups might see the cost of a tractor and tillage equipment as prohibitively expensive, and opt for pots and soilless media which appear less expensive in the short term.
3. Most of the outdoor commercial grows are in warm, dry climates where tillage is less important. Tillage is useful for raising soil temps in the spring in cool climates and is necessary for making raised beds that are super important in wet climates. In Colorado all of the outdoor farms I've seen use raised beds to warm the soil prior to planting and during early stages of plant growth. In the wet eastern US, raised beds are critical to avoid heavy losses, if not a complete crop failure, from heavy rains.

BudBogart said:

Tilling generally works the soil about 6-10 inches deep. Your cannabis will appear to be doing fine, with the roots able to extend horizontally.
then, most likely, the hot, dry summer months (here, end of July and all of August) will fry all the roots because they are just under the surface. Combined with a massive leaf mass sucking water from the roots the plants don’t stand a chance.
Deep holes with deep watering to keep the roots down works for me...several 100 f days and I don’t need to change the water schedule (hardly, lol.)

Click to expand...

Making raised beds will push that to 8-15 inches deep by pushing the tilled soil between the beds up onto the beds.
But soil is actually deeper than that, it's just that most conventional tillage equipment (ploughs, tillers, etc) leave a hardpan at the bottom that is difficult if not impossible for plant roots to penetrate. Using conservation tillage equipment like an articulating spader will not leave a hardpan, allowing those roots to extend into the subsoil for water.

redshift75 said:

i run no till commercially. I hand tilled using man power 7 acres this year.

Click to expand...

So you use hand tillage or no till? It's really not clear from your post.

Some people call the method of making holes with an auger and planting plants in them "no till" but that auger makes the equivalent of a hardpan on everything it touches. Instead of a hardpan 6-10 inches down you've got one that's 10 inches deep and 12 inches in diameter.

Real no-till systems are either reliant on herbicides that are not currently registered for use on Cannabis or use more complex [organic] cover crop/crimper/mulch systems that come with a steep learning curve and are not suitable for areas infested with tall perennial weeds. Furthermore, no-till Cannabis systems are risky in climates that are wet during any point in the crop's life cycle with most soils. Heavy rains can leave soils waterlogged and wipe out an entire crop.