No-till farming is a component of the larger living soil cannabis growing method, which feeds plants with microorganisms rather than artificial nutrients.
Cannabis growers are switching to no-till techniques to reduce their carbon footprint, preserve the health of the soil, and save tens of thousands of dollars on equipment and fertilizer expenditures each grow cycle.
The practice of not tilling soil before planting or after harvest is frequently a component of a bigger cultivation strategy that also uses cover crops and is known as “living soil,” where the planting material is rich in microorganisms that feed the cannabis plants instead of artificial fertilizers.
According to Lauren Fortier, director of cultivation at Theory Wellness, a marijuana business based in Stoneham, Massachusetts, “a healthy no-till system can require little to no off-site agricultural inputs, conserves water significantly when compared to conventional agriculture, and cultivates a healthy soil food web of microorganisms that benefit the greater ecosystem as well as cultivated crops.”
Josh Turner, vice president of cultivation at Green Meadows, a vertically integrated marijuana business in Southbridge, Massachusetts, claims that a no-till approach doesn’t necessitate compromising quality.
Turner claimed that once the living soil is formed, no-till farming can actually result in better potency and terpene concentration.
With no-till, he continued, “you may still achieve your production objectives and requirements while minimizing your influence on the environment and your local ecology.”
The Hudson Hemp company’s chief cultivation officer, Brandon Curtin, who is situated in Hudson, New York, sees three advantages to doing away with tilling:
increasing biological function by leaving the soil alone, much like a healthy forest’s forest floor.
In order to make these chemicals available to plants, natural populations of bacteria and fungi are crucial for dissolving minerals from rocks, soil, and plant waste during cover-crop rotations.
Less disturbance and more plant material are added each year, and the soil cycle starts to feed itself.
The improvement in soil quality is one of the biggest advantages of doing away with tillage, according to Ryan Douglas, a cannabis expert located in Florida.
The natural structure of the soil is protected and made less vulnerable to erosion by reducing tilling.
Carbon is released into the atmosphere when topsoil is dug up, which helps to create greenhouse gases. However, no-till methods mitigate that environmental impact.
No-till farming, according to Douglas, “may assist lessen a cannabis company’s overall carbon footprint because it doesn’t disturb the natural structure of the soil.”
Long-term investments
All of this is unrelated to the financial benefits that cannabis growers might obtain by not disturbing the soil.
No-till systems may be maintained with very little mechanization as opposed to needing massive, expensive agricultural machinery, Fortier noted.
She asserted that cover crops and simple hand tools may maintain soil structure and aeration in place of pricey tillers.
He emphasized the benefits of no-till farming and live soils for pest control. For instance, disease viruses and destructive insects can initially infect vulnerable plants.
The first line of defense for a grower against crop loss, according to Douglas, is a healthy plant.
According to Turner, growers who use no-till and living soil require fewer supplemental nutrients and don’t need to replenish the substrate or soil every year, which saves them thousands of dollars per grow cycle.
Curtin noted that no-till or low-till farming does require some time to develop. This strategy requires a cannabis grower to accumulate compost and mulch supplies.
However, he continued, “over time, building permanent no-till beds with permanent systems provides a cost that may be spread over many years.”
“By avoiding the need of fossil fuel-based fertilizer inputs, no-till farming is simply one component of the biological tool belt that we employ to shut loops and save money over the long term.”
Sustainable advantages
Topsoil is turned, tilled, dug, and carbon dioxide (C02) is released into the atmosphere.
According to Fortier, this is one way that industrial agriculture contributes to greenhouse emissions and climate change.
No-till systems, on the other hand, use crops that fix carbon in the soil, and since the system is never tilled, the carbon remains there to be utilized by the soil’s living ecosystem.
No-till farming is a fantastic way to store carbon, according to Curtin. Carbon-containing plant matter is decomposed back into the soil at the end of each growing season, while cover crops in the winter hold and sequester carbon from the atmosphere and plant matter.
In addition to reducing carbon emissions, Turner asserts that no-till farming conserves water in general. The amount of moisture lost by plants to evaporation and erosion is lower in living soil systems.
A further gain is less waste.
Natural mulches that decompose and enrich the soil with organic matter are used by no-till gardeners in place of disposable plastic mulch and drip-tape irrigation, which must be purchased every year.
According to Fortier, no-till systems retain water significantly more successfully than conventionally tilled ground.
Weeds are still a problem.
Weed management can still be a challenge in no-till farming, which is its biggest disadvantage.
Farmers inexorably leave the weeds because they maintain the natural soil structure, according to Douglas.
He stated that weeds can outgrow cannabis if the soil nutrition is adequate and there is an abundance of water, necessitating a significant amount of manual labor to eradicate them.
