Anyone done No-Till in a guerrilla grow?

[childofmelee]

Just wondering if anyone here has tried doing No-Till or more accurately No-Dig as I'm thinking of trying it myself with my outdoor grow. I remember someone saying when they tried it their plants didn't get as big probably due to the roots not being able to push out as much compared to when the soil is loosened up with the spade.
 

Edited July 1, 2023 by childofmelee

[Pepe Ramon]

I've done it. My first year the crop was fantastic, the second year not so great but I put that down to me not adding the right amendments.

 

I've abandoned the bed this year in favour of 150ltr fabric pots. 

 

I made a diary of how I constructed the bed in 2021, it's still here somewhere...

[MindSoup]

No till/dig is great, works brilliantly, Charles Dowding on YouTube is a great person to learn from, the Mendo Dope guys do some crazy no till plants as well but it looks like a lot of their videos have been taken down. 

 

If you can easily transport a lot of mulch/compost to your plot then I'd recommend giving it a go. Keep in mind it's a long term solution and crops will improve with each cycle. If your soil is really heavy then you might be better of to turn the soil the first year and then do no dig from then on or start with an extra thick layer of compost. 

 

IIRC your in NZ, so plenty of heavy clay around, but also a lot of lush volcanic soil, some of the best I've ever come across. I lived in Auckland for 2 years working as a landscaper, always regret not growing a few plants out in the bush. 

Edited July 1, 2023 by MindSoup

[childofmelee]

17 hours ago, Arbre Medicinal said:

I've done it. My first year the crop was fantastic, the second year not so great but I put that down to me not adding the right amendments.

 

I've abandoned the bed this year in favour of 150ltr fabric pots. 

 

I made a diary of how I constructed the bed in 2021, it's still here somewhere...

 

I tried to search for your diary but could only find your threads that go back to March 2022.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by childofmelee

[childofmelee]

14 hours ago, MindSoup said:

No till/dig is great, works brilliantly, Charles Dowding on YouTube is a great person to learn from, the Mendo Dope guys do some crazy no till plants as well but it looks like a lot of their videos have been taken down. 

 

If you can easily transport a lot of mulch/compost to your plot then I'd recommend giving it a go. Keep in mind it's a long term solution and crops will improve with each cycle. If your soil is really heavy then you might be better of to turn the soil the first year and then do no dig from then on or start with an extra thick layer of compost. 

 

IIRC your in NZ, so plenty of heavy clay around, but also a lot of lush volcanic soil, some of the best I've ever come across. I lived in Auckland for 2 years working as a landscaper, always regret not growing a few plants out in the bush. 

 

I'll take a look at Charles Dowding's video's. 

 

Transporting mulch/compost to the plot is not doable because the plot is deep into forestry, I'll just have to work with what I got on site but yeah I'll have to take a look at the condition of the soil first and hope it isn't heavy.  This grow will be in pine forestry.

 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2023 by childofmelee

[MindSoup]

Yeah a lot of the time it's not very practical in a GG setting unless you have a lot of good material nearby. You could start this year by just turning over the soil and maybe digging in some organic matter (as early as possible) and then once your crops done swap over to no dig and just keep piling on the mulch year after year. 

[DutchFox]

18 hours ago, childofmelee said:

 

 

 

Transporting mulch/compost to the plot is not doable because the plot is deep into forestry, I'll just have to work with what I got on site but yeah I'll have to take a look at the condition of the soil first and hope it isn't heavy.  This grow will be in pine forestry.

 

 

 

 

just under trees near a plot...usually the soil is good and a lot of humus....what i do is  i markt a few m2 ....and put in autumm dried chicken manure on it ( topdress ) ......1 te cup per 10 liter soil.

 

in april you will see that the worms have prepared for you perfect soil for your bed or plantholes.  

 

area with pine are low in ph.... i would mix in 200 gram calcium with mg per planthole in januari.

Edited July 2, 2023 by DutchFox

[childofmelee]

15 hours ago, MindSoup said:

Yeah a lot of the time it's not very practical in a GG setting unless you have a lot of good material nearby. You could start this year by just turning over the soil and maybe digging in some organic matter (as early as possible) and then once your crops done swap over to no dig and just keep piling on the mulch year after year. 

 

The crap thing about it is I can't reuse this plot more than one or twice because the pine trees will be tall enough to limit direct sunlight on the plants and I'm fussy when it comes to getting maximum sunlight.  I really need to find a permanent plot.

[childofmelee]

3 hours ago, DutchFox said:

 

just under trees near a plot...usually the soil is good and a lot of humus....what i do is  i markt a few m2 ....and put in autumm dried chicken manure on it ( topdress ) ......1 te cup per 10 liter soil.

 

in april you will see that the worms have prepared for you perfect soil for your bed or plantholes.  

 

area with pine are low in ph.... i would mix in 200 gram calcium with mg per planthole in januari.

 

I'll see if I can get some humus in the area for the plant holes.

 

I've tested the pH in pine forestry and yes it is quite acidic.