GroDank101
Well-Known Member
attempting to pull any and all information together to discuss all aspects of No Till growing. so post up the pictures of your No Till, Organic gardens here!
No Till Gardens, Photos Suggested!
- Thread starter GroDank101
- Start date
green_machine_two9er
Well-Known Member
No tillin
I only run about 5 or 6 of these no till pots. These three are on third cycle. It gets better and better. 
I only run about 5 or 6 of these no till pots. These three are on third cycle. It gets better and better. Attachments
OrganicGorilla
Well-Known Member
3rd cycle without reamending with anything? Not even EWC or compost?No tillin
green_machine_two9er
Well-Known Member
I do put an inch or so of casting. And about a tablespoon of kelp/need. And just some dried leaves
kratos015
Well-Known Member
No-till is so simple there really isn't too much to know about it fortunately. Heck, if I can do it then anyone can! 
I'll try to summarize the basics of a no-till grow as best as I can. You pretty much start off with a blend of peat/aeration/compost and toss some organic amendments and minerals in with it. From my research, the CC soil mix seems to be the absolute best, although I've had good results with sub's supersoil and have seen good results from Moonshine's Mix as well, but as far as my personal experience CC's mix is destroying anything I've ever done before. CC's mix is pretty much equal parts peat/aeration/compost, although it's looking like people are starting to use less peat in favor or more aeration and compost in the mix and I can totally see why at this point. My next time making this soil I'm going to go for 40% aeration, 25-30% peat, and 30-35% compost because I'm definitely not getting the drainage that I would like to have. Then you amend the base with kelp/crab/neem meals as well as basalt, gypsum, and oyster shell flour. The only thing you need to do to maintain the no-till pots is top dress as needed (every 3-6 weeks, strain dependent) with the same mix of amendments and minerals you used to amend the base mix, then cover that up with some compost or EWC and you can run the same pots for quite a while now with some people using the same pots for dozens of harvests.
The only thing I'm not sure of, is how long you can use the no-till pots until you have to start over. In my research, I haven't really come across and answer to that other than people saying that eventually your no-till pots will get to a point where it's all broken down and is 100% humus. At this point, people will empty their no-tills (now 100% humus) and mix it up with peat and aeration and re-amend it and start over. I'm hoping someone with more experience on the subject of no-till will be able to chime in on this because I have yet to find a definitive answer myself.
It is absolutely amazing though and until I come across something better, I just don't see myself growing any other way. The soil mix is so good that I'll eventually be running outdoor no-till beds for veggies as well, CC's mix is pretty much like cheating it's so simple and easy. All I do to maintain things is top dress with amendments and castings and for the most part it's a water only garden. Once a week I water with coconut water, liquid seaweed, Ful-Power, and TM-7 and every now and then I foliar feed with aloe and liquid seaweed. Other than that, it's water only. With no-till organic growing, so long as your soil is up to par, you pretty much just have to keep things moist and aerated and the soil will take care of everything with your plants. With no-till, instead of taking care of plants we are taking care of the soil. Any problems with your girls will always be directly related to the soil, overwatering becomes even more dangerous during a no-till grow because you'll be drowning out your roots AND your soil which will make for one sad plant.
I don't know what the rules are for linking to other forums, but if you google "No-till gardening grasscity" you will find an absolute wealth of information if you're willing to take the time to read everything and take notes. I'm nothing special and if I can make it work anyone can! I'm running this exact method in my grow journal if you want to check it out, I've tried my best to summarize most of what's in the grasscity thread on there but that grasscity thread will have all of the answers and information you need to have a successful no-till crop.
Happry growing!
I'll try to summarize the basics of a no-till grow as best as I can. You pretty much start off with a blend of peat/aeration/compost and toss some organic amendments and minerals in with it. From my research, the CC soil mix seems to be the absolute best, although I've had good results with sub's supersoil and have seen good results from Moonshine's Mix as well, but as far as my personal experience CC's mix is destroying anything I've ever done before. CC's mix is pretty much equal parts peat/aeration/compost, although it's looking like people are starting to use less peat in favor or more aeration and compost in the mix and I can totally see why at this point. My next time making this soil I'm going to go for 40% aeration, 25-30% peat, and 30-35% compost because I'm definitely not getting the drainage that I would like to have. Then you amend the base with kelp/crab/neem meals as well as basalt, gypsum, and oyster shell flour. The only thing you need to do to maintain the no-till pots is top dress as needed (every 3-6 weeks, strain dependent) with the same mix of amendments and minerals you used to amend the base mix, then cover that up with some compost or EWC and you can run the same pots for quite a while now with some people using the same pots for dozens of harvests.
The only thing I'm not sure of, is how long you can use the no-till pots until you have to start over. In my research, I haven't really come across and answer to that other than people saying that eventually your no-till pots will get to a point where it's all broken down and is 100% humus. At this point, people will empty their no-tills (now 100% humus) and mix it up with peat and aeration and re-amend it and start over. I'm hoping someone with more experience on the subject of no-till will be able to chime in on this because I have yet to find a definitive answer myself.
It is absolutely amazing though and until I come across something better, I just don't see myself growing any other way. The soil mix is so good that I'll eventually be running outdoor no-till beds for veggies as well, CC's mix is pretty much like cheating it's so simple and easy. All I do to maintain things is top dress with amendments and castings and for the most part it's a water only garden. Once a week I water with coconut water, liquid seaweed, Ful-Power, and TM-7 and every now and then I foliar feed with aloe and liquid seaweed. Other than that, it's water only. With no-till organic growing, so long as your soil is up to par, you pretty much just have to keep things moist and aerated and the soil will take care of everything with your plants. With no-till, instead of taking care of plants we are taking care of the soil. Any problems with your girls will always be directly related to the soil, overwatering becomes even more dangerous during a no-till grow because you'll be drowning out your roots AND your soil which will make for one sad plant.
I don't know what the rules are for linking to other forums, but if you google "No-till gardening grasscity" you will find an absolute wealth of information if you're willing to take the time to read everything and take notes. I'm nothing special and if I can make it work anyone can! I'm running this exact method in my grow journal if you want to check it out, I've tried my best to summarize most of what's in the grasscity thread on there but that grasscity thread will have all of the answers and information you need to have a successful no-till crop.
Happry growing!