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Keep it whole: why no-till is the way to grow
Let’s talk about the 2nd tenet of soil health: keep the soil whole. No-till management is becoming more and more popular amongst growers. The advantages to moving from tillage to no-till growing include decreased weed pressure, increased soil structure, increased microbial populations, decreased soil erosion, and increased soil organic matter. All of these things lead…
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Helping your soil re-“cover”: Soil cover to promote soil health
Imagine it’s a cold winter morning. The sun hasn’t been seen for a week and the clouds are heavy and gray. You wake up in your warm bed, deep in the covers and the last thing you want to do is get up and face the elements. You know how much you love that cover?…
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Grow soils not plants: Make this the year of soil health
Everyone thinks they have the secret to growing the best Cannabis. But we know the real secret. It’s not about growing healthy plants folk, its about growing healthy soils! We sometimes think of agriculture and farming as just growing plants. We prepare beds or fields using tillage, we add fertilizers and pesticides, and we marvel…
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Integrated pest management: How IPM and ecology can help control insect pests
Integrated pest management is a multipronged approach. IPM combines various mechanical, cultural, biological, and chemical treatments to help control pests and reduce crop loss. To effectively control pests, we need to understand their lifecycle. Western flower thrips as an example pest The western flower thrips begin their life as eggs embedded in plant tissue. Once…
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Balthazar et. al., 2022. Biocontrol of Cannabis bud rot pathogens.
Balthazar, C., Novinscak, A., Cantin, C., Joly, D. L., Filion, M. (2022). Biocontrol activity of Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp. against Botrytis cinerea and other Cannabis fungal pathogens. Phytopathology. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-03-21-0128-R Pathogens kind of suck Bud rot. Wilt. Grey mold. These words strike fear into the hearts of Cannabis growers everywhere. Very few commercial sprays…
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Many little hammers: a holistic approach to weed control
The many little hammers philosophy is, in our opinion, one of the most important philosophies for organic and regenerative agriculture. The philosophy describes how to maximize ecological control of weeds and is more a change of how we think about weed control than any one strategy. The many little hammers philosophy is simple: instead of…
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Understanding pathogens to help provide better control: Powdery mildew
Powdery mildew is an easy pathogen to recognize on Cannabis, forming white colonies on the upper surface of leaves. This is a common field and greenhouse pathogen and infects many different crops. Powdery mildew is unlikely to kill plants, but it can severely reduce growth and yield. Growth and lifecycle Powdery mildew is an obligate…
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Integrated pest management: An introduction to IPM in indoor cultivation
In Cannabis, there are currently few labeled chemicals for indoor use. Of those that are labeled for use, horticultural oils and biologics make up most of the options. Proper use of horticulture oils generally requires a whole plant drench and depending on grow room conditions and choice of spray, they can result in phototoxicity and…
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Cover crops: a quick primer on their benefits
The improvement to soil health is one of the more attractive benefits of cover crops. The use of cover crops can lead to greater soil biological activity, greater soil aggregation, and increased organic matter. Increases in these metrics are consistently associated with increased yields How do cover crops accomplish this? Like their name implies, cover…
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Weed lifecycles and ecology
Understanding the ecology of weeds is central to their effective management. Agriculture weeds cost millions of dollars each year in lost crops and prevention/treatment. Herbicides have allowed us to continue to produce crops as demand soars, and when used safely and responsibly can be game changers. Herbicides are also expensive chemicals that need to be…
