Vic's first judge-alone trial in the weeds

Phong Troung and co-accused Thi Bui are both charged with growing a large commercial quantity of cannabis at a Truganina warehouse in October 2018.

During a raid at the property police found more than 1000 plants, weighing more than 400kg.

Bui, a 46-year-old woman, claimed she had no idea the plants were cannabis.

"It's growing plants, I don't know what they are," she told police in her record of interview.

She claimed she never watered any of the plants but instead prepared the soil.

Her co-accused Troung, a 56-year-old man, claims he never had the intention to cultivate a large commercial quantity of the drug.

He also believed there were only 30 to 70 plants per room and would admit to a lesser charge, the Victorian County Court was told.

Troung told police a woman approached him to be a "crop sitter" while he was shopping in Sunshine.

"She came and asked me, 'Do you need some work?' I did, yeah," he said.

"So I asked her about the kind of work, and she told me, 'It's very simple. All you have to do is just - you know, just water the plant, that's all'."

The growing rooms were timber structures built inside the Truganina warehouse and there were nine in total, the court was told.

In one of the rooms 299 cannabis plants were found growing.

Bui and Troung are the first to use the emergency legislation allowing judge-only trials because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The accused must apply to have their case heard without a jury and a judge must find it would be in the best interest to do so.

But the judge-only trials are a temporary measure and due to expire in October because of a sunset clause included in the omnibus legislation.

Judges will have to decide on the verdict and give written reasons explaining the finding.

Another judge-only trial was abandoned when the man pleaded guilty earlier last month.

The trial in front of Judge Gaynor continues on Tuesday.

Australian Associated Press