Looks good!
Just keep an eye out for heavy infestation. Do you have a jewelers loupe or some sort of magnifier that you can get a close up look of the underside of your leaves? It would be good to have one so that you can also check the trichome development and know when to harvest your flowers. This is the one I use:
It's cheap and does the job but if you want something with excellent optics and higher quality then you're going to want to go with the one GNick uses:
IMO, at this stage in the game ladybugs, praying mantis, etc. aren't going to be able to keep up with the infestation. Outdoors? Yes because you have an army of ladybugs and other mite predators to keep the mites in check. I've tried releasing boxes of ladybugs into infested rooms but they usually just dissipate after a while and the problem is still there. Also, if your room is connected to your living space you will have an army of ladybugs invade your space!!
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Thanks so much this is really useful info. It could be a numbers of things that brought in the spider mites. Actually now that I come to think of it, it could be when I was desperate for cannabis seeds, a friend gave me like 50 hemp seeds along with a three seedlings in the medium he had them in. When they were about three weeks old I noticed some webbing in these plants. I didn’t not know what they were at the time.Amazon has 1500 for $10.
Amazon.com : 1x1500 Live Ladybugs for Garden : Patio, Lawn & Garden
Amazon.com : 1x1500 Live Ladybugs for Garden : Patio, Lawn & Gardenwww.amazon.com
Spider Mites are hard to detect with the naked eye. I do pest checks whenever I have to go in to either water or do something in the tent. If I don't have any tent chores then I'll do a quick check just to make sure I catch it or any other issues early.
So....after you harvest and bleach your tent you need to think about using a set of safety and cleanliness protocols. I used to work at a few licensed grow operations in California so I learned them there but one of the cardinal rules of tent growing is NEVER bring in plant material that you're not sure has been treated for pests or that you can confirm is pest free. I've seen mites take down a room of plants within a weekend.
I get that some may not have the luxury of clone availability but it's safest if you grow from seed. Doesn't mean you won't get another infestation because they can enter your garden through your clothes or pets or whatever but, by far, the way they usually get in is through other plants. I try and enter my tent as little as possible to limit exposure and to not upset the environment they're thriving in.
Of course that's not to say that clones are bad but if you're going to grow from clones then you really need to source a trusted supplier. The site has a few very trustworthy suppliers. Trustfall is the one that comes to mind first. Check out his genetics. He can mail pretty much anywhere in the world(Except Ukraine or Russia for now!
We've all had unfortunate events happen in our grows, but they are usually the situations where you learn the most. You have to just try to be thankful for the knowledge and move forward to the next grow.
We've all had unfortunate events happen in our grows, but they are usually the situations where you learn the most. You have to just try to be thankful for the knowledge and move forward to the next grow.
I grow outdoor so I just go into every season expecting shit to go sideways or be hard, then I'm pleasantly surprised when I have a good year and not as crushed when it all goes to hell lol. Low expectations = less disappointment (in growing and in life lol)
It comes with the territory. We can't control nature, so there's always variables that can throw a wrench in your grow.
That plant looks great for a first grow, minus the pests, you obviously have a green thumb, or real good beginners luck, so don't get too down on the situation, it's temporary, like everything.
A heads up on your lady bugs, turn them loose in the dark. For some reason they are more apt to stay in the area they were released in.
I imagine the leds are a bit overwhelming to them... I wonder if providing a few hiding spots and maybe a tiny water source would help keep them in the tent? Like an overturned pot propped open for some cover or something?
Thats good to know, they will be arriving in about three to four days.
I will provide them with some water trays, I'm more scared of them falling into my carnivorous plants in the tent.
My Venus fly trap looses an arm every time it eats a ladybug cause they're too hard to digest
I got a bunch of pitcher plants and two sundew plants. I could maybe save them from the sundews, but if they get in the pitchers they become nom nom for them.My Venus fly trap looses an arm every time it eats a ladybug cause they're too hard to digest
Are predator mites bigger than spider mites? There's an vendor selling them but he couldn't ship them to me yet due to the temperature right now. I could see these spider mites on the leaves, squishing them when I see one, they are as big as (.) this little period, some smaller some larger. Usually when I squish them it leaves a brown gooey trail, sometimes red like a mosquito...
Oh crap, I do have a bunch of bug trapping tapes in there, I guess they have to come out once the ladybugs get here.
I grow general perennials, houseplants and orchids. I use AzaMax and I’m broadening my use of it. Have only used on food crops that haven’t started to bear yet like strawberries in first year that I pull all the flowers to let get strength the next year. It is a highly purified neem product. I won’t use regular neem oil products etc because of phytotoxicity. Even AzaMax I use very late in evening so it’s dried off by the next morning.
You don’t want to kill regular ladybugs nor the predatory mites. Why would anyone want to drown the lady bugs? Their young devour aphids, and other nasties. And if you kill the beneficial, you will always be killing nasties. There are times you have to spray but use the least toxic, use it in evenings so it doesn’t affect bees, bumblebees, and other good insects. I like the AzaMax sprayed in late evening because it won’t bother the bees once dry and for the most point it works on killing those that chew, or suck on the plant’s leaves. And it has to be repeated every 7-10 days so it’s gone by then. I find it after 3-4 sprays of the whole area — it’s taken care of the bugs because it stops them from feeding so they starve. If concerned about pollen/nectar insects like bees and butterflies — I just pull the flowers before spraying for that month, month and half and I haven’t had to spray any longer and because I spray the entire lawn and all the plants — the nasties are gone. And don’t regenerate to cause a major problem. Keep your weeds and tall grass cut down and that helps a lot with pests.
