A Grower's Biggest Headaches

[wobbly goblin]

LMAO! Listen to the goblin, he means it. WG, you haven't been introduced to Root Aphids yet? The Borg ain't got nothin' on those little bastages.

root aphids?
wtf?

what are you using for a medium?
better yet do some googling/scroogle ing about napa part #8822 and it's uses as a hydro medium and in bonzai
then, when you get bored? try a scroogle search on diatomacious
earth and it's effects on aphids

smoke a whatever and put the two together :)

fwiw

 

[Bud Spleefman]

EYE WASH!!!!!!!!!!! I REPEAT, EYE WASH!!!! On more than one occasion I have had a bit of weed flung into my eye from my Trim-pro. Of course, now I know that when they say wear eye protection, they mean it! Thank god I trim with my wife as a helper, she's the one who has to deal with me screaming in pain as she washes the resin coated bits from my eye.

Let's see, what's on my shelves...
Shelves (Seems obvious, but organize your nutes on some shelves, your life will be easier)
A sink (Home Depot, 50 bucks, drains out the back of my barn)
A 300 gallon water tank, holds fresh water, feeds into my sink via a Little Giant Pump. I fill it via a hose from the house like once a week.
Hoses. Lots of hoses.
Pumps. Lots of pumps.
Bleach
H2O2
Rubbing Alcohol
Azatrol for small plants where I can get all sides of them
Disposable Chemical Suit (I use it until it rips, like 4 or 5 times)
Little Booties that go with the suit
Respirator (So I can live to meet my grandchildren)
Green Headlamp for working on plants in the dark
Avid, Floramite, Forbid 4f (new one, just got it) rotated, all plants get one of them right before going into flower, never use the same one twice in a row
Bayer Tree and Shrub with the 1.47% Imid
Eagle 20
Sulfur Burner (haven't used much since I got the Eagle 20)
Bandaids
Duct Tape
Goop Hand Cleaner for trimming time
Misters, sprayers, etc... humidity is pretty low where I am
Swamp Coolers, humidifiers
Little Heaters, the 600 watt ones, the 1000 or 1500 watters trip breakers
Razor Blades
Old school stereo with CD Player and Klipsch TOWERS for making so much noise I annoy every elk, deer or squirrel in my vacinity
Air Guitar (ok, I am making this up!:))

 

[Bud Spleefman]

root aphids?
wtf?

.......on diatomacious
earth and it's effects on aphids

smoke a whatever and put the two together :)

fwiw

Diatomaceous Earth doesn't work once it's wet.... so not useful for Root Aphids. I've tried it... makes a freaking mess!

 

[wobbly goblin]

Diatomaceous Earth doesn't work once it's wet.... so not useful for Root Aphids. I've tried it... makes a freaking mess!

makes a mess?
i use it as a medium
it looks like cat litter

regarding the root aphids and it not working?
that may be true as i've never had them to test it out on

why does it not work when it's wet?

 

[Bud Spleefman]

Isn't it water soluble? I've struggled with root aphids and tried everything, in Colorado we have a specific kind of root aphid called the Coniferous Root Aphid, which a conifer tree is a pine, spruce, etc... trees with needles.... which we have a lot of!! I used DE both as a a powder on the floor around my growing area (very messy, especially with condensation on my cold air intakes) and as a top dressing on my coco with no luck. I wish it worked, would be much preferred to the chemical route I have to go... the dude at my local hydro store eats a spoonful in his cereal every morning, so I know there are some amazing benefits to DE... or maybe he's just too stoned, I dunno! :nerd

 

[wobbly goblin]

ok i gotcha

you where using the powdered form and i'm using the calcined form which makes it into little chunks about 1/16th inch to 3/16th inch

i'm still trying to figure out why it don't work while wet as the diatoms are still sharp

anyhow, you got me wondering now


fwiw

 

[Electro]

Things i wont live without:

Cal-Mag - For anyone using RO water..
Liquid Karma - General plant health.
Bayer Fruit & Vegetable - Kills all types of aphids dead.
Bayer Disease & Mite Control - Kills several types of Spider Mites dead.
Spectracide Immunox - Kills and CURES Powder Mildew spore systemically.
Dehumidifier - To avoid disease from environmental issues.
Hot Shot No Pest Strip - Last resort pest control, kills everything flying or diggin or hiding in the room no matter what end of story.

 

[Seamaiden]

DE is not water soluble as far as I know, if it were it couldn't be used as a filtration media (DE pool filters). I know there are different types and grades, but they're all siliceous in origin.

I wish to HELL I could remember who posted the link to the paper, out of the AZ ag extension that talks about control of RAs, and IIRC it's focused on conifer aphids (but I've been reading so many different papers I could have it mixed up), but the problem with DE is that once it's become wet it cracks, and the larvae and female RAs just go between the cracks to do their thing.

Trichoderma harzianum seems to be the ticket, as the females won't lay their eggs in any medium so treated. Damn! Why can't I find the paper now?

 

[sdgrower]

Great thread everyone!

Stylet Oil
takes care of your mites and PM plus you can use it up to the day of harvest. NO odor, no smell NO effect on taste and its organic.

Cheers!
:animbong:

 

[sdgrower]

Hi-E dry dehumidifiers

 

[Capulator]

Did I miss ALUMINUM TAPE when I read this thread? That is about one of the best things you can have for light proofing, and attaching duct to reflectors etc...

Reflectix from the depot. Comes in a 50' roll for about 43 bucks. Great for wrapping shit up to insulate, or line the walls.

If you ever get root aphids (god forbid) the only thing that really works is MERIT 75. Best used on veg plants or plants in very early (week 1) flowering stage.

A power drill and a hole saw kit also comes in handy for every build.

 

[TwoCreeks Redux]

One helpful hint I might add that I learned recently has to do with hand cleaning during harvesting and manicuring. For many years I used rubbing alcohol but lately I found out that vegetable oil does a MUCH better job.
I scrape as much resin off as I can, then wash with soap and water. Then I put a little vegetable oil, or olive oil into my hands and wash them for a minute or so with that. All the resin comes right off after the oil treatment.
One more wash with soap to get rid of the oil, and it is like you never handled any sticky stuff.......

 

[Seamaiden]

I've gone with nitrile gloves for that stuff. Just peel it off, into the trash, you're good to go.

I have learned to keep some WD-40 alongside my rubbing alcohol for my trimming scissors. The alcohol can cause slight rusting even of the black carbon steel of my grape scissors, which impinges on the free-moving action, a tiny squirt right into the hinge and they're almost good as new.

By the by, drop those suck-ass Fiskars for a decent pair of grape scissors is my suggestion. Fiskars are one of a grower's biggest headaches, IMO. From having to screw around with the stupid spring, to trying to get the now-screwed-with spring to stay *in place*, Fiskars just suck ass. I prefer the grape scissors with the curved blades over the straight because those curved blades really let you work around the buds much better than straight blades.

ARS Grape Scissors, carbon steel blades.

 

[Giddeon]

I've gone with nitrile gloves for that stuff. Just peel it off, into the trash, you're good to go.

I have learned to keep some WD-40 alongside my rubbing alcohol for my trimming scissors. The alcohol can cause slight rusting even of the black carbon steel of my grape scissors, which impinges on the free-moving action, a tiny squirt right into the hinge and they're almost good as new.

By the by, drop those suck-ass Fiskars for a decent pair of grape scissors is my suggestion. Fiskars are one of a grower's biggest headaches, IMO. From having to screw around with the stupid spring, to trying to get the now-screwed-with spring to stay *in place*, Fiskars just suck ass. I prefer the grape scissors with the curved blades over the straight because those curved blades really let you work around the buds much better than straight blades.

ARS Grape Scissors, carbon steel blades.

Damn you can almost clip around corners with those things ;) I am going to say though I do like the fiskars micro-tip clippers. I have about 10 pairs laying around all with super dull blades, all they are good for now is ashing bowls, and only mod I have done is take the stupid orange locking thing in the middle out. Only had 2 pair ever break a spring, and I wasn't the one using them at the time so I don't know how "rough" :) they were getting used, I've never broken one personally though.

 

[Seamaiden]

The springs fatigue my hands. It was suggested to me, "Oh, just clip the spring down," so I did that. Now the spring pops out, and those scissors still fatigue my hands. Worse yet is that I can definitely tell that resins, etcetera, build up MUCH faster on the Fiskars than on the grape scissors.

Get one pair and try them, I wouldn't be surprised if you don't go back to the Fiskars.

 

[TrichromeFan]

Grape scissors look sweet. I'll have to pick some up. You never have enough good scissors. I have some hand made ones I use that my friends brought me back from Thailand. Been my favorites since 93.

-TF

 

[wobbly goblin]

One helpful hint I might add that I learned recently has to do with hand cleaning during harvesting and manicuring. For many years I used rubbing alcohol but lately I found out that vegetable oil does a MUCH better job.
I scrape as much resin off as I can, then wash with soap and water. Then I put a little vegetable oil, or olive oil into my hands and wash them for a minute or so with that. All the resin comes right off after the oil treatment.
One more wash with soap to get rid of the oil, and it is like you never handled any sticky stuff.......

DUDE
i tried this today at 3 different intervals
works like a friggen charm

no more toilet paper sticking to my fingers after ahem
anyway, great tip, thanks

fwiw

 

[Blaze]

With all this talk of pesticides and spraying I am really surprised there is little mention of proper protection equipment, especially those of you who use Eagle 20 and other similar products!!

My most recent purchase:

3M full face respirator
3M pesticide/organic vapor cartridges
A few microporous disposable hooded coveralls with elastic wrists,ankles, and booties; particle and chemical resistant.

Don't fuck around with pesticides - your long term health is well worth the extra $200 it costs for proper protection.

 

[mrbong73]

DE is not water soluble as far as I know, if it were it couldn't be used as a filtration media (DE pool filters). I know there are different types and grades, but they're all siliceous in origin.

I wish to HELL I could remember who posted the link to the paper, out of the AZ ag extension that talks about control of RAs, and IIRC it's focused on conifer aphids (but I've been reading so many different papers I could have it mixed up), but the problem with DE is that once it's become wet it cracks, and the larvae and female RAs just go between the cracks to do their thing.

Trichoderma harzianum seems to be the ticket, as the females won't lay their eggs in any medium so treated. Damn! Why can't I find the paper now?

Seamaiden:
I think this might have been the study you where thinking of.

 

[sbkg]

For sharpening scissors take some medium grit sand paper, fold it so the both sides of the scissors are cutting through the sand paper, make a couple cuts and viola, sharp scissors again.