A Thought On Insects In Our Gardens.

[Mifarmer]

Here I am working on my 3rd outdoor grow in Michigan. My first grow turned out fantastic and I have to admit I did not do a single thing about the variety of insects on and around my plants. I was just having a good time watching my girls grow up to be beautiful ladies.

Last year I did the same thing at first, then right after they started to flower I noticed a lot of leaves getting splotchy and turning yellow. Ended up spending countless hours on the internet trying to figure out what was going on. Spent a bunch of money on food and sprays. Even transplanted a few plants that were in huge pots into the ground. I pruned and snipped , pruned and snipped. Sprayed and fed and worried a lot.

Come harvest I had almost zero fan leaves left and most sugar leaves were discolored as well but my yeild was still spectacular and potent.

Here I am in year three. Im growing the legal 12 plants (9 last year and 6 the previous). I have an array of strains, some autos, some clones, some from seed which are doing the best right now.

I'm finding myself worrying way to much every time I see a munched up leave. Had a complete mental breakdown after 6 inches of rain fell in one week resulting in 3 large branches breaking off. (Not even any flowers yet) I was out in full rain gear, 90 degrees, pouring rain, with string and bamboo stakes trying to save the rest of the branches feeling like I was on Naked and Afraid or something.

Here we are a week or so after the rains and all my plants are huge from all that water Those three branches that broke are taped back up and may or.may not make it. When friends and family come over everyone is amazed at how well my grow looks, yet Im in the kitchen blending up garlic, onion, and cayenne pepper p re eparing a magical mixture that will surely keep the bugs away amd yesterday I made a small home for a toad in my garden I have named Chris that I am hoping will stick around and eat some insects. Then.....

I said to myself, "What the FOOK are you doing, this isnt even fun anymore. Marijuana has been on earth for thousands of years and so have insects, so has rain, branches break all the time, and as long as the ground is fertile the plants are going to grow with or without store bought nutrients."

It is an outdoor grow. These things are going to happen. I know in a month when they flower those stupid Japanese beattles are gonna be back, but I just gotta smoke more of what Im growing and relax and do the best I can without driving myself crazy.

PEACE OUT!

 

[JSH1973]

Use Neem oil mixed with water and a neutral liquid soap, teaspoon of each to a litre of warm water, shake the living sh1t out of it for two minutes and spray the whole plant very generously once a week,stems and undersideof leaves too.

 

[Mifarmer]

Use Neem oil mixed with water and a neutral liquid soap, teaspoon of each to a litre of warm water, shake the living sh1t out of it for two minutes and spray the whole plant very generously once a week,stems and undersideof leaves

Use Neem oil mixed with water and a neutral liquid soap, teaspoon of each to a litre of warm water, shake the living sh1t out of it for two minutes and spray the whole plant very generously once a week,stems and undersideof leaves too.

Asked the girlfriend to pick up some castile soap to make a neem solution and she got peppermint. Will that still work. Thought i read somewhere scentef castile was no good.

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

Bugs are part of natures way of stressing the plant. Stress in the plant boosts trichome production during flower.
Stress before flower is not always good but can lead to a stronger plant.

Keeping bugs away is easier in an outdoor grow because you can use predator bugs to help clean your grow.
Garter snakes, Ladybugs, Preying mantis, and other creepy crawlies are there to help protect your grow from hostile cousins.
As long as it is all in balance, you will loose a few leaves but rarely an entire plant.
Keeping it in balance is where the work is.

 

[Madbud]

I’m with the neem in veg. Just went out after some rain, squadrons of little white flies when i shook a plant. Sprayed neem oil, half hour later they were gone. Be careful spraying outdoors, cover your eyes, nose and skin as best you can. I am sure a breeze of neem or spinosad in the eye is no bueno.

 

[GrowHobo]

When my gf finds the garter snakes in the garden I’m gonna point her in your direction @ComfortablyNumb

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

When my gf finds the garter snakes in the garden I’m gonna point her in your direction @ComfortablyNumb

Tell her they make the high better by adding some adrenaline....

 

[Santa.ClausHOHOHO]

I can relate. I am in the same part of the country, Mich.. Lost two branches due to the heavy rains and winds the past couple of WEEKS.
Discovered a fair amount of Leaf Hoppers couple weeks ago. I use Lost Coast Plant Therapy for any insect or mold issues. The nice thing about having to spray the plants is the fact we tend to keep a super close eye on them. I normally do anyway, but even closer.
I have since decided to do a little inner plant pruning and discovered a couple of these Caterpillars munching away. The Leaf Hoppers are in check. Last year I dealt with a bad case of WPW and the Lost Coast worked really well.
Was getting a few leaves doing the over water curling thing. No rain for the last 2 days and they seem to be fine as they are drying out a bit. Gave them a dose of Recharge this morning. All is well.
GROW GROW GROW

 

[dreamnfox]

Asked the girlfriend to pick up some castile soap to make a neem solution and she got peppermint. Will that still work. Thought i read somewhere scentef castile was no good.

peppermint is preferred, thats what i was taught. i use the dr bronners peppermint

 

[Frankster]

Virtually everything you will ever need to control insects, and/or mold, heat and cold tolerance control:
IMO, the top two are simply a must for anyone outside, and the "blended beni's" is a very excellent idea, the Pure Crop1 won't kill them.... only the bad guys.

For above: Pure Crop1 https://www.purecrop1.com/
For below: foxfarm bushdoctor micobrew https://www.walmart.com/ip/FoxFarm-Bushdoctor-Microbe-Brew-1-pt/46701924

Blended bene's https://www.ebay.com/itm/124131301028?hash=item1ce6cd56a4:g:ZX0AAOSwutZefRbZ
His whole selection: https://www.ebay.com/sch/bugsrmoney/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
Nematodes: https://www.ebay.com/itm/124127001283?hash=item1ce68bbac3:g:lW4AAOSwgj9ed~uj


Castile soap is effective to some degree, so are garden hoses sprayed at the undersides of leaves... If you can grab the stem low, push it outward from the plant, and get your hose in there, and blast water toward the tip of the plants..... Just don't blow your leaves off, with too much power.

 

[BudBogart]

I try hard not to become an expert in insect infestations. I started in this forested garden a dozen years ago. I never had an insect issue until I stopped nurturing the plants, telling myself “they are a weed, they will grow”. Neglected nutrients and water . Past two years I started getting insects, including aphids.
This year I am staying on top of it, actually got a helper and knock on wood, no insect issues, no aphids .

 

[Flappenschmapple]

How do you guys handled pest/insects during flowering. I have a lot of flies landing on leaves and I have very very tiny white spiders making webs on my trellis. I have noticed some very very tiny red mites on the plant but not overwhelming. Is spinosad safe to spray during flowering? Not sure I am in full blown flowering yet but I am close. Thanks

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

How do you guys handled pest/insects during flowering. I have a lot of flies landing on leaves and I have very very tiny white spiders making webs on my trellis. I have noticed some very very tiny red mites on the plant but not overwhelming. Is spinosad safe to spray during flowering? Not sure I am in full blown flowering yet but I am close. Thanks

 

[Santa.ClausHOHOHO]

Fungus, Molds and a broad spectrum of insects I use Lost Coast.

 

[chinacat420]

For the Japanese Beetles I keep a pitcher of water half filled up with a bit of dish soap in it. The first few beetles you see every summer are scouts. Just knock them off your plants into the pitcher of soapy water where they succumb quickly from the dish soap. If you can get rid of the scouts that will keep away their friends; they are attracted to the pheromones the scouts release. You may still see a few here and there when the beetle population peaks, but the damage is minimal and it’s easy to control them in small numbers.

The other insect problem I get is spider mites. They are a bitch to get rid of. I hose the girls down with water when I find the mites. I add diatomaceous earth to the top of the soil. Any lady bugs I find I move them to my plants.

I only grow short indica strains outdoors. For some reason it seems the mites prefer sativa/sativa dominant strains where I live (rural midwest).

Obviously my above methods won’t work if your girls are tree size with their feet in the ground.