Blaze's 2013 Endeavor

[Blaze]

No problem, if you ever have specific questions feel free to shoot me a PM, I'll try my best to answer them.

 

[Blaze]

Depends on what type of pest. JMS Stylet oil is a good 'all-purpose'. It will kill most insects, like leaf hoppers, and acts as a preventative for molds and mildews and other fungus. Pyrethrin sprays work well for bugs but never use them if you have mites it will make the mite infestation wrose. I like the biofungicides like Serenade or Sonota for control of powdery mildew and Oxidate for spot spraying if you get bud rot/mold. For caterpillars and bud worms I use bT (bacillus thuringiensis) based products. If you get a severe infestation of mildew or mites the above products won't do much you will need something stronger, so stay on top of the preventatives. Compost tea can help keep soil pathogens at bay, and nematodes can work very well against certain soil born pathogens as well. I try to use organic pest controls when ever possible.

However, keeping your plants healthy should be your number one line of defense. Stressed or unhealthy plants will become magnets for pests.

 

[caregiverken]

I had a little bit of PM from over crowding in the Greenhouse..I remember Blaze telling me about biofungicides like Serenade. So I found this....and its work great!

CEASE is a biological fungicide that contains a patented strain of the bacterium, Bacillus subtilis.

Blaze : Could that be used in sept. to prevent bud rot?

 

[sealed138]

I'm definitely no expert ,ken, but i doubt you want to spray too much on your buds in sept.

 

[Blaze]

Yes it can help. Biofungicides, Oxidate and Stylet oil can be applied during flower. Just make sure to do a light misting, don't soak the buds. During the fall outside the humidity hits 90%+ during the night anyway, if they are going to get damp, they might as well get damp with a preventative in the mix. However for bud rot I do prefer the Oxidate. Your best defense against bud rot is strain selection though - some strains are very, very prone to it, like many of the Kushes. I won't grow anything like that anymore, it just is not worth it, you end up loosing too much product and often have to harvest early which further degrades quality.

 

[caregiverken]

I'm definitely no expert ,ken, but i doubt you want to spray too much on your buds in sept.

Yeah I hear ya..I hate to spray buds espsessally if they dont need it.

I spray BT and Thruosade(sp?) that late sometimes....if I see worms

 

[Blaze]

It is definitely better to get your pests in control BEFORE flower. I avoid spraying during flower when possible but sometimes it is not a viable option.

 

[sealed138]

whats BT?
never heard of thurosade either.
learn something new everyday!
are u planning harvest in oct?

 

[caregiverken]

Thanks Again Blaze!

Oxidate is just Hydrogen Peroxide right?

 

[caregiverken]

whats BT?
never heard of thurosade either.
learn something new everyday!
are u planning harvest in oct?

...I think BT is in Safer cattapiller killer.
Spinosade and Thuricide are the other two I use...I spray all 3 in the summer
Yeah..i think I harvest in Octo_O
I probably should have said August..for the spraying..I dont remember when the worms show up.

 

[Blaze]

There are many different companies that make bT products, Safer's Caterpillar Killer is indeed one of them as is Thuricide. BT is a bacterium that attacks the gut of the caterpillars, which in turn starves them to death. Because of this it does take a little while to work it does not kill instantly.

Oxidate is also just very concentrated H2O2, or as it is more commonly called hydrogen peroxide. I generally use it as a spot spray, rather than spraying an entire plant with it. When I do find bud rot, I spray the spot with Oxidate to kill the spores, remove the infected area with a pair of sterile fiskars, and then spray the newly cut area again with Oxidate.

 

[Seamaiden]

Blaze, ever since we discussed resistance to the biological controls I've been rotating Spinosad and Bt products for the caterpillar control. Every two weeks.

There are a couple of formulations of the OxiDate, one is a very strong hydrogen peroxide, and what I have is 27% H2O2 2% PAA (paracetic acid, which is another peroxide, this one's used in the food industry a lot).

I'd like to caution folks about using OxiDate outdoors--drift *must* be controlled or you'll be killing a lot of other stuff unintentionally. A windless evening or morning is best, IMO. I've never used it outdoors because of drift issues, and because I've never had to.

 

[ncga]

If I remember Oxidate H2O3 the extra O is why you can spray it during the day and not create a photoxic situation. H2O2 will burn your plant when exposed to light.

That is why its so good against Boytritus. I have a one gallon battery powered sprayer that I carry when doing rounds in the fall. That way I don't have to come back at night to spray the boytritus. I can cut the mold out and treat the site. Also was down my snips

 

[Blaze]

I'd like to caution folks about using OxiDate outdoors--drift *must* be controlled or you'll be killing a lot of other stuff unintentionally. A windless evening or morning is best, IMO. I've never used it outdoors because of drift issues, and because I've never had to.

Drift should be controlled with anything your spray really. You do need to be careful with the Oxidate in particular though because it can burn the crap out of your skin and eyes. A full face mask respirator and full chemical suit is a must if spraying the whole plant. For spot spraying if you are careful you can just use gloves.

 

[Seamaiden]

Indeed, but it's also harmful to beneficial insects and pollinators.

 

[budhound420]

hey man ive got some outdoor inground plants that r still young just over 7 weeks ive been spraying neem oil every two weeks or once a week if we get alot of rain and even a day after spraying im noticing something eatin the hell out of my leaves cant find anything on them but what do you think i should treat my plants with to handle this problem

 

[ncga]

Much of what I use requires a pesticide license to purchase and cannot be bought over the counter at a hydro store or farm supply place. I will provide the info regardless. It is not that hard to get a license, or you can always see if any friends or neighbors in your area have one and purchase it though them. Keep in mind they require diligence and care to use properly and as I stated before, IMO it is best to use them BEFORE your plants go outside in order to limit the chemicals being applied in your garden. You also need a full chemical suite and a full face 3M mask with organic vapor cartridges for protection.

Tetasan, Akari, Hexygon DF, Kontos are mostly what I have used over the past two years. I just got a new one, Sorocco, which is what I used to deal with the mites I got from Humboldt. The Hexygon and Akari are what I used last season, so they are now out of rotation for a year or two. If you read the info on these products, many recommend only being used a few times per year, or in some cases only once per year. Ideally if you should wait a year or two before reusing a product if it has been applied more than a few times during the season. Also broad spectrum insecticides do a very poor job of controlling mite populations and can even make the infestation worse by encouraging the mites reproductive cycle. Carbaryl and pyrethin based sprays should be avoided for this reason . I know at least locally at lot of the hydro stores recommend using pyrethin based products like Pyganics for mites which really irks me as all they are doing is making our local mite population even more aggressive and resistant.

UC Davis has some excellent info on management of mites, check it out:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7405.html

Take a look at some of the other products listed for control of two spotted and pacific spider mites to get an idea of what else can be used:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r280400311.html

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r302400111.html

Well I am not 100% on that since I want to pull those from you LOL and go to Zeal , Tetrasan, Judo,and Shuttle SC.

Home work if you want to learn. Read the label on each of what Blaze uses and you will see a mix of Transliminar , as well as Mitacides, Ovicides , and Larvasides. You need to have a good full approach to your pest PROGRAM. Sorry just been saying this for way to many years, and Feel like one of the old guys in the balcony

A pesticide license is really a class. Nothing money and time wont get you. To really control mites it about a 4K investment. You really need to rotate and Blaze has stated. Cali is the most strict state, BUT it is that way to protect people from themselves . As Blaze, Sea and I have stated how many really use a pesticide suits, change there respirator filters yearly and use gloves? If everyone did I would share a LOT more. These things are not good to breath in ESP Biological's. Do you really want BT in your lungs ?

FEELS good to have time to post again

 

[Seamaiden]

It's great to SEE you posting again! We'll be seeing you all next month (sans my friends, hubby's leave had to be changed).

 

[Blaze]

It's great to SEE you posting again! We'll be seeing you all next month (sans my friends, hubby's leave had to be changed).

Agreed. Just FYI a lot of my pest control knowledge I learned from NCGA. He knows this stuff better than I do.

Good point on the bT too - lots of people seem to think that because something is organic that it is safe to breathe. Inhaling a bunch of guano dust or Oxidate can fuck you up just as bad as inhaling a bunch of chemicals. Doesn't matter what you spray, you should always wear appropriate protection.

 

[Blaze]

hey man ive got some outdoor inground plants that r still young just over 7 weeks ive been spraying neem oil every two weeks or once a week if we get alot of rain and even a day after spraying im noticing something eatin the hell out of my leaves cant find anything on them but what do you think i should treat my plants with to handle this problem

Hard to say w/o pics, sounds like some sort of insect, or maybe even slugs or snails. You could try a mild, general purpose insecticide or an organic slug killer. I think Safer makes both. I do not really use neem I've found it to not be all that effective.