Hello, Fellow Cultivators.

[SmithsJunk]

Man, these ladybugs pissed me off. The bitches had an orgi then flew away. They barely even ate anything!

 

[EventHorizan]

Man, these ladybugs pissed me off. The bitches had an orgi then flew away. They barely even ate anything!

Well good thing there is more on the way... Need to build a bird cage around them lol

 

[SmithsJunk]

Well good thing there is more on the way... Need to build a bird cage around them lol

No shit, lol.

I've got something even better on the way... Azamax to the rescue! Ordered enough for a couple sprays, maybe three. It's expensive to run the gauntlet trying to get rid of these little bastards. I'm behind on my flower food and more netting to control the tops (that shits expensive).

But, I feel like there's light at the end of the tunnel... Walking into my garden this morning and the smell of the Creamsicle buds hit my nose like a hammer. Intoxicating!

(first pic is my Orange Creamsicle runt, still a producer though)

(Orange Creamsicle)

(Royal Nepal Kush, every time I look at them the word "jolly" comes to mind)

 

[EventHorizan]

looking good bro

 

[SmithsJunk]

looking good bro

Thank you.

When I started this I really had no idea what I was doing. I've never grown my own commercial plants. I used Cervantes' soil mix with one minor substitution (his YouTube vids are great but his encyclopedia, I'm sad to say, was a waste of $50) and got advice from a local nursery worker/horticultural professor, plus this forum, and this is the result. They are beyond expectation. If it weren't for the bug problem this would be a perfect grow, imo.

 

[EventHorizan]

Thank you.

When I started this I really had no idea what I was doing. I've never grown my own commercial plants. I used Cervantes' soil mix with one minor substitution (his YouTube vids are great but his encyclopedia, I'm sad to say, was a waste of $50) and got advice from a local nursery worker/horticultural professor, plus this forum, and this is the result. They are beyond expectation. If it weren't for the bug problem this would be a perfect grow, imo.

Well you still got a jouney ahead of you... Flower, then harvest, drying/curing....improper Drying can destroy a good crop...
Good luck brother.. Looks good so far! Sorry the book sucked.. free info right here tho :) thcfarmer for the win!

 

[SmithsJunk]

Well you still got a jouney ahead of you... Flower, then harvest, drying/curing....improper Drying can destroy a good crop...
Good luck brother.. Looks good so far! Sorry the book sucked.. free info right here tho :) thcfarmer for the win!

Now, that part I know how to do.

It's not so much that the book sucked, it's just not worth $50, nor anything close to authoritative or complete.

 

[SmithsJunk]

Released the ladybugs yesterday evening. Unfortunately, they were delivered in a 100F+ degree day and left in the mailbox for half of it. I don't know what my postal lady was thinking they were obviously live animals. Should have been delivered to my porch. My fault too, should've been watching the mail. I wasn't expecting them for 4 more days, according to the original estimate.

Oh well. Only a quarter or less survived, but they are hooverin away.

Tried to get some pics but my phone's camera does crap closeups. I know it's capable because I've had it do it. It just refuses to focus for most of them. Trying to buy a new Pentax K-S1 camera but my girls keep hitting my wallet every time I have enough. Bought my mom one in June. Sick ass entry level pro camera with 52k ISO for lowlight and high speed shots, built in auto-stabilization and anti-aliasing . Dropped a G on it so she could have everything, including a 75mm-300mm lens. She takes telephoto shots of pelicans on the fly and fishing, she's good at it too. I had to hook her up first cause she accidentally donated her badass Minolta and she's been jonesin for over two years now. Love my Moms.
Two things give me the best highs. Top shelf chronic grown by someone who gives a shit and capturing the perfect nature shot exactly the way I see it in my head. Wanted it for my grow log, so I'm chompin at the bit to get it and a prime micro lens before my girl's buds get too thick.

Sorry about the rant, my head's been stuck on this for a while and it won't go away till I get it done. I'm a bit OCD.

Looks like I don't have to buy a new camera after all. The Pentax K-S1 I bought for my mom, she couldn't figure out how to use and she's giving it back to me. I mistook entry level Pro camera to mean "entry level". I offered to buy her a high end point-and-shoot and she said she doesn't need it anymore now that she has a smartphone with a camera, ROFL, plus she's all goofy over an $18 HD action camera she bought at Wal-Mart. I gave her a Galaxy Tablet last year to prepare her for a smartphone, now she's all jammin on her Moto G, helpin kids at the youth club answer science questions with "Ok Google". She's so cute.

Well, all I need to do now is drop 2-3 hundi on a prime micro lens and I should get some sweet gooey nug shots at harvest. Woohoo!

 

[SmithsJunk]

Garden photos from today...

I'm glad to be getting a pro camera soon, these are almost too big to take pics with my phone now.

Orange Creamsicle - 69 days

Royal Nepal Kush - 69 days

 

[SmithsJunk]

Well you still got a jouney ahead of you... Flower, then harvest, drying/curing....improper Drying can destroy a good crop...
Good luck brother.. Looks good so far! Sorry the book sucked.. free info right here tho :) thcfarmer for the win!

I ran across this in the Cannabis Encyclopedia and it was such a perfect example of what's wrong with the book I had to share, and it's funny.

I just couldn't dial it in when I read this, was thinkin, "WTF, people pissin in coffee brewers?"

 

[EventHorizan]

I ran across this in the Cannabis Encyclopedia and it was such a perfect example of what's wrong with the book I had to share, and it's funny.
View attachment 729389
I just couldn't dial it in when I read this, was thinkin, "WTF, people pissin in coffee brewers?"

Ya Idk,,, I know ppl used to say piss on your outside plants, but there is a lot of misconceptions out there lol

 

[Ceveres]

Yea I don't care how "good" it is for them, I wouldn't piss on my plants :cry: lmao

 

[SmithsJunk]

No frickin way I'd piss on my plants. First, cause it's just nasty. Second, and maybe I'm wrong, but wouldn't that carry and promote bacterial strains that are harmful to humans? If I was going to use piss I buy the 48-26-26 Urea from Kmart.

Kind of like how it's ok to eat saltwater fish raw but not freshwater. Because freshwater fish carry bacteria and parasites that we can catch.

 

[Monster762]

Garden Safe insecticidal soap killed 99% if the mites and my plants loved it. Their growth has been off the hook since. I don't know if they liked the soap or the mites were holding them back. Happy with the results either way.

I had to change my plan of attack when what I thought were preflowers on my Orange Creamsicles turned out to be full on buds. No longer have time for predator bugs. I'm going more aggresive with spinosid, Captain Jacks Dead Bug. I have hip replacements that make it hard for me to get a sprayer down under the leaves so I bought a hudson sprayer with an angled tip to reach. I read spinosid is systemic. That will relieve my fears that I missed any.

Garden Safe is a great, effective, product but their spray bottles suck. The spray isn't fine enough so I suggest anyone using it transfer a few bottles to a pump sprayer to get better coverage.
My Kush loooooved the soap, 1st pic.

You can see the mite damage on the close-up of the Creamsicle. Voracious little bastards. I guess they're auto-flowering, I've never had a plant bud this early without help. I'm not going to complain, read they have a super long bud cycle with multiple harvests.

View attachment 727854 View attachment 727855

I use garden safe fungicide and garden safe pure neem indoors but I never saw the soap. Crazy cause I had bad gnat issues and roots were being attacked. Maybe it was alphids too but I put that garden safe on my 3/4 dead plants n they did a complete 180. Plants did love the garden safe. After weeks bug free gnats came back I put it on their ass again and gone in a day. Plants showed me love by doubling the bud size in a couple days after doing it. I'm on week 3 flower now. I like the ladybugs but indoors I can't have a bunch of lady bugs. That garden safe is where it's at though.

 

[Ceveres]

I heard the bacteria in SLF-100 will eliminate any gnat problems and help with other pests as well. Seems like an overall good product.

 

[SmithsJunk]

Well, I hit my plants with a dose of Azamax. Those two spotted mites are brutal. Had another problem come up, the russet mites in the greenhouse weren't dealt with and though I'm pretty sure I don't have them on my plants I'm not sure how to keep them off of them. My cousin is buying Avid to spray, but I've read that's not safe on flowers. What the heck am I supposed to do to protect my girls?!!!

I am not going to risk poisoning people. My girls are going to be going to my local medical delivery service so they need to be safe. I also can't risk them reinfecting a 75 plant cash crop if they catch em. I don't know what to do and everyone seems to have different opinions.

 

[Ceveres]

Well, I hit my plants with a dose of Azamax. Those two spotted mites are brutal. Had another problem come up, the russet mites in the greenhouse weren't dealt with and though I'm pretty sure I don't have them on my plants I'm not sure how to keep them off of them. My cousin is buying Avid to spray, but I've read that's not safe on flowers. What the heck am I supposed to do to protect my girls?!!!

I am not going to risk poisoning people. My girls are going to be going to my local medical delivery service so they need to be safe. I also can't risk them reinfecting a 75 plant cash crop if they catch em. I don't know what to do and everyone seems to have different opinions.

Can't really hit like on that one ^ Sorry to hear that man.. I really hope you can kill those bastards before they hit the goods! BTW thanks for the Potm vote lol

 

[SmithsJunk]

Can't really hit like on that one ^ Sorry to hear that man.. I really hope you can kill those bastards before they hit the goods! BTW thanks for the Potm vote lol

Ah, you deserve it. That is some fine herb. It almost looks dangerous.

 

[SmithsJunk]

Whoo-wee, that Azamax stinks! No wonder people tell you not to spray this too late into flower. Smells like ant spray. I get why the mites don't like it, neither do I.

...and I thought it stank when I applied it yesterday evening.

 

[SmithsJunk]

Upon further consideration, my cousin and I both agree, we believe Avid is unsafe to put on any of our girls at this late stage.

The russets in the greenhouse will be dealt with. We do nothing more than what it takes to get rid of the spider mites for now since there's no sign of russets on our outdoor garden. I'll be doing regular scope checks from here on out.

(If I only had a good camera right now this last shot would have been badass)