SmithsJunk
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Grow Log 7/28/18
Fires North & South. Nothing too close but still getting some dark smoke skies. Furgusen fire, to the South, is about 55,000 acres and only 30% contained. Thanks to Cali's own personal jet stream most of it passes over us. I hate the fires but love these days. Smoke is high enough not to mess up the air and it cools down 10F+. Better for the girls than 100F temps.
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We had a big one last week near Idyllwild. I heard someone set it on purpose throwing flares, but at least they caught him. I remember thinking at least one good thing was it cooled us down quite a bit. Garden's looking great.
F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK! F^CK!
!!!!F^^^^^^^CK!!!!
The f^ckin Borg are back!
(Two Spot spider mites)
I f^ckin knew it. I saw a little speck on the bottom of the leaf, strained to see it, and got the slightest glimpse of those f^ckin black dots. Checked it at home with a 30x & 60x loupe to make sure. I'll order Azamax tomorrow. F^ck!!!
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Not playing the catch game up with the spider mites this year. Ordered a 32oz (1 quart) bottle of Azamax. That'll make over 11 full strength tanks in my 6 litre Hudson sprayer (1-1.5 tanks covers my garden). Got a great deal from Cult Hydro on Amazon at .77 no tax. (Normal price range -8 +ship&tax) I payed last year for a pint 16oz (Amazon Prime shipping & around tax included in that price). I won't get it by Friday like with sellers who use Prime shipping but 7-14 days (likely much sooner) is worth the almost 50% savings. For the new growers reading this, I suggest having a bottle on hand because you WILL eventually get pests and mites are much cheaper & easier to control and far less destructive when caught early. I also suggest having something with Spinosad in it like Monteray or Capt Jack's, because while azadirachtin (derived from Neem) takes care of most pests it does not work on bud worms and the like. Between the two you should have very few full on pest outbreaks. Next year I'm spraying Azamax preemptively and once a month, cycling it with Captain Jack's Dead Bug.
Here's the link for the quart of Azamax I bought (I can't guarantee no tax but it's a good sign I wasn't charged here in Cali. Cult Hydro ships from MI.)...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002EBBKAW
(There are more effective products out there but they are not safe to use during flower cycle and most I wouldn't even use during the veg cycle. After a lot of research and 'trial and error', I found azadirachtin and spinosad to be the most effective insecticides while still being very safe for use on consumable plants & fruits as long as instructions are followed.)
Been using just neem so far, no bugs yet, but the aphids didn’t show up until Septemberish. Is this stuff effectively the same as neem oil?
Gorgeous ladies right now! Nice spotting on those little buggers. A good eye like that to spot things soon saves a world of hurt. I'd wager with your azamax spray and the other resident bugs around you'll have control of them in no time.
What I love about raised beds/smart pots is that the roots get to grow into the ground and stimulate or strengthen the microbiology below so you get to slowly condition and utilize a practically endless zone for the roots to spread.
(My info is from a combination of experience and Amazon reviews. I have not used pure Neem oil but from the reviews I've read the Azamax works better. I won't trust a single review but hundreds of them form patterns that tend to be trustworthy.)
To the best of my knowledge it's far more effective than neem oil. The same as when pyrethrins from chrysanthemums were refined for strength but Neem/Azamax is safer. I used another neem product by Garden Safe last year and it barely had an effect but the Azamax dramatically depleted spider mite numbers. Probably would have gotten more if I hadn't ran low and had to use a more diluted dose. Another thing is I wasted a lot trying to spray it too finely and didn't get very good coverage. I learned that if I opened up the Hudson sprayer and just hosed them down I got great coverage, used half as much, and barely got any on me. The first time I sprayed and got it all over me the worst that happened was a bit of skin irritation. Now that I know what I'm doing I spray in shorts and a tank-top (Safety glasses are a good idea though. Why risk it?).
You're going to want to spray with more than two weeks before harvest. The sunlight causes it to dissipate and if you don't give it enough time it'll make the buds taste funky. Not unsafe, just a slightly bad flavor. I smoked some buds from of a branch that broke off within a couple days of spraying. It was kind of minty but not bad. Still it wasn't a flavor you want on your herb. Under extreme circumstances, if you were keeping the flowers for your own consumption and it was absolutely neccessary, then you can spray within a couple days of harvest but I wouldn't recommend it.
Spray in the evening after there is no direct sunlight. Make sure to spray the undersides of the leaves thoroughly. I do them first and come back to spray the tops. Better to run low after the bottoms are done. A Hudson sprayer works the best for this. The Azamax made my girls really thirsty so I like to water them well the morning of the day I spray. It is also photoreactive so it can cause their leaves to burn easily. Watch them closely the first morning after you use it and throughout the day, especially during the hottest part of the day. If you see them beginning to wilt in the sunlight, rinse them off and give them some water as well. If possible do not rinse them though, it will become ineffective and you'll have to reapply.
I hope this is comprehensive enough. I tried to cover the stuff that isn't in the instructions or hard to get an easy answer about. If you have any further questions about Azamax or want to know about other pesticides I've used feel free to ask. In regard to pesticides there are no stupid questions. Safety first brother, and flavor is important too.
PS Try not to use it before a rain. You dont want it to be neutralised on your plants and the runoff can harm aquatic life. You want to be careful it doesn't flow into storm drains, ponds/lakes/back yard water features with fish and invertebrates, or if you use living water filtration like aquaponics.