Chat
Recommended

All recommendations and advice are welcome

Radagast_
Radagast_started grow question 6d ago
All recommendations and advice are welcome
Solved
likes
HandsomeTerpz
HandsomeTerpzanswered grow question 5d ago
Hey, I get your problem caterpillars and mold can be a real pain, especially when the plants are already in bloom. For caterpillars, one of the best organic solutions is Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). It’s a biological pesticide that only targets caterpillars, doesn’t harm your plants, and is safe to use in bloom. You spray it on the leaves in the evening, the caterpillars eat it, and it works very effectively. For mold, I’d go with potassium bicarbonate or neem oil (if not too far in bloom). Also, improving airflow and defoliating a bit helps a lot to prevent mold. Since you want something organic and available in Europe, Bt products (like XenTari) are a solid choice for the caterpillars, and potassium bicarbonate for mold is widely available too.💪
1 like
Complain
Selected By The Grower
m0use
m0useanswered grow question 5d ago
I 2nd BT spray for caterpillars they even have one made for them BTk vs BTi. but its mostly for when it is in veg. in flower your options are limited. just gotta pick em off and toss em to the birds. Mold can only be controlled by fresh air flow and genetics IMO.If the RH is to high, theirs not a lot you can do other then lowing the RH, but if your outdoors kinda SOL. Their is no spray that I have been introduced to that prevents it from growing on plants. and if it can, I would prob stear clear of it for fear of other side effects when ingesting then buds sprayed with it. You could also try a bait crop. this will help with caterpillars but first need to identify the ones on your plant. and find a 2nd plant they like even more. You can spray and do w/e you want to that plant as its only used for bait and not consumption.
1 like
Complain
Ultraviolet
Ultravioletanswered grow question 5d ago
Bacillus thuringiensis (BT)spray is generally considered safe for plants. It's a naturally occurring soil bacterium that is toxic to certain insects, particularly caterpillars, but is not harmful to humans, pets, or other beneficial insects like bees and ladybugs. Bt works by producing a protein that, when ingested by susceptible insects, disrupts their digestive system, causing them to stop feeding and eventually die.
1 like
Complain
Ultraviolet
Ultravioletanswered grow question 5d ago
A leaf has two sides, top side is waterproof and highly unabsorbant. Underside of leaf is where all the stomata are located, Spraying this side can greatly disrupts the plant's ability to perform gas exchange. Anything spayed on underside of a leaf will absorb rapidly and/or potentially clog the stomata depending on viscosity of the fluid sprayed. Anything applied foliarly will either be mobile or immobile once absorbed. Tis why you don't want to apply immobile nutrients through foliar as it often causes toxicity as it all gets stuck in the leaf skewing its pH. When you are applying something to deter bugs that eat your leaf it matters what side it's sprayed, Spraying top down should alleviate alot of the disruption to gas exchange while still coating the leaf with enough BT to disrupt the caterpillars. Pain in ass eh, In honesty it's not something you learn until you have to deal with it. But the ultimate best protection for your plants from bugs and insects is to provide companion plants, providing much better dining options for all insects Involved. Different bugs use different senses to locate food. I found marigolds to be awesome visual attractants. Bright colorful. Borage has one of the nutrient dense flowers in plant kingdom, one of tastiest plants insects can eat. Basil covers your smell sensation and it is said can help improve terpenes. Very good at keeping beetles away. Sight, Smell, Taste, Cover those bases large majority of insects and bugs will choose anything but your precious cannabis to chow on. A little extra dash of silica just to beef up those defenses to boot.
1 like
Complain
CanniGrow420
CanniGrow420answered grow question 6d ago
Forgot: Prevention is once every 2 weeks. Treatment is once every week. A good advice, is cleaning the whole tent with a strong H2O2 solution (Wipedown), to disinfect, and kill off any Catepilar eggs, that might be inside the tent. Generally you should use H2O2 Solutions to keep pots, bags and tools clean and disinfected. Disinfect things that go from plant to plant, keep them clean and contaminant free. Spraying the whole tent/room, should also eliminate any airborne contaminants. Doing the same to the room that holds the tent, might also be advicable. Only thing is keep it away from the soil, if you want your Mycorrhizae Colony to survive.
1 like
Complain
Shinsimilla
Shinsimillaanswered grow question 6d ago
Reacting after you see the caterpillars and mold is often unfortunately too late. They chew into the bud and what they don't destroy by eating will be destroyed by mold, because they shit inside the flower and moist, organic matter in your flower near open wounds is a sure recipe for bud rot. Use this as a lesson to be prepared for them next season and NEVER spray anything in flower. For the caterpillars, find a product with BTk in it. It's a microbe that makes the plant toxic to worms, so they might have a nibble, but rarely eat into the bud. You can spray that in veg, but I just do soil drenches with it every few weeks for almost the entire cycle. For the mold, I haven't tried it yet, but I follow Brandon Rust on IG (bokashi earthworks). He suggests trichoderma and bacillis subtilis.
1 like
Complain
CanniGrow420
CanniGrow420answered grow question 6d ago
I know your said proven, but being a new grower, i have not yet had to try my findings. But you can have my research and see if you are willing to chance it. I have tried to prepare if such things should happen during my grow, and i have found H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) to be MY goto if stuff happens. My research shows H2O2 eliminates, Fungi, Mold, Bacteria and other Vices. There are 2 options, 1 for treatment and 1 for prevention. I plan to preventatively spray, when reaching late veg, and all through Flower. (Yes i am also spaying during prevention directly on the Colas, to prevent Bud rot) H2O2 is a chemical when you buy it, but is of 100% the same composition as naturally occuring H2O2, when it comes in low doses in rain. The broken down H2O2 binds and gives 2 water molecules, and one Oxygen molecule, so the end products are totally harmless. My research shows that for Prevention you can spray the leaves, with a 1:20 H2O2 solution made from 3% Hydrogen Peroxide, which you can get at any pharmacy, at least in Europe. For TREATMENT, which is what you need, that requires a 1:4 Solution of 3% H2O2. As a sidenote, a 1:1 Solution can disinfect your whole pot/bag, sould you get rootrot. That high of a dose WILL burn your leaves if applied to them, but should still survive. BEWARE: H2O2 WILL eliminate your Mycorrhizae, if you do not take precautions, as Mycorrhizae is a Fungi. Cover your roots and maybe add some paper towels to the stem, to soak any rundown the solution might do while spraying the leaves. H2O2 is a strong bleach, so you might want to cover up the growbag, to not miscolor them. The half-life of H2O2 in open air is measured in seconds, and should be down to non-toxic levels in minutes. You should spray top and bottom of the leaves. The 1:4 solution of H2O2 should ALSO repel Ants and Insects (My research does sadly not specify which Insects. This might solve your problem, but might also eliminate your Mycorrhizae colony. Should your Mycorrhizae get eliminated, you can reintroduce it a few hours after treatment. Half-life in soil, is 1-8 hours, so after 12-36h it should be ok to reintroduce. But having a treatment option, that most likely will work, gives you the option to save your crop at the expense of Mycorrhizae, but you might end up with usefull harvest, instead of a useless mold infested harvest. Hope it helps if you try. Personally a im not affraid to use it at all, the ONLY sideeffect that i found for H2O2 so far, is that it eleminates Mycorrhizae, but the benefits are so much worth it. I also found that very low doses can actualy (Accordnig to a 2014 study) improves the Mycorrhizae, but that is in a 1:862309 H2O2 solution (Solution ends up as a 1μM H2O2 Solution), i bottomfeed Water to my plants using that.
likes
Complain