I have made a final decision on strains for this year

[Choo]

I have decided on two Indica dominants, Auto Ultimate and Lemon Auto and one Sativa Dominant, Amnesia Haze Auto. This should cover all my requirements medicinally. They will be started indoors in peat pots and transferred outdoors into 5 gallon pots when the chance of frost is gone about 2 weeks after start. I am changing to autos in hopes of getting at least a few ounces in before the grasshoppers take over and decimate everything worthwhile. I will be doing an aggressive program of eradication also before the hoppers hatch. Hopefully the combination of the 2 will work out well. Thankfully the hoppers don't get real bad until the last of June or the first of July. If the eradication program works then all the better, then I can have a few more vegetables this year too and I will be doing the "Happy Dance".

 

[bf80255]

I have decided on two Indica dominants, Auto Ultimate and Lemon Auto and one Sativa Dominant, Amnesia Haze Auto. This should cover all my requirements medicinally. They will be started indoors in peat pots and transferred outdoors into 5 gallon pots when the chance of frost is gone about 2 weeks after start. I am changing to autos in hopes of getting at least a few ounces in before the grasshoppers take over and decimate everything worthwhile. I will be doing an aggressive program of eradication also before the hoppers hatch. Hopefully the combination of the 2 will work out well. Thankfully the hoppers don't get real bad until the last of June or the first of July. If the eradication program works then all the better, then I can have a few more vegetables this year too and I will be doing the "Happy Dance".

what have you tried as far as insecticides to control those guys?

 

[tekdc911]

netting , guinea's work well if you live out it the country or a rural area i have a bunch i let loose out here if it creeps or crawls its getting ate,
seven dust works in veg

 

[Choo]

what have you tried as far as insecticides to control those guys?

Insecticides work only on the area sprayed however I have over 150 acres here and there are cows and donkeys so aerial spraying would be the only option but is out of the question because of the animals. The worst breeding ground is my immediate yard though and I will be using a product made by Bayer in May just before they start hatching to kill them in the yard. That may lessen the overall population enough to grow some stuff over the summer. My cannabis crop last year was a measly ounce from 2 good plants after the hoppers almost ate it all. However, there is a spray consisting of mostly Kaolin which inhibits the grasshoppers ability to feed by coating the vegetation. The problem is it would have to be washed off and I might try it on the veggies but for the cannabis I think the Autos will be the best solution.

 

[Choo]

netting , guinea's work well if you live out it the country or a rural area i have a bunch i let loose out here if it creeps or crawls its getting ate,
seven dust works in veg

I too have considered the Guineas but Coyotes and the female mountain lion that make their home here would just make the guineas a quick lunch. My nearest neighbor is 2/3 mile away and even a flat shooting 25-06 won't keep the varmint population down enough. It's a hard place to live here but I love it here, though I have lost 2 dogs to the lion and wild pigs. They were black and tan coon hounds.

 

[tekdc911]

I too have considered the Guineas but Coyotes and the female mountain lion that make their home here would just make the guineas a quick lunch. My nearest neighbor is 2/3 mile away and even a flat shooting 25-06 won't keep the varmint population down enough. It's a hard place to live here but I love it here, though I have lost 2 dogs to the lion and wild pigs. They were black and tan coon hounds.

mp3 player and external speakers with a rabbit in distress call or mouse squeak on a loop ,screw wire mesh over the top of a bucket with the player and speakers inside keep volume kinda low .... spot light with a red lens and a stag arms .223 is how ive handled around 20 coyotes this year ... i have about a 15 acre straight shot almost all the way around the house , i just set the bucket up on traffic spots along the tree lines , youd be surprised how far a red lens spot light will make them eyes glow , donkeys will kill coyotes didnt know if you knew that or not , i have free range guineas and turkeys they roost up high normally , and the good thing about the guineas is they have common nests that the hens will all take turns laying and sitting so a handful of birds will end up being 40 plus really quick but if you raise them up in a coop they will usually keep coming back every night until the hens sneak off to lay, we have alot of hog's here too , i use them to keep the deep freeze nice and stocked , snares are very effective with no baits , i use jump snares baited with corn 1/2 cup of diesel fuel on top of a bucket of corn and the piggies come running , also if you set the snares up on a post you can put diesel or old motor oil on the post and they will come rub it to kill mites and lice its a natural response so they dont have to be hungry even to get em , works well if they are corn shy and been trapped or hunted hard, dont know the laws on a mountain lion but , bobcats ill take the white belly skin off a rabbit and hang it on a stick out in the open and set foot holds around it and the bobcats will come flying out of the brush to get it and get caught .... i would assume a big cat would act like a smaller one

 

[Choo]

mp3 player and external speakers with a rabbit in distress call or mouse squeak on a loop ,screw wire mesh over the top of a bucket with the player and speakers inside keep volume kinda low .... spot light with a red lens and a stag arms .223 is how ive handled around 20 coyotes this year ... i have about a 15 acre straight shot almost all the way around the house , i just set the bucket up on traffic spots along the tree lines , youd be surprised how far a red lens spot light will make them eyes glow , donkeys will kill coyotes didnt know if you knew that or not , i have free range guineas and turkeys they roost up high normally , and the good thing about the guineas is they have common nests that the hens will all take turns laying and sitting so a handful of birds will end up being 40 plus really quick but if you raise them up in a coop they will usually keep coming back every night until the hens sneak off to lay, we have alot of hog's here too , i use them to keep the deep freeze nice and stocked , snares are very effective with no baits , i use jump snares baited with corn 1/2 cup of diesel fuel on top of a bucket of corn and the piggies come running , also if you set the snares up on a post you can put diesel or old motor oil on the post and they will come rub it to kill mites and lice its a natural response so they dont have to be hungry even to get em , works well if they are corn shy and been trapped or hunted hard, dont know the laws on a mountain lion but , bobcats ill take the white belly skin off a rabbit and hang it on a stick out in the open and set foot holds around it and the bobcats will come flying out of the brush to get it and get caught .... i would assume a big cat would act like a smaller one

Good ideas all. I am going to try my grasshopper program this year and see how it pans out. If'n I have to, next year we'll try some guineas. I must say that the coyotes haven't come as close in recent years since we got the donkeys. That was their whole purpose. There's 7 of them now. I guess you could say I tend to be pessimistic. I will try the guineas.

 

[bf80255]

Insecticides work only on the area sprayed however I have over 150 acres here and there are cows and donkeys so aerial spraying would be the only option but is out of the question because of the animals. The worst breeding ground is my immediate yard though and I will be using a product made by Bayer in May just before they start hatching to kill them in the yard. That may lessen the overall population enough to grow some stuff over the summer. My cannabis crop last year was a measly ounce from 2 good plants after the hoppers almost ate it all. However, there is a spray consisting of mostly Kaolin which inhibits the grasshoppers ability to feed by coating the vegetation. The problem is it would have to be washed off and I might try it on the veggies but for the cannabis I think the Autos will be the best solution.

exactly, thats why you spray down your MJ plants twice a week at least outdoors to keep them tasting unappealing to the bugs, we have catrerpillars like no other out where I live and aside from manual removal, neem oil, habanero juice and insecticidal soap are regular visitiors in my garden.

your animals keep getting killed by that lion buy yourself an anatolian shepherd or a mastiff or something big to guard your flock, personally id kill the fucker asap if hes going after your dogs.

definitely sounds like you need some dogs on your property (big ones)

 

[tekdc911]

exactly, thats why you spray down your MJ plants twice a week at least outdoors to keep them tasting unappealing to the bugs, we have catrerpillars like no other out where I live and aside from manual removal, neem oil, habanero juice and insecticidal soap are regular visitiors in my garden.

your animals keep getting killed by that lion buy yourself an anatolian shepherd or a mastiff or something big to guard your flock, personally id kill the fucker asap if hes going after your dogs.

definitely sounds like you need some dogs on your property (big ones)

that cat would of disappeared around here .....i dont know what happened to him ..... but check out my new rug

 

[Choo]

exactly, thats why you spray down your MJ plants twice a week at least outdoors to keep them tasting unappealing to the bugs, we have catrerpillars like no other out where I live and aside from manual removal, neem oil, habanero juice and insecticidal soap are regular visitiors in my garden.

your animals keep getting killed by that lion buy yourself an anatolian shepherd or a mastiff or something big to guard your flock, personally id kill the fucker asap if hes going after your dogs.

definitely sounds like you need some dogs on your property (big ones)

The dogs were coon hounds and they were killed several years ago, one by a boar hog, the other we really don't know. The donkeys keep the lion away though and the 2 coon hounds I have now keep the coyotes away. The grasshoppers seem to be immune to neem oil and pepper spray. I used both twice a week last year and it seemed like they considered it a condiment.

 

[Ace Yonder]

Have you considered Praying Mantids? They are voracious eaters, to say the least, and they establish themselves pretty quickly. The eggsacs hatch hundreds at a time, and the number that survive is pretty much dependent on the abundance of prey, and crickets are some of their very favorite food, the babies start off hunting the little pinhead crickets, and the adults will eat even the largest of locusts. I would wager it wouldn't be tough to get them established on your land, and once they are the crickets should slowly (Or quickly, depending how many of the buggers you hatch) cease being a problem, and will be replaced by beautiful, intelligent, (And most importantly) insectivores. Plus, once there's enough of them, they'll keep breeding and establish themselves as a perennial, the eggsacs are designed to keep the babies safe through the freezing winter and hatch as soon as it warms up a little in the beginning of spring.

 

[Ace Yonder]

The dogs were coon hounds and they were killed several years ago, one by a boar hog, the other we really don't know. The donkeys keep the lion away though and the 2 coon hounds I have now keep the coyotes away. The grasshoppers seem to be immune to neem oil and pepper spray. I used both twice a week last year and it seemed like they considered it a condiment.

I find Cinnamon to be a bit more effective than Neem when it comes to the larger garden pests, and a nifty little trick for crickets is that they are attracted to the sticky side of duct tape and will try (Unsuccessfully) to eat it, and become stuck and die, so wrapping duct tape sticky side up around the outside of your pots can help cut down the damage they do to the plants in the pots.

 

[Choo]

Have you considered Praying Mantids? They are voracious eaters, to say the least, and they establish themselves pretty quickly. The eggsacs hatch hundreds at a time, and the number that survive is pretty much dependent on the abundance of prey, and crickets are some of their very favorite food, the babies start off hunting the little pinhead crickets, and the adults will eat even the largest of locusts. I would wager it wouldn't be tough to get them established on your land, and once they are the crickets should slowly (Or quickly, depending how many of the buggers you hatch) cease being a problem, and will be replaced by beautiful, intelligent, (And most importantly) insectivores. Plus, once there's enough of them, they'll keep breeding and establish themselves as a perennial, the eggsacs are designed to keep the babies safe through the freezing winter and hatch as soon as it warms up a little in the beginning of spring.

We have them (praying mantis) here already and they are pretty numerous. They get pretty big too, I've seen them 4" long. It's not crickets that's the problem, it's grasshoppers and you have no idea how numerous they get.The mantis can't keep up with them. I mean they get into everything too. I keep waiting for them to swarm at which point they become locusts and eat everything in their path. When you walk across the lawn in front of the house thousands jump out of the way. They get into the double pane windows and it just looks horrid. Really, you can't imagine how bad they are, it's incomprehensible.

We have cricket swarms too but that's in town. I have no idea why, maybe its the lights. They'll get in the convenience stores and they are so numerous that the dead ones just stink to high heaven.

 

[bf80255]

Have you considered Praying Mantids? They are voracious eaters, to say the least, and they establish themselves pretty quickly. The eggsacs hatch hundreds at a time, and the number that survive is pretty much dependent on the abundance of prey, and crickets are some of their very favorite food, the babies start off hunting the little pinhead crickets, and the adults will eat even the largest of locusts. I would wager it wouldn't be tough to get them established on your land, and once they are the crickets should slowly (Or quickly, depending how many of the buggers you hatch) cease being a problem, and will be replaced by beautiful, intelligent, (And most importantly) insectivores. Plus, once there's enough of them, they'll keep breeding and establish themselves as a perennial, the eggsacs are designed to keep the babies safe through the freezing winter and hatch as soon as it warms up a little in the beginning of spring.

agreed and man they are a blast to watch! I dont know why but I get a real kick out of these bugs got one of those little mantis nest things at OSH like 2 years ago and I get tons of the little guys in summer now.

 

[bf80255]

We have them (praying mantis) here already and they are pretty numerous. They get pretty big too, I've seen them 4" long. It's not crickets that's the problem, it's grasshoppers and you have no idea how numerous they get.The mantis can't keep up with them. I mean they get into everything too. I keep waiting for them to swarm at which point they become locusts and eat everything in their path. When you walk across the lawn in front of the house thousands jump out of the way. They get into the double pane windows and it just looks horrid. Really, you can't imagine how bad they are, it's incomprehensible.

We have cricket swarms too but that's in town. I have no idea why, maybe its the lights. They'll get in the convenience stores and they are so numerous that the dead ones just stink to high heaven.

How about shade screen or mosquito netting?

 

[Ace Yonder]

We have them (praying mantis) here already and they are pretty numerous. They get pretty big too, I've seen them 4" long. It's not crickets that's the problem, it's grasshoppers and you have no idea how numerous they get.The mantis can't keep up with them. I mean they get into everything too. I keep waiting for them to swarm at which point they become locusts and eat everything in their path. When you walk across the lawn in front of the house thousands jump out of the way. They get into the double pane windows and it just looks horrid. Really, you can't imagine how bad they are, it's incomprehensible.

We have cricket swarms too but that's in town. I have no idea why, maybe its the lights. They'll get in the convenience stores and they are so numerous that the dead ones just stink to high heaven.

Jeeze, and I thought the plagues ended with Pharaoh!

 

[Choo]

Jeeze, and I thought the plagues ended with Pharaoh!

You know that's a pretty apt description of it too, a plague. The one thing they don't seem to affect or want to eat is the Coastal Bermuda that everyone around here grows for hay or grass in general.

How about shade screen or mosquito netting?

.That has been a consideration also but I'm trying to be somewhat clandestine. I thought maybe Camo netting. The easiest solution is I'll be starting some autos in about 2 weeks and they should finish before the worst of hopper season starts, and I will start eradicating around the house with sprays in mid may just when they start hatching. Maybe I'll supplement the existing Manits with some more nests and see what that does along with a few guinea hens also..

 

[Choo]

The bottom line is I use mostly for medication and about 8 oz will be plenty for a year. I only medicate when the arthritis is real bad. I'm really not into being stoned all that much like I used to be, but the relief it provides in the form of distraction when the arthritis gets bad is just incomparable. And there's the added benefit from the Indica dominant strains of helping me sleep better at night when I'm in pain.
I figure the autos will give me enough to last until next year. I am going to plant about 6 and figure I should get at least 8oz. I have never had a problem growing it in all my years and have had some awesome plants grown both outdoors and indoors. Last years plants were doing great until hopper season. I at least managed to weasel a little less than an oz out of 2 that were left.
I was a pretty experienced grower in the 80's and I stopped using in '90. We moved here 10 years ago from the Central Coast and I got cancer 2 years ago and as a result of the chemo the arthritis flared up real bad and has stayed with me. The cancer is gone but I have a lot of joint pain as a residual of the treatments. I tried cannabis again to see if it helped and it does. Along with the anti-inflammatories it works great.
At least I can still play my guitar and mandolin.