justin hail
Active Member
I had something interesting happen to me recently that I thought I should share with others. I am on my third grow and have had pretty good results thus far, with exception to some powdery mildew and spider mites that showed up during my 2nd grow. Unfortunately, the powdery mildew and spider mites came before I took the clones that I am currently running, so the problems followed to most of my clones, with powder spots visible on many clones.
When researching how to deal with powdery mildew, Jorge Cervantes says that once it is visible on a plant, it is present throughout the plant and is impossible to get rid of. So I was under the impression that all clones with visible powdery mildew would have it for the duration of the grow, and I therefore went on to tackle the spider mite issue.
Since my clones were rather small and I prefer to take the least invasive method, I went with neem oil to solve the problem. The grower at my local hydro shop suggested that since my clones were so small, I would have the best luck exterminating all of the spider mites by completely dunking the entire plant into the neem oil solution. So I proceeded to do exactly that, following the instructions for dilution on the neem oil container.
The process worked like a charm for exterminating my spider mites. It is now 3 weeks later, I am about to switch to flowering, and I do not have a single spider mite as far as I can tell. However, I was surprised that I do not have a single spot of powdery mildew on any plant that had it previously. I have looked over every plant exhaustively and from what I can tell, my powdery mildew problem has also been controlled.
I do not know if there have been any other solutions to powdery mildew problems since the publishing of the Grow Bible by Jorge Cervantes, but I have not been able to find any online and my results with neem oil were more of a pleasant surprise than anything done purposefully. So my advice, if you have some small plants with powdery mildew problems, try dunking them in a neem oil solution and see if it works for you as well. Of course you will have to increase your air circulation and decrease your humidity to combat formation of new powdery mildew, but for me, this technique successfully combatted this most aggravating problem.
Good Luck,
Justin
When researching how to deal with powdery mildew, Jorge Cervantes says that once it is visible on a plant, it is present throughout the plant and is impossible to get rid of. So I was under the impression that all clones with visible powdery mildew would have it for the duration of the grow, and I therefore went on to tackle the spider mite issue.
Since my clones were rather small and I prefer to take the least invasive method, I went with neem oil to solve the problem. The grower at my local hydro shop suggested that since my clones were so small, I would have the best luck exterminating all of the spider mites by completely dunking the entire plant into the neem oil solution. So I proceeded to do exactly that, following the instructions for dilution on the neem oil container.
The process worked like a charm for exterminating my spider mites. It is now 3 weeks later, I am about to switch to flowering, and I do not have a single spider mite as far as I can tell. However, I was surprised that I do not have a single spot of powdery mildew on any plant that had it previously. I have looked over every plant exhaustively and from what I can tell, my powdery mildew problem has also been controlled.
I do not know if there have been any other solutions to powdery mildew problems since the publishing of the Grow Bible by Jorge Cervantes, but I have not been able to find any online and my results with neem oil were more of a pleasant surprise than anything done purposefully. So my advice, if you have some small plants with powdery mildew problems, try dunking them in a neem oil solution and see if it works for you as well. Of course you will have to increase your air circulation and decrease your humidity to combat formation of new powdery mildew, but for me, this technique successfully combatted this most aggravating problem.
Good Luck,
Justin