steveydvee
Well-Known Member
Hmmm I’m thinking of brewing a Neem & kelp tea.. I have some fungus gnats I want to keep under control. The Neem tea may help!
How long until brand new living soil coots mix becomes alive?
- Thread starter steveydvee
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farmingfisherman
Well-Known Member
What brand of microbs are you using?
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
Extreme Gardening Mykos and Azos. And Earth Juice Biorighteous for an extra powdered microbe product. I'm not adding any trichoderma because I've heard it can work against the Mykos.
I hope that statement doesn't cause any riots, lol.
farmingfisherman
Well-Known Member
I'm such a newbie still.
farmingfisherman
Well-Known Member
And that's okay.I'm such a newbie still.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
So am I really. I think there's always more to learn anyways.I'm such a newbie still.
farmingfisherman
Well-Known Member
I've got four plants humming along in veg currently, pretty sure I have my first male among them. They are all different ages and for the first time I'm treating them all differently. Watching how they respond is why I grow.. Still can't believed Smashed Betty has come back strong from the worst topping ever!
Kratos, would you mind if i attach some pics here and tell me what you think regarding the praying for magnesium leaves?
Also if its good with @steveydvee , i dont want to put my plants pics on his thread without his permission
kratos015
Well-Known Member
Don't wanna step on anyone's toes, but you're free to PM me and I'll reply as I can my man.
kratos015
Well-Known Member
If you have fungus gnats, you're likely overwatering. Though it is entirely possible to get fungus gnats without overwatering, it's just much more common in overwatered soil.
But what's throwing me off is that I didn't think it was even possible to overwater with Blumats, perfect watering is their whole gimmick. Is it possible you haven't calibrated them properly?
Regardless of the cause, what we need to focus on is how to fix them because gnats can definitely cause the issues you're experiencing.
This article has all the information you need on gnats.
Letting your soil go dry is always step #1 to dealing with gnats. The problem with that in your case is that you'll have to let your BluMat reservoir go dry, and if I'm not mistaken you have to re-calibrate BluMats anytime your reservoir goes dry. However, this will be a necessary evil to deal with the gnats.
They need to be dealt with though, gnats feast on your roots and left unchecked they can cause irreparable damage.
Neem will not work here, neem is a preventative and not a cure.
Habanero spray will only kill any gnats buzzing around in your grow, but the biggest issue with the gnats is the larvae that munch on your roots. The larvae will cause much more damage than the gnats themselves.
Pretty much, if you're seeing gnats buzzing around you've got even more larvae inside the soil itself.
Grab some mosquito dunks ASAP. It's pretty much just a strain of bacteria that will eat the larvae, totally safe for organics/living soil.
Don't water until they arrive, then water in the mosquito dunks for your next watering. Repeat application as needed until the problem stops, spray habanero pepper spray on the plants in conjunction with the dunks so that the gnats don't survive long enough to produce more larvae.
It will take a few weeks to fully remedy the problem, you have to keep applying dunks and spray until every last larvae AND gnat are dead.
Thankfully, you're still in veg so not all is lost. Definitely do not flip to 12/12 until this have been dealt with though.
I'm not sure what the magnesium praying is about. What grow style are you using because Mg deficiencies are really rare in grow mediums that have had decent amounts of compost or other organic matter added to them. Mg is a mobile element, which means if you have a deficiency it will show up in the lower leaves first, but unlike a nitrogen deficiency the older yellowing leaves will result in interveinal chlorosis as it progresses, and it works its way up in the plant.
If you mean your leaves are pointed upwards, that's an okay sign unless they begin to yellow or fade on top. If that's the case, dial down the lights or raise them.
steveydvee
Well-Known Member
Blumats are a dial in process. They use a ceramic carrot that detects soil moisture and depending on your setting you can make it dryer or wetter. At around 100 mbar(it’s like the moisture of perfect compost) which is considered the ideal moisture for cannabis. The soil will always be moist as I mulch. The Neem will kill almost all larvae if it makes contact from my understanding of it.. as it messes with their eating habits and suffocates them. If worse comes to worse in flower. The twin cannons of Neem and pyrethrums will destroy them. I think I may need to start introducing predators like rove beetles and predatory mites. I think that’s the issue. As I don’t believe I’ll ever be able to completely eradicate fungas gnats as they love organic matter. In a way, fungas gnats are beneficial if their population is kept under control as they play a role in the breaking down of organic matter. I think the best permanent solution is to invite rove beetles and predatory mites into my no till flowering room. Only thing is cost cuz those damn things are expensive! Fungas gnats eat organic matter and the predators eat the gnats. And the circle of life continues on. If this was a hand watering grow I’d forsure let the pots dry out.. but it took me so damn long to dial in my watering for each pot. I think ima just pass on that lol!
but an update on my grow! The new leaves are PERFECT. Definitely just needed time for them to be accustomed to their new home. Feels good to feel the leaves of a healthy plant. Doesn’t feel dry and has that smoothness and lushness too it! The flip is coming soon! It’s going to be beautiful seeing these Ice Cream Cakes and Gelato flower out. Ima take some cuttings give them one more week to see the pest pressure.
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steveydvee
Well-Known Member
That’s fine brother post away!
Ironic perhaps, but the worst gnat infestation of my life happened when I tried drain-to-waste hydro with coconut coir. Everything started off okay, but they exploded in population during mid flower, and by harvest time their dead bodies were embedded all over the buds. I couldn't even give that shit away, so it all went into the washing machine for bubble hash.
I've had them with my current organic no-till as well, but never to that extant, thank goodness. But it did worry me in the first grow cycle in the soil, so I bought some beneficial nematodes and Hypoaspsis miles mites. But in retrospect is may be that I already had them in my worm bins anyway, and they just needed a few cycles to establish themselves.
I ALWAYS keep the top surface of my soil moist under a nice thick mulch, and regardless they seemed to have disappeared since then. I don't even use a sticky card for monitoring anymore because I haven't seen any visible fliers in at least the last 5 grow cycles. I guess nature has just taken care of itself?
kratos015
Well-Known Member
Neem seed meal is a waste product of the production of neem oil. Even brewed into a tea, Neem Meal will not kill pests on its own as the bulk of what actually works on pests has been extracted and turned into neem oil/azamax products. Neem Meal can only ever be a preventative, and not a cure.
I think you're thinking of Diatomaceous Earth that kills larvae on contact, as that shreds the exoskeletons of most bugs. Clumps like a bitch though, and is more trouble than its worth IMO.
Mosquito dunks are the way to go.
But, if things seem to be going better for you and everything is working out then no harm no foul.
As much of a pain as it would be to re-dial in your Blumats, perfect watering from Blumats won't do a lick of good if there's a pest infestation that needs to be addressed unfortunately.
steveydvee
Well-Known Member
@kratos015
buildasoil.com
They are all DYING!!!!!!
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myke
Well-Known Member
Having delt with the gnats the last month I found using play sand as a mulch to be the most effective.I was using the dunks in my water and crumbs in the pots but it didnt seem to do much.
After the sand the adults had no choice but go to the drain holes,I used plates as catch trays.This allowed the edges of my pots to touch but leave a space under the pot,in this space the runoff water would sit but not get sucked up by the pots ,I sprayed bug soap over it.The adults would land there and die.Over 2 days I had hundreds of dead adults in ea plate.Its been 2 weeks now and Ive only seen a few. I finally think Ive won!
After the sand the adults had no choice but go to the drain holes,I used plates as catch trays.This allowed the edges of my pots to touch but leave a space under the pot,in this space the runoff water would sit but not get sucked up by the pots ,I sprayed bug soap over it.The adults would land there and die.Over 2 days I had hundreds of dead adults in ea plate.Its been 2 weeks now and Ive only seen a few. I finally think Ive won!
myke
Well-Known Member
The best part is the sand was $8 for 25kg,this also keeps the soil moist under the sand.Win,win.@kratos015
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They are all DYING!!!!!!
Thanks steveydvee, kratos and Northwood. Was waiting a little to the thread to "settle" before getting to the Mg and praying leaves.
I am aware of the interveinal chlorosis in Mg def, and i don't have that symptom. And its true that my soil is top dressed both with compost and now with a high K dry fert that also contains Mg.
But the praying leaves things got my attention, mostly because i started to see them a few days ago. And being the plant in another phase of its life, i thought that maybe it would manifest a Mg def soon if i don't keep topdressing.
I also start to see a lighter green on lower leaves. Although is not like what i normally see as a N def. The dry fert i use for top dressing right now is 6-8-15.
It just gets my attention because a friend of mine ran same soil and same strain, and plant at harvest was deep green. But i must also say that it was an indoor setup with 4gal pots.
Heres a pic.
I am aware of the interveinal chlorosis in Mg def, and i don't have that symptom. And its true that my soil is top dressed both with compost and now with a high K dry fert that also contains Mg.
But the praying leaves things got my attention, mostly because i started to see them a few days ago. And being the plant in another phase of its life, i thought that maybe it would manifest a Mg def soon if i don't keep topdressing.
I also start to see a lighter green on lower leaves. Although is not like what i normally see as a N def. The dry fert i use for top dressing right now is 6-8-15.
It just gets my attention because a friend of mine ran same soil and same strain, and plant at harvest was deep green. But i must also say that it was an indoor setup with 4gal pots.
Heres a pic.
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steveydvee
Well-Known Member
Pictures of the bottom will help. What is your mix?Size of container? And what have you been top dressing? With organic Ive noticed better results with using Kelp Meal as an immediate fix to a lot of nutrient issues. Instead of dumping super high amounts of high magnesium focused amendments. It may throw off the balance in your soil. Going to need more information to be able to diagnose the issue. Pot size is very important. But from the looks of it, they just look hungry. If I had to recommend something without more information. A fish hydrolysate/kelp/humic acid tea combination would work amazingly. Once you start seeing the deficiency issues in organic usually it’ll be too late to top dress as Organics require time to break down.
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