pests Pests are out of control!

moruga welder · Mar 28, 2017

austin87 said:
Did you DIY the lady bug houses or purchase them? I need more info on the subject of lady bug husbandry!

A DIY ladybug house , found it on pinterest , http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-a-ladybug-feeder-attract-them-to-your-garden-169681 , this is the feeder and this is the habitat ,
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/492862752951944867/,

there ya have it ! :party:

Powelly · Mar 29, 2017

solid7 said:
I love that you bring up no-till, but I have my suspicions about the "no fertilizer" thing. If you're talking about commercially available fertilizers, derived from inorganic sources, I understand. But to get away from any kind of "fertilizer"... I am hoping that you are just using "fertilizer" as an non-interchangeable term with "organic amendments"
.
To be clear - many of us use containers that are only amended with organic substances. I have quite a few, myself, and even posted my organic mix that I used with great success last season. No Till? Hell to the yes. I replant my containers season after season with root masses still intact, with great success. (a handful of worms to help compost those old roots does the trick) I've even planted with old rotten pieces of hardwood in the bottom of my containers. That works a charm.
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I'm not growing weed. If you want to compare notes, hit me up, anytime. My advice though - if you want to grow like this, go big. 10 gallon is a minimum container size for really spectacular results.

By no fertilizer I mean buying bottled or bagged fertilizer including compost
We're talking mulch and cover crops, nitrogen fixing partner plants and worms thrown in

CAPCOM · Mar 29, 2017

solid7 said:
I love that you bring up no-till, but I have my suspicions about the "no fertilizer" thing. If you're talking about commercially available fertilizers, derived from inorganic sources, I understand. But to get away from any kind of "fertilizer"... I am hoping that you are just using "fertilizer" as an non-interchangeable term with "organic amendments"
.
To be clear - many of us use containers that are only amended with organic substances. I have quite a few, myself, and even posted my organic mix that I used with great success last season. No Till? Hell to the yes. I replant my containers season after season with root masses still intact, with great success. (a handful of worms to help compost those old roots does the trick) I've even planted with old rotten pieces of hardwood in the bottom of my containers. That works a charm.
.
I'm not growing weed. If you want to compare notes, hit me up, anytime. My advice though - if you want to grow like this, go big. 10 gallon is a minimum container size for really spectacular results.

Pics, or it didn't happen.
Actually I am just curious about your 10 gal minimum success. I am procuring some 10s and 15s for this year's grow.

Powelly · Mar 29, 2017

For worms you'd likely need a large pot, at least 5 gallons but I don't see why you wouldn't have success in smaller pots. Especially as most of the time they are just temporary placeholders for the chilli plant until they get to a certain size

solid7 · Mar 29, 2017

Powelly said:
For worms you'd likely need a large pot, at least 5 gallons but I don't see why you wouldn't have success in smaller pots. Especially as most of the time they are just temporary placeholders for the chilli plant until they get to a certain size

Because the whole idea of organics, is growing a symbiotic web of micro life. That's a whole lot easier to accomplish, when you have a larger volume. A lot of that has to do with temperature - but also remember that you are trying to feed a plant only through the byproducts of microbes. Give them space. The larger the container, the larger your food web. More colonizable area is what I want.
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If you want to grow in small containers, you definitely want to start thinking about conventional, or purely liquid ferts. You shouldn't be scared off by my words, but I am fairly confident that you can't replicate the forest in a milk jug.
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By the way... When I go the organic route, I only bump them up once. That's from seedling stage, to full size container. Yes, worms go in 5 gallons and up.

solid7 · Mar 29, 2017

CAPCOM said:
Pics, or it didn't happen.
Actually I am just curious about your 10 gal minimum success. I am procuring some 10s and 15s for this year's grow.

I don't have a lot of pics, but here is a couple: (note the alfalfa and leaves as top dressing)

lek · Mar 29, 2017

solid7 said:
... but I am fairly confident that you can't replicate the forest in a milk jug.

see this https://www.pinterest.com/pin/300756081343180110/
i will put my bonsai pepper plant in terrarium someday ;-)

solid7 · Mar 29, 2017

lek said:
see this https://www.pinterest.com/pin/300756081343180110/
i will put my bonsai pepper plant in terrarium someday ;-)

We're talking about organics, not bonsai...

Powelly · Mar 30, 2017

See the time that a plant is in a smaller pot is likely a time that nutrients will not run out so pot size won't matter

solid7 · Mar 30, 2017

Powelly said:
See the time that a plant is in a smaller pot is likely a time that nutrients will not run out so pot size won't matter

If you say so. You were asking people who had actual experience, so...
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It's not just about nutrients running out. You are still in conventional mode.

mlittle74 · Mar 30, 2017

Looks like this topic has been thoroughly discussed, but I wanted to throw my vote in for soapy water and lady bugs. I got lady bugs for a moderate infestation of aphids and they were a great help. You can buy a batch of ladybugs on Amazon for very cheap (around 10 bucks with shipping) and the ones I bought all arrived safe and ready to chew on some pests. They should stay as round as long as you have a constant food supply.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054QPVGI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

Mike

CAPCOM · Mar 30, 2017

mlittle74 said:
Looks like this topic has been thoroughly discussed, but I wanted to throw my vote in for soapy water and lady bugs. I got lady bugs for a moderate infestation of aphids and they were a great help. You can buy a batch of ladybugs on Amazon for very cheap (around 10 bucks with shipping) and the ones I bought all arrived safe and ready to chew on some pests. They should stay as round as long as you have a constant food supply.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054QPVGI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

Mike

When it comes to natural aphid control, I would trade 10,000 lady bugs for 1000 lady bug larvae any day of the week.

solid7 · Apr 19, 2017

Powelly said:
Just exactly what I said. Soak the popcorn in water for 8-24h until they start sprouting
Chuck in a blender
Water plant

So, I'm still not finding much usefulness in this. I was going to try it soon, but am I watering it into the media, spraying it on foliage, both, something else? Also, is this a tea, as you hinted, or am I watering is straight in, out of the blender? What is the ratio of application?

Let's get specific, here... If this is a thing, it's worth talking about.

CAPCOM · Apr 19, 2017

I searched online and found nothing that comes remotely close to supporting the remedy.

LocalFart · Apr 20, 2017

Does all this also apply for hydroponic systems?

Ive had some issues recently :/ I've tried DW liquid, but I think I used one of those 'natural' brands so it made it worse.

solid7 · Apr 20, 2017

LocalFart said:
Does all this also apply for hydroponic systems?

Ive had some issues recently :/ I've tried DW liquid, but I think I used one of those 'natural' brands so it made it worse.

Dish soap works fine, but it's a contact, so you only kill what you hit. You'll have to repeat application. And you need to be careful, because repeat applications aren't great for the leaves. Make sure that you rinse with clean water 20 mins after every application.

LocalFart · Apr 20, 2017

Ok. I really should have read more before hand. I haven't washed it off and i thought they would all die at once. Thanks soouch for the info. I'll wash my plants asap

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk

Chewi · Apr 20, 2017

solid7 said:
I don't have a lot of pics, but here is a couple: (note the alfalfa and leaves as top dressing)

nice plant! Mind me asking what kind this one is?

solid7 · Apr 20, 2017

Chewi said:
nice plant! Mind me asking what kind this one is?

It was either a black or purple jalapeno. (can't remember which) That was a fairly young pic, it turned out to be quite a producer.

Powelly · Apr 21, 2017

solid7 said:
So, I'm still not finding much usefulness in this. I was going to try it soon, but am I watering it into the media, spraying it on foliage, both, something else? Also, is this a tea, as you hinted, or am I watering is straight in, out of the blender? What is the ratio of application?

Let's get specific, here... If this is a thing, it's worth talking about.

Look at the nutrient profile
There are also enzymes in the seed that improve the soil

I don't ferment it, don't want to risk acetic acid. I normally just grind and top dress or if it's wet I put 30g to 9L of water

No benefit in foliar spraying its a soil conditioner