3/5King's 2013 ZING!-Peppin' Ain't Easy 2.0 "If The Boat's a Rockin'....."

3/5King · Feb 4, 2013

Beehunter said:
Good luck! yea i kept three for the overwinters. got the aphid bad. the plants lost the battle.... Hope you have better luck!

Sorry to hear that Bee...shit, I'm hoping the same thing doesn't happen to me. The shitty thing is, these OW's are in the same are that we start our new plants for the season..so that means this problem needs to be taken care of immediately or else we might get those little bastards all over our new plants too.

DocNrock said:
I tried this for aphids: http://www.saferbran...arden-care/5102

It worked, but it also seemed to be quite toxic to the growing tips of the plants.

Thanks DnR, I am definitely going to keep this as an option. Do they sell this at big box stores or do you need to order it online?

DocNrock · Feb 4, 2013

3/5King said:
Thanks DnR, I am definitely going to keep this as an option. Do they sell this at big box stores or do you need to order it online?

If you have a hydro store locally, that would be your best bet. I got it at Discount Hydroponics. They are local to me. I honestly don't know if they have it at Lowe's or HD.

Jamison · Feb 4, 2013

That was my next question for you was any bugs? I suggest Bonide. If you have a Steins Garden and Gifts near you they carry it.

PIC 1 · Feb 5, 2013

With the aphids you need to find the egg colonies or "plant lice" whether its under the leaves or between the plant nodes. What I do for the eggs is to fill a small bowl with isopropyl alcohol. Wearing a nitro glove I dip my fingers in the solution and smear the egg colonies. There's usually more than one. You have to stop the traffic at the source.
For the adult winged aphids the best method is to rotate the chemicals. The insecticide soaps or the "Ivory" in the spray bottle will suffocate and dry up the bugs. Neem oil will slow them down, the plant absorbs the solution and helps against the pests that suck the sap. You may want to try a 50/50 mix of concentrated lemon juice and water, add cayenne powder and crushed garlic............If that doesn't work you can use it on a salad...ha
There are some benefits to that spray concoction when bringing the outdoor stuff in. It kills mealy's and white fly eggs that cling to the stems of the plants but are difficult to see with the naked eye. Occasionally mist the plants with plain ole water as the build up of chemicals can burn the plant tissue in the long run. It's been a long time since I've delt with aphids. I take all precautions not to bring them in from the outdoors....thats where they come from. You won't see them now in the winter but they can overwinter on house plants. Inspect them all. I hope you can get it under control. I know your planning on starting and finishing a large indoor grow without a "hitch"....leave those bugs behind.

Greg

Dshlogg · Feb 5, 2013

I don't know what I hate more aphids or fungus gnats. I spotted a gnat yesterday when I was sowing seeds. He flew right infront of my face but seemed to head for my house plants. I've been checking them for aphids all winter but I haven't seen any. They're probably around somewhere though. Hope you kill every last one.

3/5King · Feb 6, 2013

Thanks Greg, I am about to go launch an attack on those little SOB's........I'm bringing some WMD's to the party.

Dshlogg-I would kill for it to be a fungal gnat issue...because rarely are fungal gnats an issue to begin with. Sure they fly around and annoy you but let the top of the soil dry up and bottom water...you shouldn't have a problem. It's when the surface of the soil stays wet for too long, they can come out to play. I've only had them once, made some changes and haven't seen them again.

I'll let you all know how it goes and I will have some pics of the suckers too! It will be a massacre.....

Justaguy · Feb 6, 2013

Looks like a good start. Damn aphids. You will overcome.

stc3248 · Feb 6, 2013

I HATE FRIGGEN APHIDS...and MITES...and HORNWORMS...and most of all VIRUSES!!! You're damn right bro, it ain't easy! At least I made it to the party! Here's to an "easy" season!

Sanarda · Feb 6, 2013

As my name is PIA, my mother always told me that PIA stood for Pain in the ass. Seeing as you have added the T PITA, I now feel better about my name and can now stick it to my mother being that she shoulda named me PITA. Smart ass she is..... Anywho, I hope you recover from your Aphid infestation. They do suck (No pun intended) and are a PITA to get rid of. Guess you have to do a daily check now that they have manifested till you get em outside. Im sure ull get over this minor hiccup.

3/5King · Feb 7, 2013

Well, I got it done...

I took your advice Greg and got out the RA and gloves. I dipped my fingers in that shit and smeared off every leaf on every plant (as best I could anyway) after inspecting with a light and going over every plant a few times. I mixed up some Bondide Organic stuff....lol I don't remember exactly the name but it was supposed to take care of a multitude of bugs and in all stages of life. So after the RA, I sprayed them all down with an air pressurized spray canister. I sprayed the top of the soil too.

I'm hoping this is the first and last time I have to do this. I feel pretty good about it but then again it's NEVER this easy....but hey, I might get lucky....right? Hahahaha

So there were more than one type of bug...I had Aphids, fungal gnats....ummm some little red bugs that I thought were eggs at first (shit maybe they were eggs) but I swear they were crawling around.

It was an all out ATTACK. The plants weren't taken over or anything but I'm sure it doesn't take long.

Get this, there were lady bugs up there too! Three of them.....WTH lady bugs...do your job! lol

So that is that, I'm going to check on them frequently and repeat if necessary. Thanks for all of the help guys. Let's keep this tug boat moseyin' along now YA HUR!

Here's some pics after they were all cleaned up and back in there home.

{Soon to come.....Seed starting!} {Can't invite guests into a dirty house now can I}

PIC 1 · Feb 7, 2013

You're OW's will be lush by the time you plant out. The plants won't need much water if they're in a damp area such as a basement or a garage. I'd suggest bottom watering the plants only. Use a tupp container, cheap cat litter trays , or anything you can fit a container or two at a time. 20 minutes for those size containers placed in water would cover the hydration for 2 weeks or so.
The RA works but use only on the effected spots. Its a direct kill....mist with water afterwards...

3/5King · Feb 7, 2013

PIC 1 said:
You're OW's will be lush by the time you plant out. The plants won't need much water if they're in a damp area such as a basement or a garage. I'd suggest bottom watering the plants only. Use a tupp container, cheap cat litter trays , or anything you can fit a container or two at a time. 20 minutes for those size containers placed in water would cover the hydration for 2 weeks or so.
The RA works but use only on the effected spots. Its a direct kill....mist with water afterwards...

Greg, I used it on every leaf because honestly it's hard to even see if there are some on it or not. I had green translucent bugs, aphids, red bugs, fungal gnats....I don't know what happened! It's like they were fine for 3 months and then bam! Bugs everywhere lol

I sprayed them down with that Bondide organic spray which is 2-5TBS to 1 Gal. Water, so I guess you can consider that spraying them with water. I watered them only once since October, when they came in....and now is the second time. I had to top water though; I have nothing to put them in yet. Those are 3 gallon containers.

I can't wait for them to get out in the sun man, it's going to be awesome watching them in there second year.

So I was thinking about getting a green house. If you keep the temperatures up in the greenhouse and put my plants in there (theoretically) today. Would I need supplemental light? Can I start seeds this way and get big plants to plant out in the spring or is the outside sun not strong enough or long enough yet? I was contemplating spending the money on a greenhouse instead of a light, if it would work out.

Stefan_W · Feb 7, 2013

I think the OWs are looking good, especially since they are recovering from an attack.

You definitely want a supplimental light for a greenhouse at least until the days get longer. If you have the space for a greenhouse it is definitely a great way to go.

Air circulation is always a big key to success with those things so keep aside cash for a good fan setup.

Trippa · Feb 7, 2013

Best of luck for your season right now and ahead!! Beat those bast age aphids

KiNGDeNNiZ · Feb 8, 2013

nice to see them OWs looking well.. mine dont look good and most are dead....

3/5King · Feb 8, 2013

Stefan_W said:
I think the OWs are looking good, especially since they are recovering from an attack.

You definitely want a supplimental light for a greenhouse at least until the days get longer. If you have the space for a greenhouse it is definitely a great way to go.

Air circulation is always a big key to success with those things so keep aside cash for a good fan setup.

Thanks Stefan! And thank you for the info. I'll def. be doing more research before steering down that coarse.

Trippa said:
Best of luck for your season right now and ahead!! Beat those bast age aphids

I know, right! Need to beat those suckers down with a heavy hand. Thanks for the kind words.

KiNGDeNNiZ said:
nice to see them OWs looking well.. mine dont look good and most are dead....

Damn KD, what happened?

PIC 1 · Feb 8, 2013

3/5King said:
Greg, I used it on every leaf because honestly it's hard to even see if there are some on it or not. I had green translucent bugs, aphids, red bugs, fungal gnats....I don't know what happened! It's like they were fine for 3 months and then bam! Bugs everywhere lol

I sprayed them down with that Bondide organic spray which is 2-5TBS to 1 Gal. Water, so I guess you can consider that spraying them with water. I watered them only once since October, when they came in....and now is the second time. I had to top water though; I have nothing to put them in yet. Those are 3 gallon containers.

I can't wait for them to get out in the sun man, it's going to be awesome watching them in there second year.

So I was thinking about getting a green house. If you keep the temperatures up in the greenhouse and put my plants in there (theoretically) today. Would I need supplemental light? Can I start seeds this way and get big plants to plant out in the spring or is the outside sun not strong enough or long enough yet? I was contemplating spending the money on a greenhouse instead of a light, if it would work out.

A stand alone GH won't get you through the winter without heat. An attached sun room would be perfect. Although todays light intensity would be fine....if it were a clear sky............. :shocked:

One of my sisters brings out her early vege Lettuce, Peas, etc in her GH in early March. The other sis has a sunroom that works year round.
Me...I just have my grow rooms that run from Nov thru May.
You can grow indoors year round with some high powered HPS, but if you're not making a profit off the plants the electricity can eat ya up.
I try to focus on having some big outdoor harvests, then calling it quites for a couple months after the season. When the outdoor plants start to lose their vigor then so do I. At that point the sauce making starts with the other canning projects.

DocNrock · Feb 8, 2013

FWIW, a small greenhouse can be kept warm enough with a space heater or two. I just have one in mine that I run only at night on low, but your temps are much lower than mine. Probably a couple of space heaters would be fine.

stc3248 · Feb 9, 2013

Think a well put together grow room would be much more efficient for you. They do make lean to style GHs that use the house for one wall that would work if you placed it on a south facing wall and had a large window or door that you could put it around. An indoor space with $20 buck worth of insulation probably wouldn't need any supplemental heat with the heat from the lights in there. Or spend a couple hundred on a grow tent. Adding a sun room or buying a GH is gonna set you back $$$ upfront and in added electrical to heat it. Would definitely be a nice to have later in spring in your location though. Would add maybe a month on each end of the season.

3/5King · Feb 9, 2013

DocNrock said:
FWIW, a small greenhouse can be kept warm enough with a space heater or two. I just have one in mine that I run only at night on low, but your temps are much lower than mine. Probably a couple of space heaters would be fine.

Yes, it would definitely need a space heater or two. I even saw on one forum that it is recommended to dig a 18" barrier where you are going to put the GH and fill it with gravel to stop the cold from coming up through the bottom..... :eek:

that's a little too much for me...lol I'd rather build a platform and set the greenhouse on it than try and dig a 4X6 hole 18" deep!

stc3248 said:
Think a well put together grow room would be much more efficient for you. They do make lean to style GHs that use the house for one wall that would work if you placed it on a south facing wall and had a large window or door that you could put it around. An indoor space with $20 buck worth of insulation probably wouldn't need any supplemental heat with the heat from the lights in there. Or spend a couple hundred on a grow tent. Adding a sun room or buying a GH is gonna set you back $$$ upfront and in added electrical to heat it. Would definitely be a nice to have later in spring in your location though. Would add maybe a month on each end of the season.

The reason I was looking into a GH is because we only have one place to grow and the max height in there is, I believe, 3.5ft. So I was thinking the GH would give us more room to grow in. Hell if I could, that would be an awesome Idea, to get a GH and attach it to the back sliding door. Or pipe a heating duct into it. That would be so great....that will have to come at a future time, when I buy my own house. You guys don't even want to see what's in store when I get a house...well you will...but it will on the verge of maybe...insanity! I know we all have too many awesome ideas that we wish we could implement. I still might get one for the spring and fall, like you said. It would be really nice.

Alright, well, here's a little update; not much but it's the preliminary stages to the bigger picture (which will be starting next weekend)

I found a guy selling some lights on CL. He has a Sun Blaze 4ft T-5 HO 8 Bulb fixture (40,000 lumens) and a 4ft T-5 HO 4 Bulb fixture (20,000 lumens) for 150.00 bucks. They have only been used on an 18/6 schedule for 4 months (which I've figured to be around 2400 hours) so there's still a lot of life left in the bulbs. We're going to snatch these up and get them rockin' and rollin' in the Grow Shed!

I'm excited to see what results I have this year with them. Last year we had around 38,500 lumens and saw awesome results. So this year, we should see even better right? hahaha

Last season we started seedlings out in 36 count seed trays, potted up to solo cups and then finally to 1/2 gallon pots, before plant out. Doing it this way, the plants got completely root bound by the time we planted out and it really affected our production.

So this year, we are going to start the seeds in solo cups, pot up to 1/2 gallons and then finally to 3 gallon pots, before plant out. I'm hoping this will stop them from becoming root bound before plant out. I am a little nervous that they might fill up those containers too......too be continued...

Side note: Yesterday I started the Insanity workout....it's pretty intense. I've got to start taking care of myself. My ultimate goal is to enter the "Tough Mudder" 10 Mile 25 obstacle race that is coming to Wisconsin in September I believe. So I'll randomly be updating my progress in the glog. About to go murder my Hammies again in a few minutes.....this too is "too be continued"....lol

Thanks for coming by guys and gals.