New Grower Seedstockers & Meph first garage grow!

[R Wayne]

The SF nematodes and rove beetles came in the mail yesterday. The earthboxes were ready for another watering before putting the covers on so the timing worked out. I mixed half of the 5 million nematodes in 1 gal of water and shared it between all of the pots/EBs. After watering I added the rove beetles, it is really cool watching them scatter once they hit the soil. Had a couple of them try to escape. I also minimized sticky traps so they wouldnt catch the rove beetles. @Rasterman do you use sticky traps with your rove beetles?

After that I shower capped them, used one red cover because I couldn't find any other black covers. Not using it for any specific reason. Most of them seem happy besides the Northern Lights. The only reason I havent yanked it and started over is because I dont have many NL seeds left. So I am hoping it'll grow out of it. Also some carrots and kale popped up outta the soil a day or two ago. Love seeing life come out of the soil.

Grappa

CBD Critical, biggest so far

Unhappy/mutated Northern Lights, she got a little abused when I put the cover on!

Rucu Cucu

Couple of rove beetles

Red Russian Kale sprouts

Bunch of carrot sprouts

Happy Growing!!!

 

[Rasterman]

Looking great!

I also minimized sticky traps so they wouldnt catch the rove beetles. @Rasterman do you use sticky traps with your rove beetles?

I did during the infestation, because their numbers were high enough. But I don't now because I'm afraid it's a delicate balance. I don't want to kill off the last breeding female or anything.

 

[Lil Dab]

Been using mosquito bit tea, they are due for another tea bath in a couple days. Always seems to take a minute before it starts working though.

I used mosquito bit/dunks for awhile and they worked ok but then i was turned on to this stuff by @DCLXVI Used it only one treatment and didn't see gnats the rest of the grow. It's a fine powder mixes up very well and dissolves but beware it does drop PH below 5.6 I know from using it in my coco rez. I've never used BTI in my EB rez's just top watered in the soil

Gnatrol WDG Fungus Gnat Larvacide | organicbti.com

listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) for use in organic production. Expiration date: January 31st 2026 Bacillus thuringiensis, subsp. israelensis, strain AM 65-52fermentation solids, spores and insecticidal toxins . . . . . 37.4%Other Ingredients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

www.organicbti.com

 

[R Wayne]

I used mosquito bit/dunks for awhile and they worked ok but then i was turned on to this stuff by @DCLXVI Used it only one treatment and didn't see gnats the rest of the grow. It's a fine powder mixes up very well and dissolves but beware it does drop PH below 5.6 I know from using it in my coco rez. I've never used BTI in my EB rez's just top watered in the soil

Gnatrol WDG Fungus Gnat Larvacide | organicbti.com

listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) for use in organic production. Expiration date: January 31st 2026 Bacillus thuringiensis, subsp. israelensis, strain AM 65-52fermentation solids, spores and insecticidal toxins . . . . . 37.4%Other Ingredients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...

www.organicbti.com

I will definitely look into this if the nematodes and rove beetles dont work Ive been using mosquito bit tea and sticky traps for years now and they always seem to keep the infestations at bay. But I wanted to try something new and I am hoping, like rasterman, I will have them beneficial bugs for a good long while.

 

[Lil Dab]

I will definitely look into this if the nematodes and rove beetles dont work Ive been using mosquito bit tea and sticky traps for years now and they always seem to keep the infestations at bay. But I wanted to try something new and I am hoping, like rasterman, I will have them beneficial bugs for a good long while.

No problem I use nematodes too I put a bag of pot poppers in every pot always battling those little fuckers during especially the summer

 

[R Wayne]

Still growing and still have gnats flying around. I think I will be applying more nematodes in another week or two. There seem to be less gnats than before but they are not disappearing as quickly as I want. Nature works on its own time I suppose. Plants seem to be doing decent in spite of the gnats. Northern Lights still looks mutated and the CBD Critical is showing signs of lock out. In my experience it is too early for the yellowing to be a deficiency. They should have at least another week of food, especially in a regular earthbox. Gnats could have disturbed them or they are just more sensitive. I am going to leave them be for now. I filled the two EB Jrs rez today with 0.5L of water each with some added CalSil+ and a little yah-whey. I will need to top dress them in the next day or two. My whole family's been sick and doing anything physical is extra difficult so I am a bit behind schedule. I also sprayed all the girls with a light dose of Dr Zymes last Saturday. Wanted to start a weekly IPM to help avoid spider mites. The nice guy at my local grow store told me that they are pretty bad up here. I am debating about rotating with some essential oil sprays as well. Google suggests peppermint and rosemary. I will most likely rotate weekly with Dr Zymes, then rosemary, then Dr Zymes, then peppermint. Repeat. Any way, thanks for stopping by.

Grappa

CBD Critical

Nothern Lights

Rucu Cucu

Thinned the carrots yesterday

Will be removing two of the kale as well. I think two kale plants in a 3 gallon rain science pot is one too many, but I like experiments.

Happy Growing!

 

[Rasterman]

Still growing and still have gnats flying around. I think I will be applying more nematodes in another week or two. There seem to be less gnats than before but they are not disappearing as quickly as I want. Nature works on its own time I suppose. Plants seem to be doing decent in spite of the gnats. Northern Lights still looks mutated and the CBD Critical is showing signs of lock out. In my experience it is too early for the yellowing to be a deficiency. They should have at least another week of food, especially in a regular earthbox. Gnats could have disturbed them or they are just more sensitive. I am going to leave them be for now. I filled the two EB Jrs rez today with 0.5L of water each with some added CalSil+ and a little yah-whey. I will need to top dress them in the next day or two. My whole family's been sick and doing anything physical is extra difficult so I am a bit behind schedule. I also sprayed all the girls with a light dose of Dr Zymes last Saturday. Wanted to start a weekly IPM to help avoid spider mites. The nice guy at my local grow store told me that they are pretty bad up here. I am debating about rotating with some essential oil sprays as well. Google suggests peppermint and rosemary. I will most likely rotate weekly with Dr Zymes, then rosemary, then Dr Zymes, then peppermint. Repeat. Any way, thanks for stopping by.

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Grappa
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CBD Critical
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Nothern Lights
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Rucu Cucu
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Thinned the carrots yesterday
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Will be removing two of the kale as well. I think two kale plants in a 3 gallon rain science pot is one too many, but I like experiments.
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Happy Growing!

The nematodes just need a few weeks to get established. I remember the frustration, but one day you're going to open the tent and realize there are just a couple of very terrified gnats flying around.

They have to get pretty bad to harm your plants though. They break down organic matter so one could argue they're beneficial (not me). Seeds is a most unhappy exception. I've had them eat young sprouts and leave nothing but an empty helmet. So now I always sprout in pods.

 

[Rasterman]

Oh yeah and for future reference, freshly-ground mustard seed works really well for preparing earthboxes. I just about eradicated some gnats with it last year but I didn't realize a heavy application would kill my plants (it did). But that shit really works for gnats.

 

[R Wayne]

Oh yeah and for future reference, freshly-ground mustard seed works really well for preparing earthboxes. I just about eradicated some gnats with it last year but I didn't realize a heavy application would kill my plants (it did). But that shit really works for gnats.

Funny you mention this. I still have some left over mustard seed meal from BAS and just bought some build a flower top dress. They put mustard seed meal in the build a flower now. I will probably add some extra mustard when I top dress in the next day or two. Though I’m wondering if it’ll kill the rove beetles?

 

[Rasterman]

Funny you mention this. I still have some left over mustard seed meal from BAS and just bought some build a flower top dress. They put mustard seed meal in the build a flower now. I will probably add some extra mustard when I top dress in the next day or two. Though I’m wondering if it’ll kill the rove beetles?

I'm happy to report they live through it, though they get really stressed and spend less time in the soil.

I don't think they grind the mustard seed for Craft Blend. It's just fertilizer if it isn't powdered.

I think it's probably safe to use with mature plants. I put handfuls down to kill my plants. If I try it again with living plants, I'll use no more than a tablespoon per.