Mephisto Genetics White Crack and Kis Organics Soil

Enjoying watching y'all go go go. I'm still battling. And learning. Put on my big boy pants and dealing with it. Haven't seen many thrips lately, but I swear the gnats just lay their fucking eggs right inside the mosquito bits. I don't blame them, my soil in the SIPS is "teaming with fungi", lol. The only time it's not fuzzy is right after I top water.

I'm trying to turn what I thought were negatives into positives. One big tent? Positive is one space to climate control, enough space to walk around, and I can swab the deck daily with clorox. Doing a deep dive into IPM has caused me to change a lot of practices, especially with regards to keeping my tent really, really, really clean. Properly disposing of waste and leaves. Timing and methods of growing. I feel fortunate that I'm spinning up my pest knowledge before I get any of the bad ones. Thrips and gnats are largely nuisances.

I've been slowly doing treatments of sort to see what works. BTI doesn't seem to do shit, I literally have a solid layer of mosquito bits and they laugh. Maybe if I soaked them and top watered for a week straight but not impressed. A week or so ago I did a top dress of some neem meal watered in with some spinosad. At that point harvest was at least 2 weeks out so I felt comfortable with a soil drench (even though you could theoretically do that up to harvest, I'd rather be cautious).

Yesterday I picked up some play sand. On my 5g grobucket, I sealed in the soil with 1/2" of sand. Get through that, MFrs. I also plugged all drain holes with some landscape fabric. On the Jrs I have a mound of sand surrounding the fill tube under the cover(which seals that) and put some sand on top of the cover around the stems (seals that). I've refrained from nuking the soil.


I haven't given up on organics yet, still learning, still planning. I think I've come to the conclusion that I hate the Jr covers. On the one hand it's a decent barrier. On the other if you don't maintain your hermetically sealed cover..... I might give it a whirl with a largeish fabric pot, cover crops, etc. Maybe some banker plants. Maybe some lacewings. I've come to the conclusion that using dirt (particularly store bought bagged organics) bugs come with the deal.

My coco 4AM girls are getting close. I had to tie one of them up last night because of bud weight. Good problem :) It's a contrast to the dainty little organic girls. I know they are a different strain so it's not apples-apples ;) I've ceased all organics on them and reverted to h2o2.

I'm itching to drop new seeds. Couple more weeks and I'll feel ok bringing new plants into the tent.

Gotta give credit where credit is due :shooty: don’t give up, organics can be very rewarding ......

Junior Covers are tough to work with - I have mine taped up pretty good and even some tape around the pipe - my stem cut was a simple slice and then I pulled girl up through and taped slice and now stalked swelled and is actually tight to plastic ...... I also taped some areas, corners and sides right from the start - prevent defense ...... another idea is put two covers over but too late this round ......

The sand on top - was it mason or playground sand? I don’t really know much about but I do know playground sand is fine whereas mason is sharp .....

Current crop of nasty gnats may not disappear until Grow is over and sources are eliminated - and tent cleaned .....

Good luck with those nasty things.
 
Enjoying watching y'all go go go. I'm still battling. And learning. Put on my big boy pants and dealing with it. Haven't seen many thrips lately, but I swear the gnats just lay their fucking eggs right inside the mosquito bits. I don't blame them, my soil in the SIPS is "teaming with fungi", lol. The only time it's not fuzzy is right after I top water.

I'm trying to turn what I thought were negatives into positives. One big tent? Positive is one space to climate control, enough space to walk around, and I can swab the deck daily with clorox. Doing a deep dive into IPM has caused me to change a lot of practices, especially with regards to keeping my tent really, really, really clean. Properly disposing of waste and leaves. Timing and methods of growing. I feel fortunate that I'm spinning up my pest knowledge before I get any of the bad ones. Thrips and gnats are largely nuisances.

I've been slowly doing treatments of sort to see what works. BTI doesn't seem to do shit, I literally have a solid layer of mosquito bits and they laugh. Maybe if I soaked them and top watered for a week straight but not impressed. A week or so ago I did a top dress of some neem meal watered in with some spinosad. At that point harvest was at least 2 weeks out so I felt comfortable with a soil drench (even though you could theoretically do that up to harvest, I'd rather be cautious).

Yesterday I picked up some play sand. On my 5g grobucket, I sealed in the soil with 1/2" of sand. Get through that, MFrs. I also plugged all drain holes with some landscape fabric. On the Jrs I have a mound of sand surrounding the fill tube under the cover(which seals that) and put some sand on top of the cover around the stems (seals that). I've refrained from nuking the soil.

I haven't given up on organics yet, still learning, still planning. I think I've come to the conclusion that I hate the Jr covers. On the one hand it's a decent barrier. On the other if you don't maintain your hermetically sealed cover..... I might give it a whirl with a largeish fabric pot, cover crops, etc. Maybe some banker plants. Maybe some lacewings. I've come to the conclusion that using dirt (particularly store bought bagged organics) bugs come with the deal.

My coco 4AM girls are getting close. I had to tie one of them up last night because of bud weight. Good problem :) It's a contrast to the dainty little organic girls. I know they are a different strain so it's not apples-apples ;) I've ceased all organics on them and reverted to h2o2.

I'm itching to drop new seeds. Couple more weeks and I'll feel ok bringing new plants into the tent.
Just a thought. You may have winged root aphids, not fungus gnats. Or both? Root Aphids are way worse and much harder to get rid of. Most the rime Gnats gonin waves if you treat them properlly they will go away pretty easily.
 
Mine has a bunch of duct tape on it as well. It's not the cover material, it's the cover itself and maybe.... the whole SIP concept. The premise is nice, but.... if the thing dries out daily, what's the plus? Supposedly perfectly moist soil? That you must keep covered? Dunno. Yes it's moist for sure, that's a plus and a minus. Bigger minus if it isn't sealed, sealed.

I got play sand. It's fine. Perhaps too fine. That's ok for this run I'm just sealing it off until it's done.
 
Just a thought. You may have winged root aphids, not fungus gnats. Or both? Root Aphids are way worse and much harder to get rid of. Most the rime Gnats gonin waves if you treat them properlly they will go away pretty easily.

I thought perhaps the same, have looked at lots of 'em under a loupe. Haven't found (knock on wood) a single one that looks like an aphid (more like a beetle with wings, wings tucked, wings not extending past body much, etc, etc). They all look very much like little mosquitos or fruit flies.

They do come in waves. I caught them too late. I'm pretty sure they were breeding through the drain holes (which now have a bit of landscape fabric jammed all up in there). If I run another SIP I will definately cover the drain holes with landscape fabric from the inside. I have resisted spraying tops and heavy pesticides. It's way too late in the grow to do anything besides covers and BTI at this point.

I used to use just h202 for cleaning/sanitizing. I have a gutter that collects runoff, used to give it a nice coat of h2o2 after vacuuming it out every day figuring it would help kill any nasties that strayed in there. Never really saw anything. Switched to bleach and I swear 20+ gnats commit suicide in my gutter daily now.

So now... If it touches plants/media, it gets h2o2 -- everything else gets bleach.

If nothing else.... I'm gaining some knowledge in the process. Got another podcast queued up for the drive home today :)
 
Mine has a bunch of duct tape on it as well. It's not the cover material, it's the cover itself and maybe.... the whole SIP concept. The premise is nice, but.... if the thing dries out daily, what's the plus? Supposedly perfectly moist soil? That you must keep covered? Dunno. Yes it's moist for sure, that's a plus and a minus. Bigger minus if it isn't sealed, sealed.

I got play sand. It's fine. Perhaps too fine. That's ok for this run I'm just sealing it off until it's done.

I hear ya, I would be very frustrated if me - and it’s not just the loss of good growth but the time - time is precious.....

I water mine several times daily - one time I noted my girl drooping some, looked in tank, yep empty - they go row very fast and use water like crazy - not sure if you followed Sam’s grow but she was drinking 2.5 gallons a day ...... they have an auto water system if one desires .....

SIP is a proven high yield/quality LOS grow method - you just need some adjustments to get the full potential .....

Issue is cover so let’s work on that and perhaps use a couple stacked and even a piece of heavy trash bag cut and fitted over - go with less top dressing but do a nice top dress at first and again around thirty days and do a Kashi Tea once a week like this suggests http://gro-kashi.com/?page_id=8 - Keep it simple, low stress and with water only soils for sure with a couple top dressing sand few teas they will outgrow almost anything in a SIP ..... Tour second grow will be big improve .....

You need a :pighug:
 
lol, I'm not doubting the method works. Maybe just not my vibe. Dunno yet.

I think it would be nice to just top water, top dress without that *#$*$ cover. And even if 99/100 growers say SIP is better.... I gotsta know for myself. So maybe I'll try a little 7 gallon fabric grow to see, see. Who knows, maybe I suck at watering soil. I'll know eventually. lol.
 
lol, I'm not doubting the method works. Maybe just not my vibe. Dunno yet.

I think it would be nice to just top water, top dress without that *#$*$ cover. And even if 99/100 growers say SIP is better.... I gotsta know for myself. So maybe I'll try a little 7 gallon fabric grow to see, see. Who knows, maybe I suck at watering soil. I'll know eventually. lol.
Next time you have the shower cap off, cover the soil with cardboard or several layers of flat newsprint. Take your time and fit it well over all the exposed soil. Put your shower cap back like normal. If it’s fungus gnats, your problem will disappear soon. Every so often replace paper or cardboard as it degrades. Just put more on top.
hth
cheers
os
 
lol, I'm not doubting the method works. Maybe just not my vibe. Dunno yet.

I think it would be nice to just top water, top dress without that *#$*$ cover. And even if 99/100 growers say SIP is better.... I gotsta know for myself. So maybe I'll try a little 7 gallon fabric grow to see, see. Who knows, maybe I suck at watering soil. I'll know eventually. lol.
Just my take on SIPs from 20+ years of experience. You are getting a bad vibe because of the pests, and I understsnd completely. It would put a sour taste in my mounth too. However, I personallly like the idea of the cap. The functionality of it is good, but the durability isnt at all. If you want to point the finger at a problem, your medium was most likely infested. So the soil itself may have been your issue all along. I am not sure where they came from. But with a cover, they surely shoukdnt multiply like they were for you unless the soil was bad. That being said, Inalso understand you do not like watering daily or more with SIPs. Might be more work, but that tells me the plants are using it up fast and that itself is a good thing. The soil is clearly not saturated if the rez gets low daily. So, I personally like SIPs. Yes there are a few things that need to be better on Earthboxes, cover being #1. But I wouldnt give up on Organics or SIPs. If you have gnats bad now, open air pots are gonna be even worse than covered pots. The cover detours more. Once a plant is infested and roots are damaged, tbey will attack weak plants first. I like @OrganicSinse idea of news paper. You need a barrier if they are getting in and out. I was thinking about the drainholes myself, and a mesh would be wise to add for anyone really. It is the only true open access. I am happy with my POOL NOODLE idea, that protects the stem area. I tape it down and also cover with a layer of plastic. Works great. Think Cloner pucks. I used to grow MDWC back 20 years ago. 5 gal bucket, Lid, airstone, pump and just a POOL NOODLE. Mediunless Deep Water Culture. Never used any net pots ever. Pool noodle expands on the stem. Keeps bugs out. Anyways I know it is disappointing, but clean your space when done and restart with better quality soil. Get rid of your used Coco and throw the plants out when done. Dont take clones of phoros if you grow them til you clean. Break the cycle. It wont matter if you use Coco or soil, they can stick around if you are that infested until you finish your plants. I am really surprised the mosquito dunks and stickies didnt wipe them out 95%. That is why I mentioned Root Aphids. Keep your head up, postive vibes, and you will cone back stronger than ever. Peace, slow
 
I was worried about root aphids myself, since these little buggers are so... resilient. But I haven't seen one. I have my feed tubes covered with.... yellow sticky paper lol. They all die on the sticky paper trying to get into the tube. I sat around watching and killing the odd fliers and watched them fly in and out of the drain hole. So maybe my treatments up top were being negated by unfettered access down low.

Not sure what "better quality soil" means in this context. I'm using a premium water-only soil. It could be the soil. It could be the bag of EWC, or the bag of ancient forest, or the straw, or hell -- even the bagged organic Dr Earth as far as I know. Not really prepared to do it all myself in house quite yet. The only organics in my basement are the organics I brought in. All medium used during this grow will be discarded though. No huge loss there.

I haven't been growing that long, but I've tried a few methods. Coco, rockwool, dwc, rdwc, now organic. I think organic is the future, and it's most certainly the craze right now for home growers. I probably enjoyed RDWC most of the hydro flavors but a chiller is a bridge too far. F that, especially since I run (or want to run) staggered, perpetual, multi-strain autos.

I had the soil covered with straw, then a feeding cycle came around and I put some fresh EWC+Compost so it's kinda naked under the cover right now. So that's probably my bad. I've heard no naked soil long enough you'd think it would stick, but I thought the cover negated some of that. Heck the instructions just say mound the soil up I think.

Last night I did some more thorough scouting. The coco girls are ready finally, reached the few clear, mostly cloudy, couple amber phase. They'll come down this weekend. I was only able to find 3 thrips despite smacking quite a few leaves. Since I am so late in flower, my thrip protocol right now is pretty simple. I semi-gently smack the stems with some pvc, followed up with a bleach mop of the area around it. Anything that falls off is shortly dead. I haven't been seeing many, it pisses off the gnats more than the thrips I think. lol.

My thinking with the cover (not borne of experience of ANY kind, lol)
- It would be easier to monitor soil conditions
- I would be more likely to top water BTI or whatever daily

Anyhow the old saying "Tell a man there is a billion stars in the sky and he'll believe you. Tell a man that bench has wet paint on it and he has to touch it to be sure" applies 100% to me.

What about a coverless SIP. That way you have the option top or bottom. Some of the sip designs I've seen are more like hempy buckets without a fill tube.

I think the panacea would be a huge bed, no-till style with some cannabis, some herbs, maybe some veggies, some banker flowers, etc. But bringing THAT much dirt into my basement into a quasi-permanent configuration freaks me out. I wish we could just plant them outside like tomatoes. Ah well....

Thanks all.
 
Lets legalize Tomatoes already .....

@MMMi ..... Question - Please excuse if wrong - Stoner Memory at work here .....

In your Grow I thought you had both fabric pots and an Earthbox in same tent / area?

If so, is it possible issue started in the fabric pots and spread?
 
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