Having Plant Problems, Please Help.

[jewelspirit]

see if you can take a picture of the bugs for us. ask lots of questions, maybe we can help.

thank you I will try to get back over there and do that soon. Edited January 17, 2015 by jewelspirit

[suneday11]

Neem soil drench is probably the way to go. Dr. Bronners peppermint castile soap might also work.

[Wild Bill]

okay, BUT, if it IS root aphids, and we're like 4 weeks and 6 weeks into the flowering cycle, on two different plants, what do we do about it?

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/kill-root-aphids-43712.html

[trichcycler]

killing those little guys will also kill the other little guys, the beneficial ones, at a critical time in your flowering stage. Nutrient uptake will be affected at the time they are heavily feeding. I'd spray the soil top with a light oil/soap, leave a couple potato wedges on top of the soil, water less. identify the bugs coming to feed on the potato and change it out.  A few more week and your plant will be finished with luck.   Nuke the soil, punish the block in the cold winter outdoors when done!  b'tard bugs! 

[Norby]

I've got a friend in Ann Arbor, a grower, who told me you could use lucid as a root drench for root aphids. I just wanted a second opinion.

Use botanigard.  It is a natural fungus that kills fungus gnats, root aphids, and other soft bodied insects and the fungus stays around and reproduces off of killing the bugs.  Since it's in the soil naturally I dont THINK there is any time you can't use it.  I only used it for fungus gnats but have been told it worked better on root aphids than other products a person used to get rid of root aphids.  I used it for fungus gnats and I saw one yesterday for the first time in a week after 3 weekly applications. the third was a couple days ago so under 3 weeks, gone.

[Norby]

Neem soil drench is probably the way to go. Dr. Bronners peppermint castile soap might also work.

I wouldn't use neem in a soil drench(in flower and prob not at all) unless absolutely necessary.  It's an oil and will stay in there for a while.  I'm not sure if it causes problems just against it here.  I did it once for fungus gnats and it didn't work and I don't remember if it was off flavors or what made me note to not do that ever again.

[Norby]

Check Ph.

  If the bugs "spring" or jump when blown on they are springtails, quite common and non harmful. 

 

If you are using tap water from a city, the magnesium levels can change seasonally or year to year.  It looks like the prob I had with either potassium or magnesium deficiency which could be from lockout or change in the water if you don't use RO.  I didn't change anything either and yields weren't affected much they just looked crappy.  Also plants use a LOT of potassium when the air is very dry so it could be change of season and the dryness is making them not have enough potassium.  That may have been my problem as I didn't up potassium in winter.  Also some plants are magnesium whores.  I've noticed 2 strains I ran would get mg def while all the others were fine.  I'm no pro though. 

[pic book]

are the sample pics showing leaves from only the lower half of the plants?  i'll bet none are from the top?

Edited January 18, 2015 by pic book

[Norby]

You're thinking Magnesium because they are moving it to the top?  Whereas Calcium would be new growth(tops)?

Edited January 18, 2015 by Norby

[t-pain]

because if it were old leaves, they can show any number of problems and not affect the new growth.

 

i mean, the lockout may have occurred and fixed itself. which is what one of my plants did. it locked out for 2 weeks and then started growing normally. calmag (epsom salts) may have helped i cant rememebr now.

 

we need pictures of the whole plant to see whats going on.

Edited January 18, 2015 by t-pain

[medmanmike]

Azamax if you want to blast em hard. You could also make your own mix. Household products often do wonders in the garden. Cinnamon, garlic, hotsauce, and peroxide are a few.

I know that top dressing with cinnamon has helped others deal with gnats, but not sure if cinnamon alone is good for aphids.

Second the Azamax. Had a severe scale infestation and this worked.

 

PS. Even though Axamax is approved for use right up to harvest, I would suggest washing yours buds immediately after harvesting to make sure it gets washed off. http://www.420magazine.com/forums/journals-progress/183995-doc-bud-high-brix-q-pictures-26.html Entry #385

[trichcycler]

good advice to wash your buds after using chems if you can. (?)

 

could you provide the "Azamax....approved right up too harvest" of medical cannabis documentation?

 

unless of course you're being facetious ?

 

in seriousness water curing is real. Soaking buds in water, to remove chlorophyll , incidental foreign substances, will ultimately concentrate active ingredients and change taste. I would never do this to make crappy buds better, or for any other reason.

[medmanmike]

good advice to wash your buds after using chems if you can. (?)

 

could you provide the "Azamax....approved right up too harvest" of medical cannabis documentation?

 

unless of course you're being facetious ?

 

in seriousness water curing is real. Soaking buds in water, to remove chlorophyll , incidental foreign substances, will ultimately concentrate active ingredients and change taste. I would never do this to make crappy buds better, or for any other reason.

gm, not being facetious, just stating what the package says: "100% Vegetable Based. Can be applied the Day of Harvest." Now, one might question actually doing this the 'day of harvest' - I never would, but Azamax is OMRI listed for "Organic Production".

 

Did you check out the link I sent? Are YOU being facetious when you say you would never "Soak(ing) buds in water..." For "any reason"?

 

So, you smoke all the crap you spray on or feed your ladies?

[trichcycler]

"all the crap"?  not sure what substances you speak of?  I don't use sprays generally in my garden, except that which comes from my drinking water safe hose, connected to the spring located inside the grow room. I do spray this water on my vegging plants occasionally, as they get mud or debris splashed some times. If I foliar feed with tea I'll spray then down the next day. none of those leaves are present in my buds though, so no worries. I never spray in flower, never. If I saw mites on a plant I would bag it and burn the whole thing.

 

I'm not picking on Azamax at all, only that you state it was "safe till the day of harvest". This is not applied to marijuana, until of course it is by the EPA. All of these insecticides prescribe the thorough washing of vegetables before eating.  There is NO insecticide approved in MI for use on cannabis intended for human consumption for thought.

 

I did once help a friend dip a bunch of his indoor flowering plants upside down into an ice water filled garbage can to kill mites. worked fine. I just wouldn't wash or soak my products is all. to each his own.

 

I am serious when I say I would never soak buds in water, unless I was making bubble hash, and that's an agitation, not a soak, which is best avoided for the higher quality hash win.

[medmanmike]

"all the crap"?  not sure what substances you speak of?  I don't use sprays generally in my garden, except that which comes from my drinking water safe hose, connected to the spring located inside the grow room. I do spray this water on my vegging plants occasionally, as they get mud or debris splashed some times. If I foliar feed with tea I'll spray then down the next day. none of those leaves are present in my buds though, so no worries. I never spray in flower, never. If I saw mites on a plant I would bag it and burn the whole thing.

 

I'm not picking on Azamax at all, only that you state it was "safe till the day of harvest". This is not applied to marijuana, until of course it is by the EPA. All of these insecticides prescribe the thorough washing of vegetables before eating.  There is NO insecticide approved in MI for use on cannabis intended for human consumption for thought.

 

I did once help a friend dip a bunch of his indoor flowering plants upside down into an ice water filled garbage can to kill mites. worked fine. I just wouldn't wash or soak my products is all. to each his own.

 

I am serious when I say I would never soak buds in water, unless I was making bubble hash, and that's an agitation, not a soak, which is best avoided for the higher quality hash win.

Crap? Ok, nutes, foliar sprays, an occasional bug spray or bloom enhancer, or?? You obviously believe a water spray will remove stuff from the leaves and buds. Even deep down in the bud? Does a flush completely remove all traces of nutes, etc.?

 

We all want the cleanest product we can get. You are a lot more experienced than I am, so maybe I'm blowing smoke.

 

To be clear, I didn't say "soak the buds", you did. I said "wash" and meant fully submerging the bud/stem into a bucket of water, swishing the bud around or dunking it gently for about 30 sec.

 

If you're not familiar with Doc Bud's method I refer you back to the link in a previous post. Here is the condensed version.

 

Bud Washing!

 

Washing your produce is about the smartest thing you can do. I've only recently "discovered" it....I always wash garden produce.....gee, why not wash my favorite herb too?

 

This process will yield the following benefits:

 

1.)more even dry, much better cure

2.)pristine, washed trim.

3.)easier harvesting...15% easier IMO.

4.)MUCH BETTER FLAVOR I can't stress this enough. It tastes incredible if you wash all the crap off.

 

Recipe:

 

Three 5 gallon buckets. I like the first bucket to be white....but it's not necessary. I just like to see how dirty the water is getting.

 

Fill all three buckets with RO....a couple inches from the top.

To the first bucket, add 1/2 cup baking soda and just over 1/4 cup lemon juice.

 

Stir vigorously.

 

After harvesting the plant, take off fan leaves, dead leaves, wimply buds and leaves that look like they might rot. (shouldn't have any of these) Leave everything else on.

 

Dip into the first bucket, with the lemon juice and soda. Agitate the buds up and down, try to spin them....make sure they get good and saturated for at least 30-45 seconds.

 

Gently pick them up, let them drip and drain and put them in the second bucket for 30 seconds, drip/drain and then into the third bucket for 30 seconds. They are fine to hang at this point. Feel free to shake off excess water.

 

Dry as usual. Thank me publicly here after you try the first harvest. (optional step)

[trichcycler]

no worries man, its all good. I've sampled the water cure. I wouldn't ever sample it again.

I don't use "nutes",  or bud enhancers, bug sprays, and only have used water in veg on plants.

I don't  "flush" in the garden. I add no fertilizers in the last 30 days of flower, only fresh spring water.

I have used neem/soap on the soil surface, the other day when I saw two gnats on one plant.

 

I use spring water and know that the plants feed on that foliar water spray. No judgment here, just a personal choice.

I've seen all kinds of garden habits in my time, some are cute, some strange, some seem efficient. In Africa water curing

is common, as is burying fresh harvests while propagating a certain mold spore. If these or any other "tricks" were good

they wouldn't be tricks, but instead, just the way we do it.   I wont tell you not to do it, because it seems harmless to me.

I only squirm at the added water at dry time, and the washing away of water soluble flavonoids, anthocyanin's, hydrosols, which may be

medicinal components.

 

If I used enhancers and bug sprays I'd have no patients until they were replaced by patients who wouldn't care if I did. 

 

peace.

[Willy]

good advice to wash your buds after using chems if you can. (?)

 

could you provide the "Azamax....approved right up too harvest" of medical cannabis documentation?

 

unless of course you're being facetious ?

 

in seriousness water curing is real. Soaking buds in water, to remove chlorophyll , incidental foreign substances, will ultimately concentrate active ingredients and change taste. I would never do this to make crappy buds better, or for any other reason.

I have sampled water cured,, one word,, yuk!!  i'll add a wash off isn't so bad... but you better have a good air mover to dry them out... And Azamax is just condensed neem oil from the neem bean, thats why its an organic insect treatment.. I swear by it also, but  not for roots.. think i said it once.. in soil maybe ok, in hydro will kill or seriously upset your gals..My latest choice is organic as well, Montery Garden spray.. and it works great..

bio-virus to the borg...

Edited January 21, 2015 by Willy

[Willy]

Read up on this stuff, I swear it works great on almost every bug out there... use a couple times you'll never go back..   http://www.ghorganics.com/MontereyGardenSpraySpinosad.html

[Indigro]

I wouldn't use neem in a soil drench(in flower and prob not at all) unless absolutely necessary. It's an oil and will stay in there for a while. I'm not sure if it causes problems just against it here. I did it once for fungus gnats and it didn't work and I don't remember if it was off flavors or what made me note to not do that ever again.

Dead nut on nordy. Iv used neem for drenches on soil mites & fungus gnats (which didnt work in the end, for the mites at least). But it will oil burn the roots & cause what appeared to be ph shift. Either one, or both, the plants suffered. You havr to go full mix to try to suffocate the bugs, but that rate also does the same to the roots. It just doesn't work, and causes other problems to boot.

 

Been around root aphid rooms before... only drench that has a chance is imid... and that too is treatment that has consequence to soil chemistry/ph. It will kill the aphids, but the run will never be right.

 

 

To the op... a full plant pic or two will help everyone diagnose the condition. And if you can manage a zoom pic of the larger bugs, that will help a lot. The adult root aphids are easy to identify. Just to help us help u.