Way too many contradictions in this hobby.

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PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

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DeadHeadX said:
Cooking the soil seems extreme. I’ve heard about it and just did some reading. Seems a pretty rare approach, and one likely to kill much of the good stuff that you want on there. I’d say chances are high that the bugs came in another way other than the bagged soil. That’s where I’d start trying to solve the problem. Is your cupboard exposed to the outside in any way? Also read that heating soil with perlite can release harmful chemicals. Some ff does add perlite. No idea if this is true or not. Found it on the internet…

I just used a bag of ff that had a small hole in the bag. Noticed when I got home. This worried me, so I took a couple scoops and put it in a sealed jar with some water and waited 24 hours. No bugs. I read somewhere that this is also an effective way to test for unwanted critters in store bought soil. Either way, as I’m sure you know, the soil is spent and needs additional amendments or nutes eventually, perhaps even faster if you’ve over cooked your soil. Curious how many people engage in this practice. I did have to shut down an attempt at growing about a decade ago. The clones arrived already infested, and the young plants just couldn’t take the gnats and I couldn’t get rid of them.Gave up for a decade or so. Laws have changed and my kids are older now, so I feel better about growing anyway.

But if you have ants, they’re coming in from somewhere. I’d look into the hygiene of the growing space and surrounding areas. I know people who change clothes entirely before entering their grow spaces to make sure they don’t bring along unwanted visitors. Less of a problem rn in the NE, where I grow. My outdoor grow had multiple bug issues last summer.

Knocking on wood on this, cause my first indoor grow did not have this problem (ff soil straight from the bag).
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Cooking soil is crazy. I told him the same thing about the ants. And fungus gnats aren't that bad at all. But this is starting to seem hopeless. :lol:
 
FirstCavApache64

FirstCavApache64

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xtsho said:
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That guy was on our local radio station on the Howard Stern show way back in the 80's or 90's. Farts to music was funny when I was 16 but now, not so much. Same with Howard Stern for that matter. I evolved a more George Carlin sense of humor as I got older. Him and Steven Wright still kill me. RIP George, you were a funny bastard.
 
Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

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But there are times that buds will still throw some pistil growth at end stages also. I judge them on overall look and recede. If remaining new pistil growth is irregular or sparse and main flower is fully receded or mature - i pull it. Some apex tops will have pistil growth but it is in the area of best light.

One can always partial harvest the most ready flowers and let mid / lowers finish off too.

No set way - just knowing when the flower is at peak.
It is far too easy to pull early. Than to “ pull too late “.

Looking for particular “ amber to cloudy “ ratio is a moot point. As plant dies and during dry , some triches will continue to decay anyways.
 
Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

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You have to remember that plant is still thriving at “ end “ - it doesn’t magically stop growing.

Many growers do and should leave some green matter / lower Bud development on harvested plant.
You can reveg the bastard again if you leave some viable growth. It will take some time but you can restart it again.

Instead of blindly killing it completely.
 
PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

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MannyPacs said:
If 5/100 take their plants "too long", 90/100 don't go long enough. But as long as the person is happy it doesn't affect me lol
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So, only 5% of growers harvest in the correct window? Wow, that's some brutal cynicism right there.
PopAndSonGrows said:
It's as fake as a play. Or a concert.

They're entertainers. And damn good ones, if you appreciate the work that goes into it
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xtsho said:
What's fake about a live concert?
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I couple of decades ago, I worked a show with The Crystal Method, and mid-show they knocked over their entire DJ rig, but somehow the music never skipped a beat.
 
Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

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Reamend base medium to “ recharge “ it.
Shove it under 24/0 , 20/4 or 18/6 and let it grow out.

Sure it will be an ugly bitch for weeks but you can still prune it / train it. Think of an “ end of line “ clone.

That’s what i did at end of some solo cup comps.
Harvested the mains - left the lowest shit and transplanted solo into new pot.

DONE.
 
Hollatchaboy

Hollatchaboy

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PadawanWarrior said:
Some plants are know to foxtail though. I go by pistils receded and swollen calyxes.
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Sorry, under normal conditions. Foxtailing does bring on complications of its own, but even then, the buds take on a "finished" appearance. I don't even look at trichs until buds get that dark, finished look. Even then I don't look at the trichs. My scope only gets used to detect detrimental insects anymore. Lol
 
Tangerine_

Tangerine_

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singlecoiled said:
Well, if you've ever tried to tell the difference between a Fungus Gnat (relatively harmless) and a Root Aphid Flyer (a nightmare) you'll find out its very hard to tell the difference ! Especially when they get stuck on yellow sticky paper, its really hard to tell them apart.

I had ants around my pot one grow and flies that were very hard to catch (Fungus Gnats are stupid and you can catch them) these flies were a bit smarter. So, with the ants, that lead me to believe they were farming honey dew off my aphids. Anyway, I'm super paranoid now and I stretilize my soil to get a clean slate minus bugs. I dont know if aphids can come in soil, but I'm not gambling.
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Treating your substrate with Botanigard (Beauveria bassiana) would be far more practical than putting it in the oven.

Should be standard practice as part of any good IPM along with Bti and todes.

And there's a difference between 'leaf' aphids and rice root aphids.

RAs are one of the easiest pests to identify but a nightmare to eradicate from a grow space. For identification, all thats needed is a cheap pocket scope. RAs are round and flat like a beetle with the tell-tale "tail pipes". FGs have a longer body like a mosquito.

Either way, if a growroom gets to the point where there are RA flyers, its completely infested, and the plants are toast. RAs only sprout wings when the populations are very high.
 
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PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

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Hollatchaboy said:
Sorry, under normal conditions. Foxtailing does bring on complications of its own, but even then, the buds take on a "finished" appearance. I don't even look at trichs until buds get that dark, finished look. Even then I don't look at the trichs. My scope only gets used to detect detrimental insects anymore. Lol
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Some will foxtail even under normal conditions. I haven't used my scope to look at trichs in years. You can tell just by looking at the buds.
 
Budzbuddha

Budzbuddha

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You can also take any bagged medium RTU ( ready to use ) - add a few cups of neem meal to deal with any fungus gnats that have entered mix during transport / storage . Not only that it can condition the soil.

You can add nematodes to a bag too .
NemAttack . Done.

I add neem meal to every bag i buy.
Most bags are palletized / weep holes in bag.
Shit hitchhikes within. I dump bags into tote - add perlite or pumice / add neem / ewc / myco and store.
Till it slightly.
 
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