Grow Pests and Preventative Measures

[the gnome]

although I'm new to the indoor grow scene I'm not.
I was actively into mycology and many of the pests that are the bane of the indoor pot grower are the same and go hand in hand with the mushroom cultivator.

the majority of the threads I read here of a more reactive nature instead of a proactive one. and I got to thinking of the similarities
of both growing fields as I reopened a bag of FF ocean forrest soil I opened up last week and as I poured out the soil for a fresh batch I saw little gnats and some little creepy crawlies coming out of the soil.

in mushroom cultivation when were starting the process of actually fruiting we have to case the mycellium with soil or other comaprative substrates but its usually peat based most of the time because of easily availability and cost.

now before I add my casing soil to the spwan I pasturize the soil.
put it in the oven and let it cook @ 140-160 degrees untill the center of the pile has reached and maintained that temp for a few hours
this any kills and bugs, nematodes, eggs or larvae that might be in my casing soil.
looking at the little critters coming out of the FF OF soil it got me to thinking this stuff *Has to be pasturized*
OF is a very rich substrate with everything bugs love, such as fish and shrimp meal/compost, ewc, manure etc etc
I haven't seen anything on the forums yet about pasturizing in any of the soil grows.

pasturizing won't prevent your indoor bug probs 100% but at least you'll know your soil is 100% bug free going into the grow room and your already ahead of any bug probs from the get go and its really easy to do.
of course the larger the grow the more soil that needs to be treated but for the small to mid sized grows its definitely a feasable thing to do that a grower can do that has a definite impact on the bug problem so many growers seem to face.

 

[billboOG]

Hemp diseases and pest, management and biological control by J.M. Mc partland, University of Vermont USA .. R. C. Clarke, International Hemp Asssociation, The Netherlands and D.P. HOrtaPharm B, The Netherlands

Hemp is enjoyoying a worldwide resgence. The book covers all known pest in the last fifty years.....and advocates in some cases patuizetion, most are covered with bios a few with chems, still there is alot of knowledge and exepereince here. Thanks for the heads up

billbo

 

[Skunklover]

I have tried this in the past, but even for a medium sized grow it is a major pain in the ass to cook your soil, and for some with even a small grow it is just not feasible for different reasons. My latest grow I mixed Diatomacious Earth in with the soil and so far no bugs, and I use FFOF. Just not sure if this will last the entire cycle. I'll start a thread and ask what results others have seen from this as well. Either way, great info for some there Gnome. Thank you.

 

[the gnome]

yup Skunklover, diotomacious earth is good for bug control.
you can also steam your soil if you have the ability.
I use to pasturize straw in a metal trash can with water.

it is quite a process but some can benefit from it or its an option
if you have some particularly buggy soil to contend with.

btw
the bag of FFOF was left open for about a week, I live in the deep south and its just plain buggy down here anyways.
I just started using FFOF and have gone through 2-3 bags and never seen any creepy crawlies in a fresh bag

 

[microbox]

A hepa filter on the intake of your grow room is another good way to prevent bugs.

 

[the gnome]

A hepa filter on the intake of your grow room is another good way to prevent bugs.

I used several in my mushroom grows,
I ran one conituously to keep airborne pathogens down.