The Spray "Room"

[dank.frank]

Over time, I have learned the one step that NO ONE follows when trying to get rid of various garden pests or mildew spores:

COVER YOUR MEDIUM

You don't want the liquids running down into your root zone as some of them kill roots or the microbial life in the substrate. You also don't want eggs or bugs themselves washing off into the medium and beginning their life cycle all over again and finding yourself in a state of perpetual war...

With that in mind, I like to "treat" every plant before it goes into flower to make sure I'm not carrying anything from one stage of growth to the next...

I used to use appropriately sized pieces of plastic film to cover the base of the plant but that was only some what effective; now, I use this - AND I LOVE IT.

Spray away!!!


dank.Frank

 

[TripleDraw27]

omg man, i love this. what a cool idea

 

[Space Ghost]

Brilliant!

 

[bench warmer]

Frank & the Mother Of Invention hard at work.

 

[dank.frank]

Now - a better question - what do I spray all over these plants - ????

All kinds of stuff!!

But it goes something like this: (I've only added to a known recipe, fwiw) -

The original recipe says to use a 2lt ratio - I use 1 gallon because it will burn

1/4c baking soda
1/2c apple cider vinegar
1tbps lemon juice
1/4tbsp Epsom salt - (dissolved fully in warm water before added) ; I use a lavender infused version
2 drops of dish soap ; I use Mrs. Meyers Clean Day - Lavender scent

^^^ that is the original recipe - the lavender specialties are my take ^^^

Add to this 5 drops of each of these essential oils:

lavender
clove
peppermint
thyme
rosemary

and

2tbsp ISO
2tbsp Hydrogen Peroxide
2tbsp sesame seed oil

NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT

Spray in a low light area. It will make things very sensitive. (puddling in areas of new growth will always cause severe burn - in part why I hang upside down now)

Spray - let sit for 15 minutes - MAX - rinse with clean, pure water - let dry. Do at the very beginning off lights of so they have all "night" in the dark to relax first.

However, this kills all bugs - good and bad - keep it out of your medium - and it should also eradicate PM spores...

The "original recipe" in a two liter ratio as per the same instructions DOES WORK AND WILL KILL BUGS....but it burns.

I am messing with it to stop the burn - kill all bugs - and eliminate PM. Kind of a kill all - and hopefully not the plant...hehehe.

Use at your own risk for now - I'll be reporting back. I think I may want cinnamon essential as well in the mix - but I'm not sure if it is even necessary at this point...hahaha!


dank.Frank

 

[krunchbubble]

Now - a better question - what do I spray all over these plants - ????

All kinds of stuff!!

But it goes something like this: (I've only added to a known recipe, fwiw) -

The original recipe says to use a 2lt ratio - I use 1 gallon because it will burn

1/4c baking soda
1/2c apple cider vinegar
1tbps lemon juice
1/4tbsp Epsom salt - (dissolved fully in warm water before added)

^^^ that is the original recipe ^^^

Add to this 5 drops of each of these essential oils:

lavender
clove
peppermint
thyme
rosemary

and

2tbsp ISO
2tbsp Hydrogen Peroxide
2tbsp sesame seed oil

NOW THIS IS IMPORTANT

sounds like a fucking salad dressing.....

No offence, im drunk as fuck...

 

[dank.frank]

And thanks for the kind words folks - I must say I REALLY like using this...makes it a breeze. Combine it with a 2 gallon pump sprayer and it's go time....


dank.Frank

 

[krunchbubble]

I do have to say, that is probably THE MOST effective way to spray plants and wish i had something like this...

Grab one of these and, spraying wont be such a chore, http://www.amazon.com/Hudson-13854-NeverPump-Bak-Pak-Operated/dp/B000NOT7RA

 

[dank.frank]

hahahaha....Krunch - nature is the best enemy of my enemies...

This stuff will kill pretty much ANYTHING - including your plant if not used properly.

I have something similar to this:

http://www.amazon.com/Chapin-26021-...890&sr=1-1&keywords=2+gallon+pressure+sprayer

It gets the job done for sure.

PoopyTeaBags says - cool - now how about something for 5 ft'ers [real plants] -made me chuckle

This works great for the smaller growers I suppose and plants on their way into flower - I'm not sure what we'd do to get a much larger plant upside down in a way that was effective in regards to getting to the center of the plant and not dumping the medium out everywhere....

I'd like to take this to a more "molded" plastic type so it is cleaner / will last longer - as obviously, get this design wet enough...



dank.Frank

 

[dank.frank]

I want to give some observation - mites hate it. (this is what I'm currently killing)

I saw some that were fully dead, frozen in time...and the others were dragging their eggs over the edge of the leaf...lol...Kinda crazy to watch...but that means they'll end up in the medium eventually anyway at those ratios...

But they are NOT going to stay on your plant.

Going to kick it up a bit and see if we can't kill more of them dead in their tracks.

Little bastards have NO CLUE who they are messing with. I'll get medieval on them...and their little offspring too!



dank.Frank

 

[dank.frank]

Should also note that it seems to completely wash away any PM. Will be keeping a close eye on things to see how well it works long term...


dank.Frank

 

[dank.frank]

And more feedback:

It works JUST FINE. I don't care where they ran too - I can see their dried carcasses on the leaves now and I can also tell the eggs are now oddly shaped and/or concave/flat. I think the stuff did the trick! And this was at the FIRST strength, fwiw.

I don't think I'm going to change a thing, other than maybe up the ratios of things a bit more. I'll post and update recipe when I get it all set in how I like it...

I am truly impressed with how well this "formula" worked - ALL problems seem gone in 24 hours. NO stunt and only a bit of burning where the solution sat on the ends of leaf tips.

This will become a part of my regular regime as from the best of what I understand, pests do NOT build a resistance to the treatment of essential oils. I hope to see a pest free / mildew free garden for many ages to come!!

I HAVE NOT SPRAYED THIS ON FLOWERING PLANTS - ANY ISSUES ARE GONE BEFORE FLOWER. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THIS DOES TO RESIN GLANDS - it very well could destroy them - so, again, use as outlined.



dank.Frank

 

[Crusader Rabbit]

Great idea! My veg room is too cramped to install a hanging rack like this though. Maybe I can make one that folds up against the wall when not in use. Somebody on this site described using a sling to hang their plants upside down for spraying.

You could cut a slit and hole, like in a neoprene aero-cloner disk, in a styrofoam picnic plate. Slip it around the stem to cover the growing medium, then turn your plant upside down.

A person could cut a slot in the end of a large rectangular box to create a hanging/spraying chamber. The box needs to be open on one side and longer than your plant is tall.

 

[dank.frank]

This is actually set up like a table or sorts and I place it inside a kiddie pool to collect all the dripping and run off....I'd never have room to do this inside the growing area either...

I DO like the idea of a old school fold down iron board type set up, but I'm not too handy...


dank.Frank

 

[dank.frank]

Still watching - still observing - even at higher strengths there are still a few scattered active mites on the plants. You can tell the are seriously unhappy / sluggish but they must be the fittest of their horde...can't seem to find an egg in sight though. A huge +++ if I can curb that part of their cycle alone.

So, I did place one plant back under 1k lighting after being sprayed/rinsed/air dried - and IT DID get some spot that are now crispy and looking under a scope tells me there is some pretty heavy cell damage. THIS IS NOT the case on plants kept in dim lighting after being sprayed. So that is important - give them 12 hours of dim or no lighting after spraying.

I am going to apply Azamax this evening to really put the hurt on them...

The key, in my opinion, is to use a variety of approaches so they really don't have a chance to gain foothold again or get their bearings...

The key ingredient in Azamax is a refined extract sourced from neem - azadirachtin. It is all natural and effective as well. But I like to kind of weaken them with something completely different before giving them the final death blow...

With this process, I wipe out any mites and PM in for certain 24 hours - with minimal to NO damage to the plants themselves - just before plants ever enter the sacred inner sanctum ie the flowering room.

HOPEFULLY - me going over this little process, will help people manage their own gardens better. Routine maintenance is key. This simple, easy to source and make on your own, spray will bring you into an era of pest / mildew free gardening if your mothers are sprayed just once a month...

Again, a quick thanks for the kind words - makes me smile to have a bit of my stoner ingenuity called "brilliant" - as in my mind, I heard the guy from the Guinness commercials - hehehehe!!!


Enjoy - and regardless what you spray - make yourself a quick little spray table so you can flip 'em upside down and REALLY get the undersides of the leaves and let it all run off and away from your precious ladies substrate. It is one of the most USEFUL things I have put together from scrap stuff just laying around - I really do LOVE this little table - thus why I decided to come and share.

Keep 'em green and pest free!!!


dank.Frank

 

[Black Plum]

that is a wicked idea! getting to the undersides of leaves is always difficult, but like that it would be a breeze. love it!

 

[vonforne]

Thanks for this Frank. I am fighting mites now also. I used Captian Jacks Dead Bug (spinosad) and neem. I currently have them in the flower room on the G13s. Nothing I can do there.

But great idea with the table. I use these round pieces of plywood fitted over the top of the container but the hanging idea is great!

Need to go shopping tomorrow and get your ingredients and mix up a batch of that.

V

 

[MileHighGuy]

Damn son, I though I attacked my shit hardcore, you're outta control.... it's like bringing a tank to a knife fight.

I also use azamax last.... I also had to go with some Mosquito dunks on the soil for the fungas gnats... changing seasons in an indoor grow can be a pain in the ass.

I was considering using a low dose of Dr. Bronners Peppermint hemp castille soap in my solution... have you ever tried? or.... has anyone?

Anyhow, keep up the good work!

Peace

 

[dank.frank]

I haven't tried that soap - but have seen it. Essentially, NATURAL soaps have fatty acids that kill insects...more or less - NOT DETERGENTS.

There is a difference.

But any additional things added to the soap, such as lavender or peppermint, etc, are only going to assist in the same manner as adding these things in via essential oils. That being said, there is no reason NOT to use the soap that has the most beneficial things in it to serve our purpose.

It's more like letting the things would help in nature help in a controlled environment. OUTDOORS, if given the freedom, I'd just plant rosemary and marigolds and lavender and other such companion plants all around my plot and I know pest wouldn't even bother to come near it...

So I TRY to bring those benefits indoors the best I can - in my opinion, this tank is still much more considerate than the nuclear holocaust to soil biodiversity caused by many of todays petrol based solutions...


dank.Frank

 

[gurnt]

dank.frank thank you