Green Cleaner: How to make your own?

who dat is · Nov 16, 2016

Directly from their website - http://www.centralcoastgarden.com/products/green-cleaner/

Green Cleaner kills spider mites and their eggs, predatory mites, aphids, white flies, broad mites and russet mites on contact. This safe & all-natural, 100 percent concentrate product can be used as a solution to dip tender new cuttings in, to prevent garden contamination when outsourcing plant starts, and can be used from start through harvest as a treatment. We start with soybean oil and sodium lauryl sulfate. The soybean oil acts to quickly suffocate pests, such as spider mites, broad mites, and russet mites, while the sodium lauryl sulfate coats bugs in slimy goodness to immobilize them.

I had Hemp Russet Mites hitchhike in on some cuttings from my greenhouse this year. I got rid of them for a time using two or three applications of this product followed up with an application of several different types of predator mites that picked off any remaining survivors. They have showed up again and an application of a foliar spray with the Essential oil blend from Build A Soil didn't prove effective in putting a dent in them. I would also like to note that with any foliar spray application I also add Dr. Bronners soap, yucca extract, aloe extract, coconut water extract, and Pro Tekt silica.

I want to use Green Cleaner more in rotation but don't want to pay the high dollar sticker price of $35 for the 4 oz bottle I have sitting right here. Especially for a product that I feel could be replicated or even made better by myself for a fraction of the cost.

The ingredients listed on the bottle are as follows - verbatim from the bottle.

Active Ingredients
Soybean oil - 39%
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - 19%
Inert Ingredients - 42%
Water, Isopropyl Alcohol, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid

The biggest question mark on making it would be the amounts of the Inert Ingredients listed.

I know that by using this product in the past it seems like it can, and will, burn the shit out of your plants. The biggest factor with that seems to be if you let your plants dry out too much. I also backed off from their recommended application rates from their initial application rate to maybe only apply their secondary application rate of 1 oz/gallon.

What are your thoughts on replicating this formula? What amounts should I start playing with? Where can I affordably source the materials listed and in small enough amounts for this project?

If it makes sense I could even add in the previous stuff I mentioned that I already add to foliars into this mix so I can avoid having to do it in the future.

Any and all info, opinions, experience would be appreciated.

:thank you:

Seaf0ur · Nov 16, 2016

Sodium Citrate and Citric Acid are preservatives, SLS is a emulsifying/wetting agent made from a crystal like salt derived from sulfated lauryl alcohol which can dehydrate and kill insects.

Russets/Broads can enter diapause if they sense unfavorable conditions and they can hide inside calyxes so removing them mid-flower is quite difficult.

Dapause gets most growers... just when you think youre clean, they pop up 3 months later like they never left.

Best, most effective method I've seen is bedbug treatment... tent the area and apply heat until 140+ is achieved for 25+ minutes solid... that gets all cracks and crevices...

Avinash.miles · Nov 16, 2016

citric at 0.5% or less
i've been experimenting using citric in powdered form, can get a dr bronners soap that contains SLS and it seemed to work well as emulsifier/surfactant with added benefit of SLS
you already know i use ISO 99% or 91% at about 1 oz per gallon, sometime more

never mixed them all up and tried to replicate green cleaner, but i certainly wouldn't pay what they want for that stuff in the stores, can get a bottle of the dr bronners w SLS for 10$, nearly a gallon of 99% iso (great for cleaning pipes) for 20$, citric powder is pretty cheap.....

who dat is · Nov 16, 2016

There are a bunch of ways to skin a cat. For now I want to try this Green Cleaner route. Would you happen to be familiar with the best spot to source these materials and their potential costs? Any thoughts on ratios for things?

MrBungle · Nov 16, 2016

From what I read sodium lauryl sulfate is pretty narsty stuffs.. found in a lot of common household products

Avinash.miles · Nov 17, 2016

i used the bronners sls stuff at about 1 oz per gallon

who dat is · Nov 17, 2016

Avinash.miles said:
i used the bronners sls stuff at about 1 oz per gallon

This stuff?

https://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/SALSUDSCLEANER/SSLI16.html

Did you use it alone or add it to stuff? I've never heard of it...

Avinash.miles · Nov 17, 2016

yes, WDI, that stuff

i used it along with essential oils and along with iso 99%

i hadn't heard of it either, but saw it on a shelf and decided to give it a try, bronners has never disappointed me...

who dat is · Nov 17, 2016

Avinash.miles said:
yes, WDI, that stuff

i used it along with essential oils and along with iso 99%

i hadn't heard of it either, but saw it on a shelf and decided to give it a try, bronners has never disappointed me...

When you are incorporating iso into your sprays (I have the 91%) what ratios are you adding it at? Specifically ratios for foliar spray applications and not cleaning/disinfecting spray rates of course.

Thanks again for sticking in here :good:

Mikell · Nov 17, 2016

Oz/gallon I believe he mentioned above for iso.

Bronner's is also my go-to, especially at half the price of agricultural use insecticidal soaps.

Plus, all that sweet Jesus information. The company is also pro cannabis, I believe originating with the good doctor as a result of his religious bent re: if He made it, it is good, or something along those lines.

I say give it a go but with a few caveats.

Experimenting takes money and time. Each solution will need clean plants, any that pass a basic phytotoxicity test will need clean (untreated) plants infested with the target pest.

Right off the bat, soybean oil is graded from raw unrefined up to pharmaceutical, compounding the number of tests by each grade.

Glow is the person you're looking for. He has experience deconstructing unknown recipes and should be able to point you in a better direction.

Given you already have a list and just need type/proportions, paying for analysis may be the simplest route and save much time, which I frequently find eclipses money in value.

who dat is · Nov 17, 2016

Mikell said:
Oz/gallon I believe he mentioned above for iso. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think he was only mentioning the Dr. Bronners product and not Iso specifically.

Bronner's is also my go-to, especially at half the price of agricultural use insecticidal soaps.

Plus, all that sweet Jesus information. The company is also pro cannabis, I believe originating with the good doctor as a result of his religious bent re: if He made it, it is good, or something along those lines.

I say give it a go but with a few caveats.

Experimenting takes money and time. Each solution will need clean plants, any that pass a basic phytotoxicity test will need clean (untreated) plants infested with the target pest.

Right off the bat, soybean oil is graded from raw unrefined up to pharmaceutical, compounding the number of tests by each grade.
I guess I could start with a middle of the road one then? I can't imagine I would need pharma grade soybean oil for this application?

Glow is the person you're looking for. He has experience deconstructing unknown recipes and should be able to point you in a better direction. What's his full handle on here? If you see him poking around another thread would you care to point him in this direction?

Given you already have a list and just need type/proportions, paying for analysis may be the simplest route and save much time, which I frequently find eclipses money in value.
That sounds like a good option but I have no idea how to go about getting that done and I was hoping to keep costs down as much as possible.

Thanks for stopping in and dropping some knowledge Mikell :thank you:

Avinash.miles · Nov 17, 2016

ya- i use one oz per gallon of iso AND bronners soap (probably excessive for the soap, but right on for the iso)

i usually test new mixes on infested, expendable plants - to see if it kills the bug, the plant, or both. doesn't hurt to do it on an uninfested expendable plant first, i suppose

that soybean oil will work for sure, i remember a few people suggesting stylet oil previously but noted it needs to be mixed constantly if not regularly and often

and def we need to checkout the glow thread or info... link pls?

Slipnot · Nov 17, 2016

I personally do not like experimenting when it comes to infestation organic grown or not.
I use Class B chemical pesticide Farm grade.
I want them dead now and for good.
The problem with all these store bought organic pesticides is there just to weak allowing time to get rid of them .
And most of the time they creep back up on you ..
People use other insects to kill unwanted insects, but the problem is they never will get rid of there food source
Who ever thought insects were smart ???

They will start harvesting them , then allow them to re colonize and harvest

Bottom line Even real organic farmers use chemical pesticides, so who are we kidding.
Our plants grow so fast there is no time to allow 10 applications in hopes to rid plant from insects.
I rather do one application and call it a day

who dat is · Nov 17, 2016

Slipnot said:
I personally do not like experimenting when it comes to infestation organic grown or not.
I use Class B chemical pesticide Farm grade.
I want them dead now and for good.
The problem with all these store bought organic pesticides is there just to weak allowing time to get rid of them .
And most of the time they creep back up on you ..
People use other insects to kill unwanted insects, but the problem is they never will get rid of there food source
Who ever thought insects were smart ???

They will start harvesting them , then allow them to re colonize and harvest

Bottom line Even real organic farmers use chemical pesticides, so who are we kidding. Direct contradiction.
Our plants grow so fast there is no time to allow 10 applications in hopes to rid plant from insects.
I rather do one application and call it a day

Out of flustered desperation I have used chemicals in the past but they didn't take care of my problems either. I won't throw in the towel because then they win. "Did we give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!" NO!

Even though our opinions are polar opposites, thank you for weighing in on this thread.

Mikell · Nov 17, 2016

I believe glow was banned for promoting his website. Good read for anyone interested in soluble nutrients or coir. New book soon too I think.

The posts are hard to find but generally scattered in the "Nutrients and Fertilizers" and "Coco Coir" subforums.

He may be able to recommend somewhere to have it analyzed. Not cheaply me thinks.

Other wise,

A middle of the road refined oil would be a good place to start. Soybean may have been chosen for the price alone, rather than any special quality. If there are other constituents at play, raw may be preferable, as neem. Or perhaps like mineral (stylet) oil and must be highly purified.

Just where my mind goes.

krood · Nov 17, 2016

who dat is said:
Out of flustered desperation I have used chemicals in the past but they didn't take care of my problems either. I won't throw in the towel because then they win. "Did we give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!" NO!

Even though our opinions are polar opposites, thank you for weighing in on this thread.

Wasnt that the japanese? :biggrin:

Im liking this thread so far, didnt know mites could go into a dormant state. That explains why they seem to come back often. I havent had mites yet, but know its just a matter of time, Ill be keeping an eye out for whatever you guys figure out, good luck and thanks

who dat is · Nov 18, 2016

krood said:
Wasnt that the japanese?

Im liking this thread so far, didnt know mites could go into a dormant state. That explains why they seem to come back often. I havent had mites yet, but know its just a matter of time, Ill be keeping an eye out for whatever you guys figure out, good luck and thanks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8lT1o0sDwI

Mites can be proper little fuckers. Thanks for the support :yes:

Loc Dog · Nov 18, 2016

I just lost a crop to broad mites. I bought about $400 worth of stuff to battle them. A few weeks later, after doing nothing, I have not found one on other plants in other areas.

My knowledge is of the broad mites, so may not apply, but they say to use a product a few times days apart, then move onto another product, and so on. They supposedly can develop resistance to many products.

I have not watched this yet, but there are other videos on youtube -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG5Edfxr7yE

This is the first method I will try if I see one of the little bastards -

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=268311

MrBungle · Nov 18, 2016

it is good to alternate between 2 or 3 different treatments... I've been using azatrol, spinosad/wetting agent, and pyrethrins... knocked the shit out of the mites in veg... flower box is a lil trickier

who dat is · Nov 18, 2016

MrBungle said:
it is good to alternate between 2 or 3 different treatments... I've been using azatrol, spinosad/wetting agent, and pyrethrins... knocked the shit out of the mites in veg... flower box is a lil trickier

Rotation isn't a problem as I have the build a soil essential oil blend and neem oil on hand. They just don't seem to do anything to the russets like the green cleaner does. Hence trying to make my own but better and cheaper. Thanks for stopping in :good:

Green Cleaner: How to make your own?

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