Ongoing unhealthy root zone, soil mites... Fungus? Rot? Wtf? Need advice!
- Thread starter Holdin'
- Start date
Well I've further determined that my little issues are more prevalent when plants are young, and once they become larger and more mature they seem to shake it off. The critters are still lingering, but even more so as time goes on I feel they are not causing a problem, but like I said before, maybe just an indicator.
I started some new plants, clones and seedlings, and since my flower room and veg room are a hundred yards or so apart I figured I could isolate the new plants. I cleaned the shit out of my veg space before starting seeds. Used store bought soil as the medium.
I went a couple weeks without seeing any critters before I either carried them up to my veg space on myself or through pots/saucers etc. I wasn't very careful after a few weeks because I saw NOTHING, and I still had somewhat unhappy plants.
I'm now suspecting that these little issues could be from my water supply. Seems as though these little problems started when I moved to a new location on a different water supply.
The plants always prevail once they are larger, and in larger pots. So I've suspected there's something in my water that young plants are sensitive to. I started using store bought water as a test on some plants, and they seemed to enjoy it.
I've since bought an RO unit. Right now I have a beautiful, lush garden starting their 6th week, as well as a veg garden about 5-6 weeks into veg, which looks great, minus the fact that they are behind a couple weeks behind it seems, which is nothing new considering what I've mentioned above.
I don't feel I've had the RO unit long enough to determine that my water supply indeed sucks. We'll find out for sure when I start my next veg garden here shortly.
I started some new plants, clones and seedlings, and since my flower room and veg room are a hundred yards or so apart I figured I could isolate the new plants. I cleaned the shit out of my veg space before starting seeds. Used store bought soil as the medium.
I went a couple weeks without seeing any critters before I either carried them up to my veg space on myself or through pots/saucers etc. I wasn't very careful after a few weeks because I saw NOTHING, and I still had somewhat unhappy plants.
I'm now suspecting that these little issues could be from my water supply. Seems as though these little problems started when I moved to a new location on a different water supply.
The plants always prevail once they are larger, and in larger pots. So I've suspected there's something in my water that young plants are sensitive to. I started using store bought water as a test on some plants, and they seemed to enjoy it.
I've since bought an RO unit. Right now I have a beautiful, lush garden starting their 6th week, as well as a veg garden about 5-6 weeks into veg, which looks great, minus the fact that they are behind a couple weeks behind it seems, which is nothing new considering what I've mentioned above.
I don't feel I've had the RO unit long enough to determine that my water supply indeed sucks. We'll find out for sure when I start my next veg garden here shortly.
So those are soil mites, for sure. And they themselves are not doing harm. They eat decaying matter, fungus, bacteria. And that's whta is usually causing problems. And that can be caused by many things. One vector for spreading rot & decay is fungus gnats. Mites are phoretic. And FGs carry mites around. So lots of mites often means sumpin else is going on.
spaceboy
Active member
From the pics posted it looks lik they only have 6 legs. Are you sure these are mites? Whatever they are i am pretty sure i had them, but also had RA. I have also just discovered some very tiny little mites on a plant stand sitting inside saucer. I had placed tanglefoot all the way around the edges of saucer to keep aphids out since i had just treated for them and put a small plastic crate inside the saucer as a stand so that i,could keep a maot in the saucer as an added layer of protection and to keep the plant out of the runoff... Well today i found some whitish yellow specs moving around on the stand. They are the size of a spider mite and im still wondering if they are as i just had spider mites, but since spraying plant with acephate i have not seen them and im thinking maybe they have migrated. They are so small i cant identify them, but they definitely resemble a spider mite. Once my loop comes in i will update with more info, bt does this sound like a bulb mite?
Those are harmless mites, but bulb mites have a more reddish brown head. Mites are quite interesting creatures, and the dust mite is the only animal known to have "devolved" according to researchers at the U of Michigan. They're also phoretic and survive by going into a "suspended state of animation".
No not bulb mites.
Also the pics have 8 legs and they are mites. I've done quite a bit of research and have posted various bits of that knowledge here and there. But in a nutshell there are mites that cause economic damage and those that don't. All the ones that cause damage are very well explained in any garden forum and there is no mystery there.
So far, about 30,000 species are known, but it is likely that about a half million more species remain to be discovered. Mites are among the most diverse and successful of all the invertebrate groups, and many live freely in the soil or water. But there are also a large number of species that live as parasites on plants, animals, and some that feed on mold.
The vast majority of mites are free living. They are phoretic and will be attracted to their desired environments however small they may be. For example if you have ample decaying matter, fungus, mold, or root rot from any number of pests or issues it only a matter of time before Nature's clean up crew shows up. Without mites some say life on earth would be much different since they are instrumental in converting decaying matter and other organic material into plant nutrients.
So, if you take a root sample and you have these guys everywhere its a good assumption you have mold, fungus, rot, etc,. in ample supply. So find out why they are there and you'll most likely be finding the real issue to any plant health problems.
i did my best with the scope . im having the same issues after FGs. finding these white microscopic crawlies I assume to be soil mites? I also must a fungus/mold problem. no RAs . I also have twisted leaves but no broad mites to be scoped to date. plants look overwatered . just finishing these up /new beans started . can anyone comment on the pics I posted to determine ? thx hope you can see them !
Attachments
here is another , hard to see but I see 8 legs
thx for looking hope these can help someone else ID what they have
http://youtu.be/XabqQUV8fLs
thx for looking hope these can help someone else ID what they have
http://youtu.be/XabqQUV8fLs
cannabacca
Member
This to me seems more a case of root rot, I grow in dirt lately after root rot shut down any hydro I had, what you are describing seems exactly what I have been battling for 2 years finally making a little progress. Turns out nature is more powerful than chemicals, I tried Ridomil which may as well have killed my plants outright it is so strong with poor results. Lately I have read some on root rot turns out you can make a bio-tea from worm shit mixed with water and things like a bit of AN Pirrahna, brew this up and turn your bio-pitbulls loose ! What your doing by feeding the worm shit brew to your plants is feeding a ton of good fungus and bacteria into the root zone where the good stuff will overwhelm and kill off the bad stuff over time. That is the only way you can deal with this, no chemical will kill this 100% and they can't come close to killing this without killing the plant trust me. Lots of worm poo soup recipes on the net and they will work without harming your plants in fact they will boost your plants root system and growth rate, good luck and happy poop brewing.
Soil mites, free living. They are phoretic. They can attach themselves to basically anything and hitch a ride to basically anywhere. They are especially good at attaching to fungus gnats or any other flier that lands on growing media. But there is no research on soil mites as a pest. They eat bacteria, fungus and decaying matter.
Also, i have had them for at least past three years. I have had some terrible harvests, which is when I first found them but at the same time had an outbreak of FGs and root rot. I still have the soil mites and I have several species. But I am getting awesome results now. I'm in coco and add beneficial microbes. I also keep the FGs in check. Had to do the imid for a while but now just adding predatory nematodes every couple weeks.
I also found these mites after Fungus gnats and rot/overwater. now im trying to clean things up. I have actinovate fungicide I ordered to assist with dunking my hydroton filled pots. have anyone tried ''Bordo'' copper spray fungicide ? its a wettable powder.im wondering if I can mix it and treat my roots with it ? it contains copper sulfate 51% that's sounds bad
. I also have another fungicide/miteicide called eco way spray or dust , sulpur 92% are any of these good? thanks for stopping byI see this orange gunk on the root samples I take . also seeing lots of tips that look burnt. instead of the root growing 8 inches out of the pot looking for water like im use too
does anyone see what fungus on the roots?
