Secret Ingredient?!?

[heady blunts]

I've read that before about fire ants and molasses but it's been a couple of years ago - some farmers in Texas were discussing it at Acres USA Magazine.

finally got around to ordering myself a subscription. when I saw a year was only thirty bucks I was ashamed it had taken me so long.

then I ordered a subscription for a dear friend that donated me his wonderful meds while I was on the east coast.

to that friend!

 

[h.h.]

Fire ants do avoid molasses, however spreading out fire ants is an ineffectual means of control often doing more harm than good.
http://www.thebestcontrol.com/fireants/ipmnotes.htm

 

[ClackamasCootz]

finally got around to ordering myself a subscription. when I saw a year was only thirty bucks I was ashamed it had taken me so long.

then I ordered a subscription for a dear friend that donated me his wonderful meds while I was on the east coast.

to that friend!

Nice gift!

This probably sounds weird but when the new one arrives I start in the back checking out the ads for various products and services.

Where else can you find an ad for a tote of frozen fish carcasses from Alaska in case you wanted to go into the fish hydrolysate business?

Need a ton of Calcium Chloride - someone's got it for sale.

Some really weird stuff in those ads......

 

[heady blunts]

I used to start in the back of popular mechanics hen I was a kid.

I always dreamed of building a kit gyrocopter and flying it to school.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

I spent enough on those worthless x-ray glasses in the back of magazines as a kid.....

 

[Toes.]

been wondering about an ants problem i have, ants, scale and sooty mold,

Scales, aphids, mealy bugs... soft body sap suckers, are most of the time, easy to get rid of... get a water hose with a high pressure nozzle, and spray their little soft bodies off your plants.

start slow... but, I think you'll be amazed at how much water pressure some plants can take. use a little soap or some kind of surfactant in a spray bottle... off comes the sooty mold... with no mealy bug honey dew to eat the ants will leave.

lather rinse repeat every 3-7 days, something like that, to kill off the hatching eggs... those little bastards will be history.


I had to do this with about 200 August Beauty Gardenia one summer when I worked at a nursery long ago. They were covered top to bottom with sooty mold left over from a white fly infestation... so gross.


Lady bugs eat soft bodied sap suckers... so do mantis... If "coated" with neem oil Lady bugs and Mantis will die... take care not to spray any beneficial insect (pollinators and predators) directly, because neem oil will suffocate all insects.

 

[JoeDudeGuy]

I spent enough on those worthless x-ray glasses in the back of magazines as a kid.....

LOL

Surely you had nothing but 'good intent' on your mind should they have worked !

Who didn't want a pair ?

 

[FunTimesIndeed]

Man, who knew the hover craft involved taking apart your mom's vacuum cleaner in hopes of just a little hovering and no propulsion? Of course I sent in the cash...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcNeYGHbvq4

 

[bajangreen]

Scales, aphids, mealy bugs... soft body sap suckers, are most of the time, easy to get rid of... get a water hose with a high pressure nozzle, and spray their little soft bodies off your plants.

start slow... but, I think you'll be amazed at how much water pressure some plants can take. use a little soap or some kind of surfactant in a spray bottle... off comes the sooty mold... with no mealy bug honey dew to eat the ants will leave.

lather rinse repeat every 3-7 days, something like that, to kill off the hatching eggs... those little bastards will be history.


I had to do this with about 200 August Beauty Gardenia one summer when I worked at a nursery long ago. They were covered top to bottom with sooty mold left over from a white fly infestation... so gross.


Lady bugs eat soft bodied sap suckers... so do mantis... If "coated" with neem oil Lady bugs and Mantis will die... take care not to spray any beneficial insect (pollinators and predators) directly, because neem oil will suffocate all insects.

This is a 3m square Gorilla grow, i can pack in only 5 galls of water every 7-10 days, so this route is not to feasible for me right now, thanks for the good info though i am sure someone appreciates it, the infestation is thick, 3weeks ago i brushed off all the scale with a tooth brush and now their are back ten fold(took 5hours a real pain in the ass broke 2 branches). Ants are every where, black ants not the sugar ants so i don't think its the cane syrup in the ACT i am using that's attracting them.

The whole surrounding area has sooty mold even the stakes in the ground, it's going to be a hard fight to keep it back naturally, as i haven't a clue what to do, i would like this neem to work though, i am thinking a combination of Seven on the surrounding wild plants and natural on the MJ plants my biggest concern about the neem is if it will kill my soil,(i done a beautiful job first time out) how long does a treatment like neem last?

I am currently doing a FPE with neem and also soaking the neem leaves and blossoms in water.

last grow there was that white chem ferts salts on the surface of the earth and it was hard and brown with no life now it looks and smells so nice. a real pleasure to work with.



surfactant; LOL that's the word i was looking for, is ALOE a surfactant or is it a plant food?

 

[Toes.]

is ALOE a surfactant or is it a plant food?

It's both. It has small amounts of most major and micro nutrients, vitamins and other good stuff. but, it's the saponin most people are after... for their surfactant properties

this stuff is nothing but saponin

no other goodies.

It's a shame about your pest problem. I really feel for you, I hate pests. especially the kind that will destroy and entire plant. good luck.

 

[shmalphy]

Awww it's a kangaroo! And he has a sledgehammer!

Mommy can I get it please!!!

You don't give me enough allowance! WAH!!

 

[bajangreen]

Eddoes

I had to look that one up - I know it by the Spanish name "malangas" which is sold at Cuban and Caribbean food markets. The roots are pretty much a staple in many cultures from that region.

The leaves are loaded with nutrients so taking a large amount and covering that with water and letting it sit for a few weeks like gardeners do with Comfrey or Stinging Nettles will give you a very rich tea which needs to be diluted 3:1 and applied to the soil.

The roots are rich in nutrients as well and like other roots grating them and covering with water will give you a rich nutrient tea as well. Any plant material processed in this way will create foul odors so plan ahead. They smell like an open sewer and that is not an exaggeration at all.

CC

OK i have the Neem soak and the Eddoe leaf soak so now what how do i apply them?

just dilute 1-10? and foliar strait like that of do i do a soil drench (i am out doors some in amended earth and some in peat moss based media) or is it best to put into teas?

I did eddoe leaf banana leaf and aloe Vera together hope that is ok.

Got some pics of the process to post once i get the cable for this cam.

 

[bajangreen]

here is the pic i was telling you about

 

[Easy7]

The best secret is having bacteria and fungi in the soil, I don't think fungi will work in hydro. We have a store that takes their old produce to a landscape company with their compost and mixes that to make a great compost. I like PBP and pure blend, pure blend is a good compost tea. Maxi crop in the mix and good lights gets good bud.

 

[Seandawg]

My grandma uses banana peels in her rose garden. Like the movie "7 pounds" maybe if i add 7 pounds of banana peels i can grow 7 pounds of ganja?

Now i just got a thought of 7 pounds of cake! How about 7 pound cakes?

Mmmmmm....

 

[BlueJayWay]

I was eating a banana in the indoor garden the other day, didn't want to go upstairs to get rid of the peel so it ended up as mulch in one of my no tills lol, it's all black n shriveled up and quickly going back to soil. lol.

 

[Seandawg]

I was eating a banana in the indoor garden the other day, didn't want to go upstairs to get rid of the peel so it ended up as mulch in one of my no tills lol, it's all black n shriveled up and quickly going back to soil. lol.

Secret banana peel mulch!
Only the masters use lol

 

[exploziv]

from what I've read over the years I understand that ripe or fermening bananas (actually, the peels of bananas) release ethanol and other compounds that stimulate increased number of female parts on plants (flowers/pistils) and fast ripening of fruits.
that's the reason a ripe banana in the fruit basket will make the other fruits ripe/over-ripe faster.

 

[BlueJayWay]

Secret ingredient test - I will continue eating bananas in the flower room and mulch this one pot with the peels, report back here in 90 days for full report

Honestly though, I'm pretty sure a "lasagna" layer of peels could only help, assuming an active living soil, which it is.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

from what I've read over the years I understand that ripe or fermening bananas (actually, the peels of bananas) release ethanol and other compounds that stimulate increased number of female parts on plants (flowers/pistils) and fast ripening of fruits.

that's the reason a ripe banana in the fruit basket will make the other fruits ripe/over-ripe faster.

exploziv_gbb

I'm 99.99% sure that you're talking about Ethylene gas which does occur naturally but the huge amounts found in the skins comes from its use in ripening rooms. This gas is used to bring them 'up to color' relative to the customer's orders, i.e. a distribution warehouse (like Kroger's) would want them less 'ripe' than an order going direct to a retail store where customers want the perfect yellow banana with green on the stem and blossom ends of the fruit. This gas is also used to 'ripen' tomatoes which are picked green and then gassed in the ripening rooms to bring out some a version of 'red' or something close.

Citrus fruits (specific cultivars) are gassed. Avocados. Etc.

It ain't pretty. Some commodities are even 'gassed' in route from origin to the distribution warehouses. A load originating out of Florida for example will be fitted with canisters of Ethylene gas and emitters set on timers. This is to kickstart the process.

I've seen this gas discussed on cannabis boards to achieve some pretty mystical (mythical) goals that boggle the mind - hope springs eternal

CC