• Home
• About
• Tools
• Experiments
• Systems
• Contact

Spider Mites- How to eliminate them

Spider mites are a bane to indoor gardeners and knowing their life cycle is very useful in assisting you with eliminating them. Spider mites lay eggs when they are threatened with death. The best naturally occuring active ingredient to kill them is Pyrethrum (Pyrethrin) this active ingredient is extracted from the Chrysanthemum Flower and is the oldest natural insecticide known to man. Pyrethrin is a CONTACT kill product only ( must contact the pest to kill the pest) and has no residual activity-thus it is safe to use up to the day of harvest on all food crops.

The highest level of this active ingredient in the product that you chose to use is recommended. Insecticidal soaps which are recommended in a lot of articles and blogs are NOT EFFECTIVE-they contain the lowest amount of this active ingredient and contain high levels of soap which is very Phyto-toxic to your plants= they cause more damage than good.

Treating your plants with a very high quality pyrethrin based product will give you excellent results with the least amount of product used saving you time and money.

Spider Mites when treated with anything to kill them immediately lay eggs-this is there evolutionary defense. An indoor growing environment with high temperatures and humidity is the ideal environment for spider mites to procreate. In this environment they can go through a entire life cycle in 4-7 days. so to successfully eliminate them you must treat your plants every 3-4 days for 3 complete life cycles.

The best eradication method is to treat the underside of the foliage with a Plant Spray containing a high concentration of Pyrethrin .20% or higher. After treating the underside of the foliage it is time to Fumigate or Fog the growing area with a Total Release Bomb- Doktor Doom makes two excellent products for this application (Doktor Doom Botanic’s Insecticide Plant Spray-Canada, Doktor Doom Spider Mite Knockout Plant Spray -USA and Doktor Doom Total Release Foggers (Fumigators)- Canada or USA. repeat this application every 3-4 days for 3 cycles.

Additional growing area tips: Remove all dead foliage daily, do not allow pets or visitors into the growing area (spider mites are hitch hikers and can attach to all sorts of surfaces from the hair on your arm to the sleeve of your shirt) always use the same clothing for doing maintenance in your growing area and keep it laundered regularly in hot water and dried in a hot dryer. Be certain that the area that you are drawing fresh air from is either treated with Pyrethrin regularly or use very fine screens on your intake ventilation systems. Most infestations in indoor rooms occur near this source of fresh air! Cleanliness is very important- keep your growing area clean and free of debris daily.

Be certain that the source of your cuttings is a “Clean Source” to assist you with this treat your cuttings with the suggested Plant Spray from a distance of about 3-4 feet away-spray a mist in the air and allow it to land on all surfaces of your cuttings-do not soak the foliage- a light mist every 3-4 days is all that is required.

By following the above application and indoor growing area tips you should be well on your way to a spider mite free environment and produce excellent crops ready for consumption

Best Nutrient Solutions for Summer Growing

By Richa Parera

Summer means heat. If you live in a warm place, excessive heat can affect your plants, especially those grown indoors. Some plants thrive in plenty of sunlight while others will require shade. Because of the summer heat, plants often do not get the water they require. Read more

Nitrogen (N) deficiency in plants

Nitrogen (N) deficiency in plants can occur when woody material such as sawdust is added to the soil. Soil organisms will utilise any nitrogen in order to break this down, thus making it temporarily unavailable to growing plants. ‘Nitrogen robbery’ is more likely on light soils and those low in organic matter content, although all soils are susceptible. Cold weather, especially early in the season, can also cause a temporary shortage.

All vegetables apart from nitrogen fixing legumes are prone to this disorder. Symptoms include poor plant growth, leaves are pale green or yellow in the case of brassicas. Lower leaves show symptoms first. Leaves in this state are said to be etiolated with reduced chlorophyll. Flowering and fruiting may be delayed.

Prevention and control of nitrogen deficiency can be achieved in the short term by using grass mowings as a mulch, or foliar feeding with manure, and in the longer term by building up levels of organic matter in the soil. Sowing green manure crops such as grazing rye to cover soil over the winter will help to prevent nitrogen leaching, while leguminous green manures such as winter tares will fix additional nitrogen from the atmosphere.

General Hydroponics Growing and Disease Prevention

By: Michael Straumietis of Advanced Nutrients

Though hydroponics has many advantages over traditional soil growing, plants grown hydroponically are still subject to the same kind of diseases of soil-based plants. One of the biggest factors that determine your success in general hydroponics growing may very well be what steps you take to make sure your plants stay uninfected. If you take the following measures, your odds of having to deal with an epidemic in your grow room will decrease dramatically. Read more

Copyright © 2008 Hydroponics Dictionary. All Rights Reserved - Website Design by Audiobloc. Site search engine optimisation by search engine optimisation Sitemap