Cleaning grow tent

[Hooper]

Howzit guys, I've had an absolute bitch with spider mites. I've h202 my whole then the took out all plants sprayed them outside kept them out for 2 weeks and monitored them. i eventually got my hands on Margaret Roberts and did a full spray down. I moved my best clone back into the tent and flipped it. Once again mites are back i have sprayed it twice with Margaret Roberts and all seems good but now it seems like i have a nitrogen toxicity. Any recommendations?

Edited December 9, 2021 by Hooper

[ORGANinc.]

Hey bud! 

Looks like your nitrogen toxicity isn't too bad, your leaf colour is looking good, could be a tiny bit on the darker side, so possibly stop feeding any and all sources of nitrogen, should help with the spider mites as well.

Also another consideration, the plant looks a tad over-watered. Maybe give her 3 days or so to dry up, She should dry up fast being in the stretch phase. Then going forward give us some details about feeding for flowering if any?

What type of soil you are using?

[Bos]

Also be aware that spidermite can develop resistance to a pesticide if you use the same one repeatedly. 

[Hooper]

18 hours ago, ORGANinc. said:

Hey bud! 

Looks like your nitrogen toxicity isn't too bad, your leaf colour is looking good, could be a tiny bit on the darker side, so possibly stop feeding any and all sources of nitrogen, should help with the spider mites as well.

Also another consideration, the plant looks a tad over-watered. Maybe give her 3 days or so to dry up, She should dry up fast being in the stretch phase. Then going forward give us some details about feeding for flowering if any?

What type of soil you are using?

its freedom farms classic but 2nd grow with the soil. i've been winging it till now mainly biobizz grow fish mix and now bloom

[ORGANinc.]

8 hours ago, Hooper said:

its freedom farms classic but 2nd grow with the soil. i've been winging it till now mainly biobizz grow fish mix and now bloom

Cool bud, I would cut the grow. Continue with the fish at half dose for 2 weeks and then go back to normal. Plant should be happy with that. Sprinkle half a cup of worm casting over the top if you have

[Naughty.Psychonaut]

@Hooper

looking good man, one big plant to fill the tent, I still have to try this at some point! how long you vegging for? how big is the tent and the pot?

your situation with the spiders mites sounds a little like you got a little nest or infestation somewhere either in the tent or perhaps outdoor garden on plants surrounding your house. 

I like to think of mites the same way as mold spores, because they range from microscopic sized to juuuust about able to make them out with your naked eye. also doesn't help that they congregate on the underside of the leaves so you only spot them when damage is done and in most cases by then you've already lost the battle of infestation. the spider mites we deal with can reproduce sexually aswell as asexually, meaning it takes only one of those buggers to create a colony. just like with mold spores. this is why I think of both those things as "ever-present" and we have to constantly and consistently maintain an unfavourable environment for those two to take host. I am sure you have heard of IPM (- Integrated Pest Management), that term came along quite some time back when farmers realised they can't wait to see when damage has been done, but rather consistently do weekly treatments throughout certain phases of the plants life. 

now you might say, but hey you're not a farmer truth is if you growing something that would deliver a crop and you're depending on the quantity and quality of the crop and you would like to use products to have consistent crops and harvests, then you're farming it's just not commercial farming. 

my suggestion would be to redo your clean up, make sure there are no mites on your plant before bringing her in the tent again. otherwise you risk them infesting your tent. they nest in the strangest of places, if there is enough space for a dust bunny to collect they'll nest there. in your lights, in your fans, in your air ducts, on the material of your tent, on your clothes, on your arm hairs. those fuckers are literally everywhere, they can even travel in the wind bringing us back to the idea that they act more like mold spores than insects and you need to be taking care of them even when you don't see any signs of them being present. 

also big shoutout to mr.Bos for dropping the most crucial piece of information on this subject don't get stuck on one product, pests in your area will thank you for it.

I know a lot of people talk about the margret roberts stuff, but from my experience (which is limited) I have better results with BioNeem and Pyrol. 2 good products to add to your IPM arsenal.

Pyrol for once off contact treatment. Neem for weekly preventative. but most importantly, don't wait to spot infestations before beginning treatments. work them into your routine 

[Naughty.Psychonaut]

mites by defenition belong to the arachnids, spiders, they make webs. 

if there isn't a dusty corner for one of those uglies to nest, they'll make one. 

[Hooper]

22 hours ago, Naughty.Psychonaut said:

@Hooper

looking good man, one big plant to fill the tent, I still have to try this at some point! how long you vegging for? how big is the tent and the pot?

your situation with the spiders mites sounds a little like you got a little nest or infestation somewhere either in the tent or perhaps outdoor garden on plants surrounding your house. 

I like to think of mites the same way as mold spores, because they range from microscopic sized to juuuust about able to make them out with your naked eye. also doesn't help that they congregate on the underside of the leaves so you only spot them when damage is done and in most cases by then you've already lost the battle of infestation. the spider mites we deal with can reproduce sexually aswell as asexually, meaning it takes only one of those buggers to create a colony. just like with mold spores. this is why I think of both those things as "ever-present" and we have to constantly and consistently maintain an unfavourable environment for those two to take host. I am sure you have heard of IPM (- Integrated Pest Management), that term came along quite some time back when farmers realised they can't wait to see when damage has been done, but rather consistently do weekly treatments throughout certain phases of the plants life. 

now you might say, but hey you're not a farmer truth is if you growing something that would deliver a crop and you're depending on the quantity and quality of the crop and you would like to use products to have consistent crops and harvests, then you're farming it's just not commercial farming. 

my suggestion would be to redo your clean up, make sure there are no mites on your plant before bringing her in the tent again. otherwise you risk them infesting your tent. they nest in the strangest of places, if there is enough space for a dust bunny to collect they'll nest there. in your lights, in your fans, in your air ducts, on the material of your tent, on your clothes, on your arm hairs. those fuckers are literally everywhere, they can even travel in the wind bringing us back to the idea that they act more like mold spores than insects and you need to be taking care of them even when you don't see any signs of them being present. 

also big shoutout to mr.Bos for dropping the most crucial piece of information on this subject don't get stuck on one product, pests in your area will thank you for it.

I know a lot of people talk about the margret roberts stuff, but from my experience (which is limited) I have better results with BioNeem and Pyrol. 2 good products to add to your IPM arsenal.

Pyrol for once off contact treatment. Neem for weekly preventative. but most importantly, don't wait to spot infestations before beginning treatments. work them into your routine 

shot great read. The tent is a 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m it's a 15l pot. Its a clone that i had outside that was getting pretty large so i put it in the tent to flower. I started with the bioneem for the spidermites but the first timee i used it it burnt my leaves. Then i think my made it to weak which was pointless. So looked for other options, the maragret roberts has worked from what i see. What is an example of a good weekly IPM? Also what would be a recommended way to properly sterilize the grow tent?

[Naughty.Psychonaut]

20 hours ago, Hooper said:

shot great read. The tent is a 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m it's a 15l pot. Its a clone that i had outside that was getting pretty large so i put it in the tent to flower. I started with the bioneem for the spidermites but the first timee i used it it burnt my leaves. Then i think my made it to weak which was pointless. So looked for other options, the maragret roberts has worked from what i see. What is an example of a good weekly IPM? Also what would be a recommended way to properly sterilize the grow tent?

holymoly, yeah plants tend to grow a bit bigger outdoors so having that ourdoor window probably helped a little to stretch her out, but still filling a tent of that size with a pot that size is quite impressive! even more so with it being an organic situation!

I've seen guys grow monster trees in small 15x15cm rockwool cubes, but that's in hydroponic situations. 

remember if a guy can go without IPM and get through an entire grow without having to deal with any bugs or mold, he should concider himself lucky to have experienced such a once in a lifetime phenomenon. so it's better to kinda already assume you're going to have to deal with them from the get go and make provisions.

before getting into this, the absolute most important thing here is, whatever you spray don't spray when there is even a little bit of light cycle left. wait for light cycle to end, then spray as the plants enter dark period. Neem, at the right dose and sprayed in the dark will not cause any harm to your plants, infact it acts as a mild foliar feed instead, but you can toast your plants with too many nutrients aswell if you use them wrong.

second most important, get your plant pest free before sterilizing the tent, or you might get stuck in a nightmare cycle of bringing pests into a clean tent, having them nest and jump back on every grow you bring in the tent. 

to get rid of the bugs you will need a contact killer, margret roberts specialises in organic products and the majority of organic products are systemic and slow acting and you need multiple treatments to see any results. a contact killer is something that kills bugs on contact. such as Pyrol. if one treatment at half dose doesn't do the trick a second one will, I always avoid full dose as this stuff is strong enough to toast your ladies. but you can do that too if the half doses didn't work. then just give recovery time for the plant. atleast bugs will be gone!

once you see new growth with no mite presence you go over to BioNeem, half dose, every week. obviously except when in flower! BioNeem, or any systemic insecticide for that matter, you don't spray to kill bugs or even get rid of them, they're not phased by the actual product itself. BioNeem is systemic, like the margret roberts stuff, the plant needs to uptake it first and what it does to the plant -changes the taste of the plant enzymes- so whatever wants to eat your plants (non-beneficial insects) would be detered, while predators (beneficial insects) go unharmed. double win. 

if you keep it clean you wont need to deep clean like this very often, but at the very least after every grow. then just maintain that with religious IPM through out the grow. empty it so it's just the tent standing and no equipment inside. grab a broom and a duster and hit all corners, walls, roof and floor. grab a vacuum, go over all surfaces getting the corners real good. make sure there are no dirt piles hidden anywhere. no cobwebs, no dust piles. 

now go clean your equipment, take apart fans as best you can and wipe down all surfaces so there are no dust present. you could use the vacuum again, but better to use a low pressure blower to get dust out every corner of your appliances. just don't damage wires or electrical connections. once there are no dust visible anywhere, you get warm soapy water or a peroxide solution and wipe down all surfaces. lights, fans, ducts, everything. inside and out. all parts cleaned properly before reassembly. now once your inline fan is clean as a wistle. go back to your tent and install the inline fan with the ducting. now grab your peroxide solution, pour some into a spray bottle and spray every surface making sure you see small droplets of it on all surfaces. (you can add a sirculating fan, only if they're also properly cleaned by this time) once you sprayed down your tent inside with the peroxide put the fans on and let it do it's thing, give it 20 to 30min, nothing longer or the peroxide might cause damage to materials. go back in the tent, do a wipe down so you don't see any peroxide solution left behind anywhere. - your tent is sterile now. bring in the rest of your cleaned equipment and install. 

now bring in your bug free plant, remember the Neem every week till flower, you can even spray the neem 2 weeks into flower, but by week 3 stop spraying anything and everything! this together with good air sirculatuon and rapid FAE will keep you bug free for sure for at least one flower cycle. by the end of the flower cycle, it's deep clean again, and the next batch of plants get treated exactly the same, even if you don't see any bug damage. 

sorry for the long read man, might seem like a lot, but really isn't much work at all, hope you get rid of all the pests and keep it that way!

✌

 

[Hooper]

15 hours ago, Naughty.Psychonaut said:

holymoly, yeah plants tend to grow a bit bigger outdoors so having that ourdoor window probably helped a little to stretch her out, but still filling a tent of that size with a pot that size is quite impressive! even more so with it being an organic situation!

I've seen guys grow monster trees in small 15x15cm rockwool cubes, but that's in hydroponic situations. 

remember if a guy can go without IPM and get through an entire grow without having to deal with any bugs or mold, he should concider himself lucky to have experienced such a once in a lifetime phenomenon. so it's better to kinda already assume you're going to have to deal with them from the get go and make provisions.

before getting into this, the absolute most important thing here is, whatever you spray don't spray when there is even a little bit of light cycle left. wait for light cycle to end, then spray as the plants enter dark period. Neem, at the right dose and sprayed in the dark will not cause any harm to your plants, infact it acts as a mild foliar feed instead, but you can toast your plants with too many nutrients aswell if you use them wrong.

second most important, get your plant pest free before sterilizing the tent, or you might get stuck in a nightmare cycle of bringing pests into a clean tent, having them nest and jump back on every grow you bring in the tent. 

to get rid of the bugs you will need a contact killer, margret roberts specialises in organic products and the majority of organic products are systemic and slow acting and you need multiple treatments to see any results. a contact killer is something that kills bugs on contact. such as Pyrol. if one treatment at half dose doesn't do the trick a second one will, I always avoid full dose as this stuff is strong enough to toast your ladies. but you can do that too if the half doses didn't work. then just give recovery time for the plant. atleast bugs will be gone!

once you see new growth with no mite presence you go over to BioNeem, half dose, every week. obviously except when in flower! BioNeem, or any systemic insecticide for that matter, you don't spray to kill bugs or even get rid of them, they're not phased by the actual product itself. BioNeem is systemic, like the margret roberts stuff, the plant needs to uptake it first and what it does to the plant -changes the taste of the plant enzymes- so whatever wants to eat your plants (non-beneficial insects) would be detered, while predators (beneficial insects) go unharmed. double win. 

if you keep it clean you wont need to deep clean like this very often, but at the very least after every grow. then just maintain that with religious IPM through out the grow. empty it so it's just the tent standing and no equipment inside. grab a broom and a duster and hit all corners, walls, roof and floor. grab a vacuum, go over all surfaces getting the corners real good. make sure there are no dirt piles hidden anywhere. no cobwebs, no dust piles. 

now go clean your equipment, take apart fans as best you can and wipe down all surfaces so there are no dust present. you could use the vacuum again, but better to use a low pressure blower to get dust out every corner of your appliances. just don't damage wires or electrical connections. once there are no dust visible anywhere, you get warm soapy water or a peroxide solution and wipe down all surfaces. lights, fans, ducts, everything. inside and out. all parts cleaned properly before reassembly. now once your inline fan is clean as a wistle. go back to your tent and install the inline fan with the ducting. now grab your peroxide solution, pour some into a spray bottle and spray every surface making sure you see small droplets of it on all surfaces. (you can add a sirculating fan, only if they're also properly cleaned by this time) once you sprayed down your tent inside with the peroxide put the fans on and let it do it's thing, give it 20 to 30min, nothing longer or the peroxide might cause damage to materials. go back in the tent, do a wipe down so you don't see any peroxide solution left behind anywhere. - your tent is sterile now. bring in the rest of your cleaned equipment and install. 

now bring in your bug free plant, remember the Neem every week till flower, you can even spray the neem 2 weeks into flower, but by week 3 stop spraying anything and everything! this together with good air sirculatuon and rapid FAE will keep you bug free for sure for at least one flower cycle. by the end of the flower cycle, it's deep clean again, and the next batch of plants get treated exactly the same, even if you don't see any bug damage. 

sorry for the long read man, might seem like a lot, but really isn't much work at all, hope you get rid of all the pests and keep it that way!

✌

 

Shot bru. I'm into flower already so I'll finish this then do a deep clean. What strength do mix your h202