Spider Mites and Root Rot

[MrsMuir]

Hello Growers, I am new on the forum.

Mine is a pathetic tale. I am open to anything, even changing to soil, insulating the room, changing rooms, adding organisms to the water...I am SO frustrated because i have paid the utility and fertilizer bills associated with a hydrogarden for a year and only had one sorry harvest because of crops dying, getting germinated and mostly, from root rot and spider mites!

I grow in a 10' x 4' walk in closet with a 600 watt light and 8 black hydro buckets. I use clay balls in mesh pots hanging in 3 gallon buckets and an airstone in each bucket to provide oxygen to the roots. I have a portable AC in the room that keeps the room 74 degrees 24 x7.

Every crop I have had in there has gotten root rot due to the water getting warm. And every crop has had a spider mite infestation of some degree. I add ice to the buckets twice a day to keep the temp down. It was harder in the summer. My roots were all white on 24" plants until the power went off and the water/room got hot with no AC. I was fighting root rot throughout the rest of the crop and that crop also had spider mites. I sprayed repeatedly with tobacco "tea" which kept them from getting big and growing webs but the mites kept the leaves dry and stunted the growth. The root rot also stunted the growth, of course. I sprayed all the equipment (buckets airstones, etc)with hydrogen peroxide every three or 4 days when I changed out the water/nutrient mixture, still, the roots were barely limping along. I did harvest from this crop but it was a paltry yield. The plants never grew more than an inch or so after the root rot started.

How can I avoid root rot and spider mites for my newest crop? I sprayed the room with insecticide before I moved the new clones in there. As for the root rot, any ideas? Right now the girls are only 2" clones, well-rooted in rockwool and placed into the clayballs and mesh buckets as described above.

Thanks,
Mrs.JMuir

[Ganja Guerrilla]

remove the clones and every other plant in the room and set off some bombs that kill spiders or contains pyrethreums.....if you see ANY signs of mites returning use
Neem Oil 70% strength and spray the plants every 3 days for 12 days

if your room temps are 74F then temps arent your problem
how often did you change out the res, what nutes were you using

Id suggest you change to soil get a couple grows under your belt, so that you become one with the plants "grasshopper"....you will also be a lot calmer & composed when you have a pound or 2 of weed while your growing/learning

then when you begin to see/feel the plants issues, and can deal with them before they get out of control, hydro is tough for a beginner as you know if something goes wrong they all go and it happens fast, sometimes to fast to correct

[MrsMuir]

sure, I can bomb the room
what about the root rot? Brown stretchy roots, lacey new roots quickly falling off-it happens about 4 weeks into my veg cycle...any ideas to prevent it?

[MrsMuir]

I change the water every 3-4 days

[Ganja Guerrilla]

I cant tell you what went wrong with your previous grows, they arent up and running so no process of elimination testing

65-75F is optimum for res temps

To prevent Root Rot, adding product's like Thrive Alive B-1, See Weed, Super thrive will help protect your plant's from root rot and will help cure root problems.

3 -4 HotShot no pest strips in your grow room should handel the mites, after you have bombed

have you strated another grow yet? if so post all the deatils


1. hydro, soilless or Soil & brand name of soil ?
2. PH of reservoir solution?
3. PH soil runoff?
4. PH of water?
5. Age of plants?
6. What Fertilizer, dosages, and frequency?
7. lites, wattage & proximity to plants
8. Light cycle. 24/0,, 18/6,, 12/12?
9. In light cycle how long?
10. Room temps & Humidity or reservoir temps