About to put some clones out they're still vegging and are only 10" tall. I want to pre-preemptively protect them from bugs since they're vulnerable, so I bought some organic dish soap with peppermint extract. My plan is to put some of the concentrated soap directly on the lower stalk (to stop slugs from climbing and stay on the ground) and spraying a pretty heavily diluted mixture on the leaves. Does that sound ok?
There are several different methods for bug control. Neem Oil, Azamax, Monterey 1,2,3. Mostly all of these are not pesticides and when you are proactively fighting pests, you need to rotate your methods because the pests become resistant to just one method. Especially if you are treating for russet, or spider mites, caterpillars. I start out with Azamax for Leaf hoppers, grasshopper, and caterpillars, and continue through the grow. Then I use these products midway through my grow proactively for Broadmites, spider mites, russets mites, thrips, aphids. It's a juggling act when you are growing outdoors and don't have the luxury of a controlled environment. Hope this helps. There are several new products on the market. You should research them online. You can buy most through Amazon.
Actually only experience growing the herb in your area will tell you what is really needed. Outside is a different game then inside. Nature is self correcting for many of the pests we encounter. Get to many plant eaters in one spot and a bug eater comes along and eats all the plant eaters. I see ladybugs constantly on my Cannabis looking over every inch of the plant. Praying Mantis are thick in my yard as well. The only 2 things I spray for now are. Powdery Mildew. Caterpillars. Green Cure for the PM and BT for the Caterpillars. Cure from the local hydro shop Bacillus thuringiensis from the local garden shop. This is a biological not a chemical poison and is tailored to Caterpillars only. Weekly spraying of both products insure I have a clean, pest free crop at harvest. Been growing this location since 2012 and Cannabis in general since 1976 BNW