Hello all!!! I have been growing for several years, but I recently made several changes in my methods, trying to make improvements. Im basically trying to grow organic in hydro. This has caused some major problems. I recently launched a major campaign to rid my garden of some unwanted pests. shore flys, fungus gnats and spider mites were all present. I have not yet won this war. But i have won several battles in this campaign. My plants are now showing signs of Pythium or root rot and im out of ideas on how to combat this pathogen. I will kill the bugs, that is not the problem... but this root rot is choking the life out of my girls. This run was set with the goals to study cloning and try my hand at it. I have now forced my plants to revert several times and remain in a vegatative state for almost one year now. The two original plants from seed are long gone, chopped 100% for the first cloner test. but I now have 5 (2nd generation) mothers in hydro buckets, 12 (3rd generation) clones in hydro tubs and 13 in plastic cups w dirt, plus 20 more 3rd gens that are ready to be taken from the cloners and planted in dirt cups. I also took the best of the best from each set, and started 2 new mothers in a new system, as i am going to bloom out the 2nd generaton mothers soon, because they are getting too difficult to work with for cloning. I have been working on my cloning method all year. and now, 347 days into this... i cant just scrap this run because of a pathogen but dont want to allow a bloom cycle until i see healthy plants in all of my systems. The systems are somewhat isolated from each other, but they share a common fill/drain line and often share their mix. I could get technical with the homemade design for all of the systems, but i have rambled on for quite long enough. Root rot is the problem. and my question is how do i combat this Pythium? MK-Ultra Strain Hygromite Medium Iguana Juice Nutes Daytime spray is plain h2o Night spray has a diluted solution of: revive, wet betty, bushmasters and spray & grow. I have been adding in GoGnats to the nutrint mix to fight off the bugs and i occasionally add orca and great white about once a month. Buckets get changed every 2 or 3 days Tubs get changed every 7-10 days I try to adjust the ph twice a day, but I almost always skip the AM adjustment. Feel free to ask questions about the system or setup and i would be greatful if someone could drop me some info that could help get me back on track here. Thanks for reading my blah blah blah book of a noob post. Lata
I will try to get some pics of the gross looking, brown slimy roots up later Sent from my LG-LS720 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
I also plan to cover the hygromite and dirt with fine sand to prevent the gnats from crawling down so easily from the top. Sent from my LG-LS720 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Have you tried sensizym? It is supposed to digest ded and rotting roots. Maybe it would clean it up for you.
I will try anything at this point. Thank you! I will add it to my next order. Sent from my LG-LS720 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
It's like Hydroton but made of diatomaceous earth rather than expanded clay pebbles. Supposed to be better than Hydroton but I've never tried it myself.
It also has crushed Sillica stone in the mix. So if at some point you decide to give Hygromite a go, be sure to use a resperator w/ an approved sillica dust filter. Paper dust masks dont stop everything and Sillicosis is no picnic. Much safer to work with when it is wet, so don't let it dry out while you are working with it. I take the bag straight to the bathtub and fill the bag with water several times before dumping the bag out and letting them soak in the tub for about a day before sterilizing. Don't get me wrong though, I do like Hydroton. However, I have found that the spherical design of the pellets, tend to lead the root formations into spherical designs as well. Making my plants look root-bound. My experience has led me to believe that Hydroton has much better water retention, as it is a porous material. Hygromite however, has Silica and other minerals that the plants are after. I plan to mix my leftover Hydroton in with the Hygromite at the next opportunity and hopefully, get the best from both worlds. I purchased the larger Hygromite rocks by mistake, but I would have preferred the smaller size rocks. Adding a layer of fine sand over the top of the medium, will also help prevent Gnats and Shore Flys, from entering through the medium surface. I am thinking that a layer of plastic or cheesecloth under the sand, will help prevent the sand from simply dropping through the openings in the rock. Thanks for readind and good luck on the grows!