I've got a small outdoor crop I started from seed and recently transplanted from pots to the ground. They have recently been developing small holes in the fan leaves, and some of the new leaves seem crinkly and culred up slightly. Is this some kind of bug? What's going on? I don't think it's over-fertilization because I'm just using compost and regular soil.
yes its bugs and i bet you any money its spider mites get a magnifying glass and look for VERY tiny white bugs on your plants now theres a few ways to get rid of em you can either buy a bottle of insecticidal soap or get a pack of cigarettes break all of em up put em in a pot with water and bring it to a boil for about 15 minutes then take all the tobacco out and put the water in a spray bottle and spray your plants with it
What part of the plant do i look for the mites on? Underside of the leaves? How strong do I make the nicotine spray (how much tobacco to how much water). Do i need to wash the nicotine off after I spray them?
usually under the leaves but make sure you look over the WHOLE plant....not sure of the EXACT amount of water and tobacco use the search im positive you would be able to find a thread that tells you how much and no don't clean off the nicotine once you've sprayed the plants mites and many other bugs cant stand the taste of nicotine
i used it on my grow last yr and it didn't hurt but then again my plants were about 2 months old when i did it...it shouldn't hurt them http://forum.grasscity.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/13430/ppuser/31541 that was the plant i used it on and it turned out fine
OK, made the tea and sprayed my plants down with it. I'll keep the thread updated to let you know if it works. Also, I've noticed some of the lower leaves are turning yellow. Is this also caused by the mites or is it something else I need to look out for?
doesnt sound like spidermites to me spidermites leave tiny white marks like salt sprinkled on the leaf, the spidermites are so small you couldnt see a hole If they could bite all the way thru. neem oil works real well on mites there is a possibility of aquiring the "tobacco disease" from that spray , but its rare dishsoap and cayenne pepper or tobascco will detere the pests the first critters that show up on me EVERY year is slugs (they cause holes and leaf deformation), then caterpillars if its slugs you need slug bait perimeter around the plants, they will stop coming as the plant ages ....they like the young growth thats close to the ground can you post us some pics?
No, unfortunately I need batteries and a USB cable for my camera to work. The best description I can give is this: My plants are still very close to the ground, they have only put out about 4 or 5 sets of leaves. On most of them the bottom set of leaves are yellow and have holes in them as if something was chewing away at them. I looked with a magnifying glass and couldnt find any insects at all. Other than that they are healthy, they are growing in good soil and get good light. I'm wondering if it's a nitrogen defeciency because of the yellow color? Some of the newer growths are curling slightly upwards, but that could just be them emerging from the top of the plant. I sprayed them with tobacco tea this morning. Should I outline the garden with cayenne pepper or hot sauce to keep little critters out?
Now that you mentioned it, I noticed slug trails around my plants this morning. You know, the shiny, glossy lines on the ground.... I just can't see my little plants bearing the weight of a slug... Should I line the garden with salt? Cayenne pepper? Hot sauce? Help!
Could be baby a snail. If it is DON'T use salt, if the salt dissolves in water and ends up in the soil MJ = dead. Hand pick them.
I went and checked them at night with a flashlight. I found 2 flies that looked like but were a little smaller than houseflies, but they were immobilized (mabye from the tobacco?) Also, after looking really close, I found a single strand of spiderweb.
I used screen cages, but if they are small enough, use a clear plastic 2 liter soda bottle unscrew the lid for air exchange and cut the bottom off to place over the plant mini green house