Hey. I am a new grower, and I am growing 5 ak 47 plants. 2 indoors, 3 outdoors. But today I am facing an issue with the one growing indoors.. So I have noticed for about a week now that the leaves for both the plants have like this small tear and discoloring in a small amount of places. Yesterday I have noticed fungus gnats, and I asked you guys how to get rid of them, and I was told to pour hydrogen peroxide mixed with some water into the plant. Anyway, I do not believe the fungus gnats are the culprits for the leave discoloration. I haven't noticed any other pests/bugs in the soil or on the plant. (I have also only seen the fungus gnats hanging around IN the soil). My plants are about a month old now, and they are being grown under 1 250W cfl light. I keep humidity to 50-60%, and temps about 21-24 degrees celsius (68-73 degrees Fahrenheit). Can anyone help me identify what is causing this? Maybe it is nutrient deficiency/burn, pH fluctuations or some other bug that i cannot see. OH! And I have also checked underneath the leaves and found no bugs there either.
The discoloration of your plant (and is probably providing the wonderful habitat for the fungus gnats) is over watering. Your soil mix is way too dense and needs gobs of perlite mixed into it to allow for better drainage of the soil. You need to get the humidity down to around 40% because humidity and wet soil are like the Hilton for bugs. Get big air movement going around your plants with fans to bring down the humidity and fix the soil. That's why it's always better for the new grower to go with a prepared soil instead of just something out of a bag or actual dirt. They need BIG drainage to keep them healthy. The soil should be so arid that unless you water very slowly, the water just drains through and out into the drain pain. Having a dense soil that doesn't allow that, just holds water around the roots and MJ plants hate constant wet conditions. You have to give them defined wet/dry cycles...which means you never ever ever water an indoor plant until you can lift the container and feel NO weight...light as a feather. Any weight you feel is moisture still in the soil. The larger the container you grow in, the harder it is to tell by feel, how much moisture is in the soil. So fix this stuff and get rid of the gnats...which is one heck of a job from what I hear. I'm thankful to say I've never had to deal with them myself. But it's not an easy job. You might even consider tossing them and starting over. Plants grown outside don't seem to succumb to the same hazards as indoor plants do as long as they get enough sun and water. But indoor plants are very sensitive to wet soil. Hope this helps you some. TWW
Thanks for your honest opinion. If I toss them and start over, I will need to order new seeds. And since my postal service (south african postal service), is super slow, whenever I order something using them, either from the dark web (weed obviously) or from seed banks (ILGM or single seed center), they take about 50 business days to arrive. So I don't wanna toss them. I would rather try to fix this. Do you think that if I move these plants outside and let the sun dry the soil out, will it help? It's summer where I live, and the sun is pretty intense here (living in the South). So should I try that first or just transplant it into a different container with different soil?
Having fungus gnats is hardly a reason to toss a plant and start over - great advice. I don't know what has caused your spots but I do know that it wasn't fungus gnats. Adult fungus gnats do not cause any damage to your plant - however the eggs they lay in the soil that become larvae will feed on the roots. I have tried the hydrogen peroxide method but it didn't work for me - I used Gnatrol - BT - and within ten days the little buggers were dead. Also important when growing indoors is to hang a few yellow stickies to kill the adults.
So I must buy gnatrol BT? Can I find it at any plant store or should I buy it online..? And I am pretty sure that they have already laid eggs.. So will it kill all the gnates and the eggs? Thanks
You don't have to buy Gnatrol - that's just what I use with success. I bought mine from my local hydro shop and I'm sure you can get it online. If you saw adults, you definitely have larvae in your soil. Gnatrol does not kill adult gnats - you mix 2-3 teaspoons to a gallon of water, then saturate your medium with it, and repeat several times over about a 10 day period. The adults are killed with yellow sticky traps. Good luck.
