Caterpillars? Not today my beautiful flying worms, not today

GratefulBud

GratefulBud

Well-Known Member
Grow Journal of the Month
December 2023
So I'm now on my third grow. Oct 2020 harvest turned out way better than I expected! My December harvest (which was more of an experiment) turned out badly due to caterpillars. So this crop I was being very attentive and was spraying Neem about once per week first few weeks of flower. Also spraying Safer about once per week.

All was well going into about week 5 of flower then WHAM! I see what appeared to be bud rot / caterpillar damage on 3 buds. Shit. I immediately took action and sprayed the shit out of all 3 girls with Bt. No worms observed but I''m being cautious due to the failure of the December crop. Sprayed Neem the next day, and for the next few weeks sprayed every 3 days with either Neem, Safer, or Bt. No caterpillars observed. I'm thinking I dodged a bullet. I found these fruit tree nets on Amazon and thought I would try it out. Been on for a few weeks now with no issues.

I'd prefer not to spray any more Neem. The netting appears to be helping significantly. I see very few bugs. A few spiders but they seem to be cool so I refer to them now as my security force.

Am I crazy for trying the nets? I don't recall anyone else doing this on an outdoor grow.

Details:
2 Wedding Cake (the two large girls - they do NOT like the heat).
1 LA Pop Rocks (she flowered quick and buds look chunky
Five gallon fabric pots with second generation soil - Fox Farms Ocean with a little FF Coco Loco to help with moisture retention.
Southern California outdoor grow where it has been hotter than hades lately.


Two wedding cake and one pop rocks

Two wedding cake and one pop rocks


Wedding Cake 1

Wedding Cake 1


Wedding Cake 2

Wedding Cake 2


Pop Rocks

Pop Rocks

 
I'm in week 8 of flower - but it sure does not look that way. The heat is causing all kinds of havoc. Been close to or over 100F. for 5-6 weeks now.
 
The weird thing is I got these 3 clones last week of April, and they went in to flower first week of June. Surprised me as they were not labeled as autos. I've been trying to adhere to the Fox Farms Trio outdoor feeding schedule, but they sure don't look like week 8 of flower to me.
Pop Rocks closeup

Pop Rocks closeup

You can see a bit of damage on the left bud. I assumed this was caterpillars so I nuked all 3...

LA Pop Rocks

LA Pop Rocks


52462968-2A17-497A-BAA6-F5BBDFEEADCC.jpeg

52462968-2A17-497A-BAA6-F5BBDFEEADCC.jpeg


32277DF4-86E5-4890-B133-3C2F12E45C74.jpeg

32277DF4-86E5-4890-B133-3C2F12E45C74.jpeg

 
GratefulBud said:
Am I crazy for trying the nets? I don't recall anyone else doing this on an outdoor grow.
Click to expand...
Looks like a good idea. Same concept as a greenhouse grow - they each have their own mini-greenhouse. I personally would remove the nets during the day so that they get the full benefit from the sunlight and air flow. The caterpillars are most likely from moths which only come out at night. :thumb:

GratefulBud said:
The weird thing is I got these 3 clones last week of April, and they went in to flower first week of June. Surprised me as they were not labeled as autos... but they sure don't look like week 8 of flower to me.
Click to expand...
My guess it that you put them outside too early and they went into flower, then as the daylight hours kept increasing (before summer solstice) they went back into veg mode. The pictures look like a reveged plant to me. They should go back into flower again soon, if not already happening. I wouldn't start the "flowering clock" until you see the buds developing again. Oh, and outdoor plants are on their own schedule, so you can pretty much ignore the breeder's time estimates as they apply to indoor grows unless specifically stated. :Namaste:
 
Nice idea GB!
 
BeezLuiz said:
Looks like a good idea. Same concept as a greenhouse grow - they each have their own mini-greenhouse. I personally would remove the nets during the day so that they get the full benefit from the sunlight and air flow. The caterpillars are most likely from moths which only come out at night. :thumb:


My guess it that you put them outside too early and they went into flower, then as the daylight hours kept increasing (before summer solstice) they went back into veg mode. The pictures look like a reveged plant to me. They should go back into flower again soon, if not already happening. I wouldn't start the "flowering clock" until you see the buds developing again. Oh, and outdoor plants are on their own schedule, so you can pretty much ignore the breeder's time estimates as they apply to indoor grows unless specifically stated. :Namaste:
Click to expand...
I think you may be right - at least with the two Wedding Cake. They started to flower then just kept shooting up with new leaves. I kept waiting for them to pop but so far it has been minimal. Funny thing is some of the internal flowers (shaded) look much farther along, which leads me to believe the HEAT is mucking things up. I swear the two wedding cake looked like they were dead several days in July. The smaller pop rocks has looked like it is in flower since mid June, and the heat does not bother her so much.
I'll post updates to get more feedback.

I have learned quite a bit from your posts BL - thank you!
 
Finicky little bitches.
Now it appears there is powder mold. Dammit.

WC1

WC1

Bud on left looks more developed. PM on the bud on right
 
I sprayed some copper fungicide on the inner leaves that look powdery. Only 3-4 flowers impacted - all near the center so I'm guessing the netting is not allowing enough airflow. Weird because it has been a little windy the past few days. I may just remove any flowers / leaves that look like they have PM.
 
BeezLuiz said:
Looks like a good idea. Same concept as a greenhouse grow - they each have their own mini-greenhouse. I personally would remove the nets during the day so that they get the full benefit from the sunlight and air flow. The caterpillars are most likely from moths which only come out at night. :thumb:


My guess it that you put them outside too early and they went into flower, then as the daylight hours kept increasing (before summer solstice) they went back into veg mode. The pictures look like a reveged plant to me. They should go back into flower again soon, if not already happening. I wouldn't start the "flowering clock" until you see the buds developing again. Oh, and outdoor plants are on their own schedule, so you can pretty much ignore the breeder's time estimates as they apply to indoor grows unless specifically stated. :Namaste:
Click to expand...
I'm going to take your advice and remove the netting during the day. Not sure what triggered the PM. I would have thought outdoors and it being a little breezy (I can hear the wind chimes now) would be OK.
 
GratefulBud said:
I'm going to take your advice and remove the netting during the day. Not sure what triggered the PM. I would have thought outdoors and it being a little breezy (I can hear the wind chimes now) would be OK.
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Temp and rh trigger it. I use Monterey Bt Liquid and it gets rid of it. Copper funguside too?
 
When I first saw the white stuff on a few leaves I thought it was residue from the Safer spray. I think this was even before I put the netting on - about two weeks ago.
 
GratefulBud said:
When I first saw the white stuff on a few leaves I thought it was residue from the Safer spray. I think this was even before I put the netting on - about two weeks ago.
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Could be. I'm expecting it in a few weeks here too. I'll spray every 4 days with BT until it disappears. Then when it comes again. A bud wash in the end will take care of any residual.
 
GratefulBud said:
Not sure what triggered the PM.
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Another possible cause could be that your plants are too close to the pool. Lots of moist air from the evaporation going on there. Also, the chlorine in the pool water is probably not a good thing for your plants to be exposed to.
 
BeezLuiz said:
Another possible cause could be that your plants are too close to the pool. Lots of moist air from the evaporation going on there. Also, the chlorine in the pool water is probably not a good thing for your plants to be exposed to.
Click to expand...
Hmmm. Good point. I moved the plants that close just to take the picture. Typically they are about ten feet away.
 
So my dumbass (in the quest to avoid caterpillars) decided to try cedar chips as mulch. Moths hate cedar, I dislike moths, ergo. . .
DO NOT TRY THIS!!!
The LA Pop Rocks did not like it at all and told me so quite vehemently. The buds look ok but almost all leaves immediately turned yellow. Like by next morning. 3 days later they look like this.
I added a little FF Grow Big (for the nitrogen) to the nutrients yesterday.
Interestingly she smelled wonderful last night!

LA Pop Rocks

LA Pop Rocks

3 days after trying cedar chips as mulch. Don’t do this.

Wedding Cake 1

Wedding Cake 1


Wedding Cake 2

Wedding Cake 2

 
Safers spray can for sure leave a white residue, it's a little hard to tell if it was PM from the picture you shared.
I bet it's just the spray, as it's unlikely to have crept up on you that quickly. It tends to look like a fuzzy snot when it's first starting out. In the fall I'll probably be battling it so a bud wash is in order. I see a bit of mite damage but the safers will handle that, and to be honest a few bugs is just part of the package when u grow outdoors... My plants this summer have been pwned by everything in the book, the worst of them are the fkn caterpillars so it's good you got them under control. cheers bro.
 
Regrowth said:
Safers spray can for sure leave a white residue, it's a little hard to tell if it was PM from the picture you shared.
I bet it's just the spray, as it's unlikely to have crept up on you that quickly. It tends to look like a fuzzy snot when it's first starting out. In the fall I'll probably be battling it so a bud wash is in order. I see a bit of mite damage but the safers will handle that, and to be honest a few bugs is just part of the package when u grow outdoors... My plants this summer have been pwned by everything in the book, the worst of them are the fkn caterpillars so it's good you got them under control. cheers bro.
Click to expand...
I thought it might be Safer residue so I watched it a few days. Just a few spots. I’m about 75% sure it was PM so not taking any chances. Definitely going to wash including hydrogen peroxide before low and slow dry in the patio mini fridge.
 
Update with pics.
I think the LA Pop Rocks is getting close to harvest. Pistils are all receded into the calyxes. Looking very frosty but still not quite what I was expecting. The heat is just messing with me. Last week temps were low 80's and all 3 looked really good! Today, after 3-4 days close to 100 again, they look droopy.

LA Pop Rocks
LA Pop Rocks 8.28.21

LA Pop Rocks 8.28.21

Close up of Pop Rocks
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