The Mega Crop Thread

[FatBeaverBuds]

So I'm no MC pro. I keep it simple and try not to overcomplicate things. So far my girls have seen nothing but MC this grow.


To the issue of calmag or not...
I have at least 3 different bottles of calmag on my shelf but have not had to touch them at all. I grow dwc & led's which is a notorious calmag hungry setup. Every grow up to this MC grow had required the addition of one thing or another.

I'm ride or die with this biscotti seeing nothing but tap water, MC & pH down.

I bought my bag in October so I'm running v3.

I mix my nutes 5 gallons at a time and don't grind my balls lol.


Some rosin I pressed from my OG Cheese trim

 

[Old Salt]

ha,, i may not be an expert or even an amateur, using mega crop,, ha,,

but i sure do know bugs,, oh ya

never hurts to look for bugs for sure,, but every bug , just like toxicities and deficiencies, every bug gives it's own tell tale signs,, that make one look for bugs

those spots and edge brownings are not one of the signs of bugs.. one need look a wee bit closer to see bug signs. there will be leaf markings alright,, but tiny ones accumulating over time

a whole other fun issue to deal with

cheers doc,, great questions/observations

I haven't had bugs since I started growing about three years ago. Someone decided I needed to learn, and I discovered I have the start of a fungus gnat infestation today. It's a great day for it, as no one here in the Halifax area has remedies in stock. I ordered nematodes and yellow sticky traps through Amazon, but they won't be here for a week. To keep the gnats down to a dull roar I deployed some cut up fly paper strips around the plants.

 

[nivek]

I haven't had bugs since I started growing about three years ago. Someone decided I needed to learn, and I discovered I have the start of a fungus gnat infestation today. It's a great day for it, as no one here in the Halifax area has remedies in stock. I ordered nematodes and yellow sticky traps through Amazon, but they won't be here for a week. To keep the gnats down to a dull roar I deployed some cut up fly paper strips around the plants.

one of the reasons i switched to hempy was because i was pretty sure i was importing bugs into my grow thru the peat moss or potting soil i was using. i was told most likely the peat moss.

i have had about 3 fungus gnats show up. actually saw a mature one. wings et all

i have used every DIY solution as a potential solution.

it is a constant battle. i too , just this morn, saw a suspected thrip larvae. aargh

one concoction,, water and iso alcohol. even amounts of both. spray the soil as well, and the trunk

i have done major damage to my plants spraying for pests,, but the plants do recover,, and give some trippy shaped leaves in the meantime,, ha

 

[Old Salt]

one of the reasons i switched to hempy was because i was pretty sure i was importing bugs into my grow thru the peat moss or potting soil i was using. i was told most likely the peat moss.

i have had about 3 fungus gnats show up. actually saw a mature one. wings et all

i have used every DIY solution as a potential solution.

it is a constant battle. i too , just this morn, saw a suspected thrip larvae. aargh

one concoction,, water and iso alcohol. even amounts of both. spray the soil as well, and the trunk

i have done major damage to my plants spraying for pests,, but the plants do recover,, and give some trippy shaped leaves in the meantime,, ha

It seems strange to me that I got them in winter, four months after the grow started. We haven't brought any soil or new coco into the house since then.

I think getting rid of a good percentage of the adults with the traps will produce less larvae for the nematodes making them hunt the buggers down. Hopefully between the two, I'll break the breeding cycle and get rid of them.

 

[HutchBenedict]

I've been keeping fairly detailed notes for all my plants so I have a record of exactly how much MC I've been using.

This Nirvana AK-48 was fed nothing but Megacrop, 7g per gallon for the last month or so. In total she ate up 118 grams of Megacrop start to finish. She produced 103 grams of dry bud.

I keep the MC in a Mason jar and sometimes stir it up a bit but I have never worried about the balls and I only mix a gallon at a time. I know people want to complicate it or feel it should be more complicated but it isn't. Don't worry about the balls or other supplements. You'll get used to seeing a certain proportion of balls in your scoop.

The recommended amounts throughout the life cycle work pretty well. Let the plant tell you if you need more or less. If you stick to the schedule then your unique plant should show only burnt tips if you are a little over or maybe some calcium spots if you are a little under.

When I got into this I assumed experienced growers like @InTheShed and @carcass could be trusted so I followed their advice. Learn from the best and keep it simple!

This Lambs Breath autoflower used 80 grams of MC through its life-cycle and produced 59 grams of dry bud. It was using 6.5 grams the last three weeks.

 

[InTheShed]

What does this look like to everyone? Burn or a deficiency? Like K?

Run your current numbers through an NPK calculator and see where you are. It looks like classic K burn to me, so I would drop the extras and bump your MC to 5.5 next water and then to 6.0 the watering after that. I've never seen anyone burn the edges of their leaves like that using just the recommended amount of MC for each stage of growth.

 

[multiVortex]

I haven't had bugs since I started growing about three years ago. Someone decided I needed to learn, and I discovered I have the start of a fungus gnat infestation today. It's a great day for it, as no one here in the Halifax area has remedies in stock. I ordered nematodes and yellow sticky traps through Amazon, but they won't be here for a week. To keep the gnats down to a dull roar I deployed some cut up fly paper strips around the plants.

Ah, those pesky feckin gnat bastards. I just love those. [/sarcasm]

However, I do have some tips that will help.


First, the ones flying around. The yellow sticky strips will get a few, so keep that up. Also add some coffee cups filled 1/4-1/3 of the way with apple cider vinegar around your grow.

Now to eradicate these pesky jokers, it's good to understand how they cycle (and they cycle very quick) and how to break that cycle.

They love moist and dark areas. Drains, that potato at the bottom of a sack starting to soften and go bad, etc. I had a horrid, horrid infestation with my house plants that I bring inside in the winter a few years ago. I mean it was bad. Those things were everywhere in the house. Every window sill would be covered with their expired bodies, and I can't tell you how many times I had to windex the TV from the smears of their demise.

I dug and dug into it all, and finally found what worked in the long run. Needless to say, I haven't had an issue since. Not once.

The strips and ACV will get the fliers, but really unless you break their breeding cycle you will not be rid of them. You can spray (I tried them all) but they will come back. Why? Their eggs. That's the kicker, and they lay them thick and often.

I found that they absolutely loved the top of my potted plants. Nice and moist, and the perfect spot for their reproductive escapades. They were having a party like it was the 60's and free love. It was bad. Bad bad bad.

What I ended up doing to break that party up was put about 1/2" (12mm or so) of sand on top of my plants. Just that regular old "play" sand (that's fairly fine) from the home improvement store. It sounds odd at first, but it works. They absolutely hate the sand, and will not go near it one bit. I guess it's like glass and cuts the crap out of them, so they avoid it like the plague.

Early on, I also had to keep the drains closed in all the sinks and tubs to take away another dark, damp area. Within a week, they were all gone. I've always had sand on top of my plants since, and never had another one of those buggers.

I also started watering them from the bottom, but that's only because it isn't as easy to get them gently watered from the top.

There are some additional benefits as well. One is it acts like a mulch, and reduces evaporation from the top of the soil. So it allows more water to go to the plant, and in turn each watering lasts a little longer as well.

Anyway, it's a solution that works. Sometimes you have to adjust to make it work, but that's better than those feckin gnats.

 

[farside05]

Run your current numbers through an NPK calculator and see where you are. It looks like classic K burn to me, so I would drop the extras and bump your MC to 5.5 next water and then to 6.0 the watering after that. I've never seen anyone burn the edges of their leaves like that using just the recommended amount of MC for each stage of growth.

To expound...

The normal range for K in a growing medium is 30-300ppm. Under 30 being deficient and over 300 being high. @Lazarus13 feeding 5g Mega, 1.2g of Bud Explosion, and 4ml CaliMagic put his ppm from K at 313. Upping the Mega Crop to 6 takes it up to 353. I've never had a "Potassium Deficiency" and my K numbers have always been sub 300. Grew for years with Dyna Gro and at that time my K topped out at 127. I'd rethink your mix. If you absolutely will not give up the Bud Explosion, use 6g Mega, 4ml CaliMagic, and .5g of Bud Explosion (combo is 285ppm K). My mix is 282ppm K, although I do it with Silica instead.

 

[Carcass]

I ordered nematodes and yellow sticky traps through Amazon

Another method of eradicating soil gnats is with Mosquito Dunks,or Mosquito Bits .
They both contain BTI, a 'good' bacteria that doesn't hurt your plants (or you), but is death to soil gnat larva.
To use them effectively, you need to keep the water for your plants in a 5 gallon bucket or other container large enough to hold enough water for all your plants.

Just drop half a dunk (or some bits) into the bucket of water, and let it sit for 24 hours so the BTI can populate the water.
Then just water the plants as you normally would- the first watering will kill most of the larva,
and the second one will get the rest....Then you just wait for the adults to die off-maybe a day or 2, and you'll be gnat free.
From there, you can either water with BTI every so often to keep the gnats from coming back,
or you can just use the treated water every watering to keep your grow space totally gnat free . (That's how I do it)
You can find the Dunks or Bits at Home Depot or Lowes, or get them online

*BTI is not the same stuff as the BT that's in Safer® brand Caterpillar Killer. (which also works great if caterpillars are your problem)

 

[Hydroholic]

Hope you folks don’t mind a few pictures.

 

[Baron Von Blurple]

I haven't had bugs since I started growing about three years ago. Someone decided I needed to learn, and I discovered I have the start of a fungus gnat infestation today. It's a great day for it, as no one here in the Halifax area has remedies in stock. I ordered nematodes and yellow sticky traps through Amazon, but they won't be here for a week. To keep the gnats down to a dull roar I deployed some cut up fly paper strips around the plants.

Hydrogen peroxide and water at 1:4 ratio fixed my gnat problem....plus a side benefit of oxygen infusion with the fizzing.

 

[MrSauga]

I ordered nematodes and yellow sticky traps through Amazon, but they won't be here for a week.

Bright yellow paper smeared with a thin layer of vaseline does the trick in a bind.

 

[PE636]

I started using the yellow traps preemptively a couple grows ago.. Picked up a 40 pack of 5x7 size ones.. I cut the traps into 2x2 squares and lay a few on top of each root ball and around the bottom of the fabric pots. Replace when they get too dirty. Always seem to catch some but they don't multiply enough to be an issue this way.. I had decent luck once knocking them back with h2o2 and BTi but haven't had to use either since implementing the yellow trap protocol.

 

[Old Salt]

Another method of eradicating soil gnats is with Mosquito Dunks,or Mosquito Bits .
They both contain BTI, a 'good' bacteria that doesn't hurt your plants (or you), but is death to soil gnat larva.
To use them effectively, you need to keep the water for your plants in a 5 gallon bucket or other container large enough to hold enough water for all your plants.

Just drop half a dunk (or some bits) into the bucket of water, and let it sit for 24 hours so the BTI can populate the water.
Then just water the plants as you normally would- the first watering will kill most of the larva,
and the second one will get the rest....Then you just wait for the adults to die off-maybe a day or 2, and you'll be gnat free.
From there, you can either water with BTI every so often to keep the gnats from coming back,
or you can just use the treated water every watering to keep your grow space totally gnat free . (That's how I do it)
You can find the Dunks or Bits at Home Depot or Lowes, or get them online

*BTI is not the same stuff as the BT that's in Safer® brand Caterpillar Killer. (which also works great if caterpillars are your problem)

I'd just drop it in the nutrient solution with the Mega Crop.

 

[Carcass]

I'd just drop it in the nutrient solution with the Mega Crop.

That'd work, as long as it sits for a day or so before you use it- to give the BTI time to populate the liquid.

 

[Emilya Green]

Pine Bark mulch cured my gnat problem last summer and they have not been back since. Dumb bugs don't have the brainpower to figure out how to burrow under a 1" layer of the stuff and it quickly breaks their life cycle.

 

[skipeye]

Just an update on my plants with MegaCrop a couple days before transplant. They're beautiful. Back left is Blueberry and the other two are Zkittles. Currently making 4-6 cups at a time and still pHing it before applying (still get in the high 7 range with my terrible water, so I adjust. Just a preference).

 

[multiVortex]

breaks their life cycle

That's the key to beating those damn things!

(still get in the high 7 range with my terrible water, so I adjust. Just a preference).

My plain tap has a pH of 8.4-8.5 and 360ppm before I run it through the RO, which brings it down to about 7.8 and about 20ppm.

Switching to RO was a game changer for me.

 

[skipeye]

That's the key to beating those damn things!






My plain tap has a pH of 8.4-8.5 and 360ppm before I run it through the RO, which brings it down to about 7.8 and about 20ppm.

Switching to RO was a game changer for me.

I know! I've talked about wanting to get RO before. Unfortunately, I don't have the pocket change to drop on a RO system right now.

 

[multiVortex]

I know! I've talked about wanting to get RO before. Unfortunately, I don't have the pocket change to drop on a RO system right now.

I didn't want to spend it either, but I rationalized it to myself.

It was taking about 7oz (for 50gal) to get my res initially down to the right pH level. I added it up and the $110 for the 75gpd RO system will be a non-issue pretty quick compared to how much pH down I would have been using.

Now? Takes about 1.5oz total for the week, which is 1/5 of what it was taking. Directions say about 1ml/gal to bring it down 1 full point, and I'm using about half that to get it down 2 full points. I'm ok with that.