Why I never spray for pests

andIhalped said:
Not using ‘cides ≠ smoking insects
Not using ‘cides ≠ smoking mold

Thanks for $0.02, though. Truth is one, paths are many.
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I'm not talking pesticides.

There's a difference between chemicals that are harmful, and bacteria that are common all around us every day.

It's not my .02 - its part of the organic produce and cannabis certification process.

You choose to not use them thats fine. Great actually.

But not having pests is just plain luck. It's always good to know you have a few tools in the growbox that you can fall to should you actually need them.

I'm just putting it out there for other folks that may not agree with either of us and actually use pesticides.

I grow healthy plants organically 420% - I get pests sometimes.

Mold is bad for us. Bugs, meh they probably good for us. lol

Specially old folks with immune deficiency (mold).
 
As noted in my 1st post, I have had mites (predators & hosing took complete care of them). Every year I get aphids, gnats, & lotsa hoppers that leave holes in the leaves for a short while before the insectivore invertebrates take care of them, too. When I see the pests, I don’t even flick ‘em off, I convict them of a hate crime, read them their last rites & turn them over to their unpaid invertebrate executioners.

Several years growing with no major pest infestations on anything (weed, maters, basil, peppers, etc), in an area where lotsa folks that spray still have major pest problems. Could be just luck, but several seasons is not a trivial sample size. I suppose T Williams’ & DiMaggio’s batting records coulda been just luck too.

Since you keep dragging in topics that aren’t relevant to the thread, I’ll point out that the thread title & where it's posted provides several hints about what this thread’s about:

1) What’s worked for me for many years outdoors. It’s not to convince anyone to do what I do. But I’d be stupid to stop doing something that works for me & is absolutely free (including shipping/containers…wasps & spiders ship on their own in their own biodegradable containers, Amazon can’t beat that). I don’t expect anyone to do what I think is right, but there’s something wrong with me if I don’t do what I think’s right & works.

2) It’s in the outdoor growing subforum, because it’s only germane to outdoor grows. I don’t think there’s any other option other than 'cides with indoor infestations, which are fairly common (& is one of the reasons I don't grow indoors).

3) It’s about pests, not mold (not sure why you keep dragging that in).

You could always start your own thread on IPM & organic pest/mold methods, replete with discussions of mold & insect smoking. Might be a bit more germane there.

Everyone should grow they way they wish. DIY = DIY

Thanks for your sage input.

My $0.02.
 
I'm not sure what you mean by bringing in something to the conversation that it off topic to your original post but to each his own.

All I am saying is that because you don't do something doesn't mean everyone should follow your way. Its all.

Yes growing outdoors you likely wont ever need anything for pests. Good luck with that.

My experience is that healthy plants and a healthy garden promote a good balance and that goes a long ways to avoiding pests.

There are a lot of variables in this equation.

I'm sorry that you brought up a topic for discussion and are not able to actually discuss it unless everyone sees it your way. All good.
 
Great thread and informative posts.

I read the Sand Country Almanac when I was a young man and it opened my eyes to the interconnectivity of our various habitats/ecosystems. The natural method of allowing Mother Nature to do her thing resonates with me. Of course local insect / predator populations are different throughout the world, there is for the most part, a balance. Good stuff folks.
 
bobrown14 said:
All I am saying is that because you don't do something doesn't mean everyone should follow your way. Its all.
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Absolutely. Quite clearly stated that in my prev. post...

paths are many.

Grow on!
 
I spray, but only organic black soap olive based and pure 100% cold pressed NEEM oil, and combination of those 2 is actually beneficial to leaves and plants and is highly recommended.

I have totally organic garden but don’t have nowhere near the variety of bugs that you have. My problem was that ants protect certain pests like aphids and eat their excrements and can be very aggressive to lady bugs actually chasing them away.
 
bobrown14 said:
I grow organically indoors. So the pests once they get in don't have many predators. So its important to IPM. Think of growing in a greenhouse. That's the idea.
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Yep, don't think there's many indoor predator pest control options (part of the reason that indoor growing of anything's of no interest to me;)).

The approach discussed in this thread isn't much relevant to indoor grows, which is why it's in the Outdoor Growing forum.

Grow on & smoke 'em if ya got 'em.
 
Well I guess a greenhouse wouldn't be outdoors. Most the ones I've ever been in are.

You can still get pests outdoors and the treatments are the same. You don't have to use chemical pesticides and thats my point.

VERY few farmers that grow organic veggies/fruits and livestock dont grow indoors. IPM is still a part of the growing experience. I'm only arguing this because at some point you will likely change your view.

To instead of "never" you may decide "sometimes" will be good enough.

Just understand that the "never" argument is not very common likely very uncommon. Food for thought..
 
I seldom see any caterpillars in my garden & this may be why:
full_yellowjacket.jpg

full_yellowjacket.jpg


Yesterday, while I was spreading compost, I noticed 4 yellowjackets* working on something on the soil surface. They were parting out a fat caterpillar. Went to grab my camera, talked to my wife for about 5 min & when I went back the caterpillar corpse & the yellowjackets were gone. Might be one reason I don’t see caterpillars… the informative website beneficialbugs.org (that’s their photo, BTW) notes that caterpillars are some of the preferred yellowjacket prey. They’re also pollinators!

Speaking of websites, this one from the NW Center for Alternatives to Pesticides also is fairly informative on the beneficial invertebrate front: pesticide.org

*I have a lot of antipathy about yellowjackets. Most folks that work in western forests, as I did for 40+ years, hate ‘em, because if you hit one of their nests in rotten downed wood, it is memorably horrible—they can sting through fairly heavy clothes & they come out en masse & hell bent on vengeance. They’re also a royal pain for outdoor dining in the fall, really attracted to meat, hence the nickname “meat bees.”
 
Well that is something I learned today! Feasting on caterpillars is pretty cool.

I work in the western boreal forest and have had my share of run ins with yellow jackets/wasps. Stepped on a nest once and within seconds had 6-10 stings on my face. Ran like the wind. Spent the next few hours with grandmas used tea bags on my face lol.
 
I learned something, too. I had no idea they are pollinators.

Nest run-ins are memorably awful. Wish I'd only had that happen once. I think it's happened to me about 10 times. It does not become more pleasant with repetition!

Smoke 'em if ya got 'em!
 
Interesting - I found a new to us, Yellow Jacket nest - in a raised flower container on our side porch. There's a lot of them. They are wearing down the vegetation around the opening where the landing pad is.

They are working hard.

The like flesh - fruit, foul and mammals.

I've been mauled by a few what they call swarm attacks. Both Hornets and Yellow Jackets.

It ain't pleasant.

I left the nest go.

I know the new queens will relocate once they leave the hive as will the current queen.

The queen will be the only survivor over winter. So the young queens will leave so they don't become food in the winter and find a new nesting place.

They are very fascinating and beneficial insects.

Bald Faced Hornets are freaking Yellow Jackets on steroids. Cool as shit from a distance.
 
Found spider mites on one plant yesterday:eek:. Hosed it & the other plants down with a high pressure jet.

They’re clean today, but I know the mites ain’t gone fer good, unless the ground troops & air force predators do the mop up like they did for me a coupla years ago, as described in my first post in this thread.

But who knows, mebbe I’ll get my comeuppance this year. Wouldn’t be the first time in my life.

Vamos a ver….

Onward, upward & grow on!
 
I'm currently harvesting a few GG ladies. They are less naturally resistant or insect repelling than the Kush plant I grow every year, are brittle and tend to phenodiversity weirdness (my bad I bought the seeds) but they are replete with predators too while they live up to their impressive resumes as meds. I would not be surprised to one day find an assassin bug or two attached to a sticky COLA like the La Brea Tar Pits exhibits. I try to leave the spiders but a few come in hidden by the branch. I carefully secure them, deposit them in a nice spot outside, and say a mental thank you as the Native Americans did to the deer that they "harvested." My advice to those who are able is to grow a bit more organically to share with others, even predators. In a sense, each plant becomes a "microcosm" displaying natural processes that abound in nature.

Black mold's another matter, it gets cut out branch and all.

Peace
 

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