Winter Weedy Wonderland - Auto Grow - Royal Queen Seeds

I would remove the battery tender when running the generator.
Thanks. I kinda figured on that. I've added it to the start up steps sheet next to the breaker panel.
When it's blowing, freezing white shit outside....I'll forget something for sure without a list. LOL
 
We are out of the woods. :yahoo: 1 week and one day later and they have recovered. I think we're good now, as long as I pay attention. :laugh:
Hopefully I haven't stunted them noticeably later.



And just cuz some people might be curious, here's how I had the time lapse set up.

 
I am transplanting the eldest 3 kids today into 5 gallon fabric pots. I'm trying something different than hydroton clay pebbles to disperse water evenly. I have cut to fit some round silicone dehydrator sheets to set on the topsoil. It works great, the water went through the holes in a pretty danged even spread.
Hydroton pebbles have always worked for me, but are a PITA to separate from the soil if you want to recondition it for use in the garden.
We'll see how this works later, but so far I'm happy with that first try.

I had to PH my rainwater down for some reason, it was around 8.0 and ph'd down to 6.4. Not sure what's happening there, unless the cal/mag took it up, which isn't usually a problem for me. Hmmmm.... I'm going for some fresh rainwater this morning and will PH test again and see. The kids are looking too light green for me. I want that rich healthy green.

Here's the first transplanted girl, Royal Gorilla #1

 
I posted this in the wrong journal, should have been my own. oops...

Anyway, here's the Royal Creamatic sprout I murdered by overwatering that rockwool after transferring to a solo cup. I'm keeping it in there because I still see some green....there's always hope. LOL
BTW, I am now using up my root riot cubes. I do like those better.

 
I posted this in the wrong journal, should have been my own. oops...

Anyway, here's the Royal Creamatic sprout I murdered by overwatering that rockwool after transferring to a solo cup. I'm keeping it in there because I still see some green....there's always hope. LOL
BTW, I am now using up my root riot cubes. I do like those better.

I have never used rockwool but I love those root riot plugs as well. Have a great day LC.
 
All of the girls have been up-potted to 5 gallon fabric pots. Light is still at 50% 18/6.

The Royal Creamatic got very lanky stretched. I hope she fills out more than stretching up now. She had a good root swirling, so I decided to just go with giving her a bigger pot. I did bury part of the stem, but she's still pretty tall.

I actually added the hydroton pebbles anyway, over the top of the liners. Mostly because I'm happier with the looks, and because with those liners there it will be easier to remove the pebbles to re-use the soil.
I change my mind a lot. :laughtwo:

 
Well, along with that white crap that fell all over the ground this morning....I found a different kind of white crap inside when lights came on.
We've got Thrips! In two days time, they did damage to my leaves. I knew when I saw those whitish areas exactly what it was.
Got in there with my jewelers loop and the little bastards were scurrying under the leaves.
I think they may have come in the soil bags, but not sure.

So, I had a planter of parsley and one of basil in there, those are going outside. The rest of the soil is in a tub and that is going outside (Freeze those little bastards if they are in there)

I am removing all of the hydroton pebbles, they will get soaked in mild detergent and rinsed.
I have a mild mix of neem oil, warm water, and dawn detergent and will be spraying the top of the soil. This is supposed to suffocate the larvae and eggs by coating them. I misted one of the girls with the neem oil mix, I will see how she reacted tonight or tomorrow.

Here they are in all their destructive glory. 😠👿😡





 
So, I had a planter of parsley and one of basil in there, those are going outside. The rest of the soil is in a tub and that is going outside (Freeze those little bastards if they are in there)
I never bring plants in from outside. They always end up with problems even if you spray them
There’s always eggs lurking in the soil
Have you ever tried any mosquito dunks?
 
I never bring plants in from outside. They always end up with problems even if you spray them
There’s always eggs lurking in the soil
Have you ever tried any mosquito dunks?
The parsley and basil plants were never outside. I grew them from seed in the mushroom tent and they've always been indoors.
I used mosquito dunks years ago and have that down on my amazon list for an order tomorrow.
 
So I've always believed that thrips lay their eggs in the soil. I'm going to sample one of the early leaves that has damage and see if I can magnify enough to see what's actually there.

But, I was just researching and found this:


"Life cycle of thrips​

Thrips develop through six stages: the egg, two larval instars, a pre-pupa and a pupal instar, and finally the adult insect. The eggs are kidney-shaped and have a white or yellow shell. Before a female deposits an egg, she makes an opening in the plant tissue. The eggs are laid in leaves, flower petals and in the soft parts of stalks. On the leaves of sweet pepper, for instance, these egg-laying sites are recognizable as wart-like growths, whereas on most other crops the egg deposition sites cannot be seen. Larvae and adults feed on all aerial parts of the plant and are fairly mobile. Immediately after hatching, the larvae begin to feed on plant tissue on the underside of the leaf. The larvae are smaller than the adults and lack wings. Depending on the species, thrips either pupate on the plant or in the ground. The pre-pupal and pupal instars are recognizable by their developing wing buds. Compared with the pre-pupa, the pupa has longer, more developed wing buds and longer antennae that are curved back over the head. The pre-pupal and pupal instars do not feed and only move if disturbed. In adults, both pairs of wings are fully developed. Only at this stage can the particular species of thrips be identified based on form, colour and pattern of hairs."
 
Well, I've determined they aren't to any kind of serious infestation point. I can see them, and have been rolling them off the leaves squishing them. They are tiny, but once the trained eye knows what to see, the tweens and adults can be seen.
There aren't many leaves to deal with having them still in the seedling stage, and I can scope them all out pretty easily.
Now I need to be sure they don't use the soil for the maturing stages.

I have some bottles of SNS 209 concentrate, and I will mixing some of that up to spray on the soil or add to the watering. I'll have to read the instructions for application again. It's been a minute since I've used it. ;-)

As Roseanne RoseannaDanna says: "...it just goes to show you, it's always something — if it ain't one thing, it's another."
 
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