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Growing Tips ►
5
Common Pests and Pathogens and How to Treat Them
Lady Bugs Love Aphids
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Aphids
Jason Mispagel is the co-owner and operator of Year-Round Garden , a grower ’ s supply center serving both home and commercial customers since 2016 . His extensive growing experience in hydroponics and soil dates to the early days of legalization in Colorado , where he served as one of the state ’ s early caregivers . Year-Round Garden . 1225 W 103rd St , Kansas City , MO . 816.216.6917 – FB : yrroundgarden ● IG : @ yrroundgarden
30 May 2023
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When the goal of your grow is to produce high-quality , clean medicine , keeping your plants free of pests and pathogens is essential . It seems that at least once a week , we hear a horror story about powdery mildew or spider mites wreaking havoc on someone ’ s garden ! Here , we ’ ll cover five of the most common culprits , including identifying them and how to treat them . But first , let ’ s talk about prevention .
Prevention
While there are products you can apply to your plants and grow media to prevent pests and pathogens from ever rearing their ugly heads , it ’ s best to start by creating an environment that isn ’ t conducive to their development . Here are a few tips :
● Clean your grow area - Avoid stagnant water , sanitize tools such as snips or pruning shears , clean walls and floors with a hydrogen peroxide solution .
● Maintain good airflow - Use an oscillating fan , make sure air is exchanged in your space every 1-3 minutes , add filters to ensure air is clean when it enters your grow .
● Keep temperature and humidity in check - Environments that are too hot and dry or too cool and damp are recipes for disaster . Humidifiers , dehumidifiers , heaters , and air conditioners may be necessary .
● Cultivate healthy plants - To a certain extent , healthy plants can ward off pests and pathogens naturally . When plants are sick and dying , they become prime targets for disease and infestation .
Remove dead leaves and dying plants from your grow whenever possible .
● Don ’ t bring pests into your grow – This seems intuitive , but it ’ s one of the most overlooked reasons for an outbreak . If you ’ ve been outside or around other plants , be sure your clothes are clean and hands are washed before working on your garden . Similarly , animals are great spreaders of bugs such as mites that cling to their fur . And if you receive cuttings of plants from someone else , keep them quarantined for a week or two , even if they look completely clean . Insect eggs and larvae may not be immediately visible to the naked eye , so you want to provide enough time to confirm nothing is present before introducing them to your other plants .
But even if you ’ re the “ world ’ s champion of prevention ,” pests and pathogens can still sneak their way into your grow . When they do , quickly addressing the issue is important to avoid a much bigger problem . It ’ s easy to get busy and forget to check on your plants , but we recommend looking in on them at least once daily . A close-up inspection of both sides of the leaves , bud sites , stems , and grow media should only take a few minutes . Train your eyes to look very closely at the underside of leaves or use a magnifying glass or jeweler ’ s loop . If you notice movement , damage , or anything that looks like it ’ s not part of the plant , immediately quarantine the plant and work to identify the source and proper treatment . Placing yellow sticky traps underneath your canopy and near grow media will also help catch pests earlier and make them easier to spot .