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 SuperBudMan
Weedaholic
Registered: 04/10/10
Posts: 27
Last seen: 11 years, 9 months
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 first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics 
#399509 - 04/10/10 10:19 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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hey all
so its my first grow and i used a couple bad seeds i didnt even think would sprout. i started with 20 and cut it down to 9 so far. I think one of the seeds was from purple kush bud but the rest i have no idea..they def look less indica like than the "purple kush."
The problem:
For the past couple weeks ive been battling little white bugs in the soil. I cant really tell what they are theyre tiiiny and all white and only really appear when i water or irrigate the soil. eventually they turn into tiny flys that you dont see much either ive spotted a couple running around the soil once or twice. I used a "garden insect killer for white flys aphids and spider mites..its this kind of soap i read was safe for the plants) but it didnt seem to work.
Now the bottom leaves are getting signifigantly more yellow and dieing..i used miracle grow organic choice potting mix which i know isnt that great but i didnt imagine itd be terrible compared to my other local choices. Could the yellowing be from the soil? i havent fed them anything because theres supposed to be food in the soil that will last a little while. another thought is that maybe these bugs (which i suspect to be gnats or fungus gnats) are eating the roots and the plants cant absorb nutrients. I was going to buy some nematodes and try them the other day but i figured i shouldnt do something before i know whats really wrong.
ANY help would be greatly appreciated i want to move these babies into a bigger grow setup in a couple weeks and i want them to be healthy!!
This is the supposed "purple kush", its the only one that doesnt have yellowing leaves but there are the bugs in the soil:
These two are the others, a mix of two strains not sure what is what, you can see how the leaves are progressively worse as it gets lower on the plant..the top new leaves are fine:
Sorry i dont have a pic of the bugs theyre way to small for my cell phone camera to get 'em lol
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DieselB
High Watt Closet
Registered: 02/10/10
Posts: 1,156
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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 Re: first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics [Re: SuperBudMan]
#399515 - 04/10/10 10:34 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Bugs are most lokely not eating your roots, they are probably after the other organic matter in the soil. Your plants are probably getting hungry, you can't expect the soil to sustain the plants on its own forever. Start doing some reading, give the search engine a whirl and make some decisions on what kind of nutrients you wanna use. Probably wouldn't hurt to get something to test the ph.
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If you ain't smokin' dro, you're smokin' reggie. 
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SuperBudMan
Weedaholic
Registered: 04/10/10
Posts: 27
Last seen: 11 years, 9 months
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Re: first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics [Re: DieselB]
#399518 - 04/10/10 10:41 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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i actually bought a PH tester yesterday..do i test the water going in? or water draining out? the water i tested going in is like pretty high 7.8/8.0 or something and the water coming out the drain holes is more like 6.8. not the best ph tester in the world just some phenol red and a glass tube thing i found when i was at the store
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DieselB
High Watt Closet
Registered: 02/10/10
Posts: 1,156
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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Re: first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics [Re: SuperBudMan]
#399525 - 04/10/10 10:58 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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For now you will be alright to just test the runoff, 6.8 is fine, cunt hair on the high end, but thats alright. If your runoff gets to unacceptable levels then you'll wanna test it before it goes in to try and get the right offset.
Once you start adding nutes it should bring your ph down a little and that'll be a little better.
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If you ain't smokin' dro, you're smokin' reggie.
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SuperBudMan
Weedaholic
Registered: 04/10/10
Posts: 27
Last seen: 11 years, 9 months
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Re: first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics [Re: DieselB]
#399528 - 04/10/10 11:18 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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any ideas about the bugs? is there a general organic pesticide i could try or what. i just started using neem oil too but mainly just for the foiliage health not pests and itd only stop flying insects from what i read anyways. these guys are growing at an exponential raate..lots crawl up the sides of the pot when i water so i cant imagine how many are in the soil :S
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dutc2006
Grow or Die
Registered: 12/20/09
Posts: 199
Last seen: 9 years, 1 month
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Re: first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics [Re: SuperBudMan]
#400161 - 04/12/10 02:58 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Those sound like GHWF, greenhouse white flies. When they are the white larvae they are immature, then they turn into little flies. Replace the top inch or two of soil about once a week until you don't see them anymore. Most of the larvae will be there in those top inches, and once you get rid of the larvae you should be good to go. Their life span is very short and they are one of the easier pests to get rid of.
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DieselB
High Watt Closet
Registered: 02/10/10
Posts: 1,156
Last seen: 9 years, 9 months
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Re: first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics [Re: dutc2006]
#400180 - 04/12/10 03:46 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Another option would be to put a couple inches of sand, vermiculite or something similar in the top of your pot to completely cover the soil. This will make it harder for them to get in/out of the soil and should discourage them.
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If you ain't smokin' dro, you're smokin' reggie.
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 DrGreenThumb
Registered: 08/09/08
Posts: 487
Loc: Phish Tour 
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Re: first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics [Re: DieselB]
#400223 - 04/12/10 05:05 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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I honestly wouldn't worry at all about those little bugs. I had them on my first grow and I think they came along in the soil. I never noticed them until one day the sunlight shone on the pots right after watering. It looked like the whole pot was alive. Tiny bugs that you could barely see, 1000's of them, all jumping around at the same time.
As soon as the sun moved away from the pots they all disappeared back into the soil. It kinda worried me for a while but I knew there was nothing I could do because there were so many! Never seemed to be a problem.
I kinda wish they would come back. The first grow was my best! They may even be beneficial. I never did figure out what the hell they were.
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“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” -Dr. Seuss
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dutc2006
Grow or Die
Registered: 12/20/09
Posts: 199
Last seen: 9 years, 1 month
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Re: first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics [Re: DrGreenThumb]
#400287 - 04/12/10 07:46 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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What you are describing are springtails. He described crawling white bugs (larvae) that turned into flies, probably greenhouse white flies. GHWFs are destructive if left alone, but they are easy to get rid of. You can rid of them without even using pesticides by removing the larvae as I described above. If you are diligent they will be gone in less than a week. Springtails are not considered problematic usually. They feed off of the organic material in soil, and usually won't stick around for too long. I have never had a GHWF or springtail problem get out of control. Spider mites on the other hand...
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DrGreenThumb
Registered: 08/09/08
Posts: 487
Loc: Phish Tour
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Re: first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics [Re: dutc2006]
#400302 - 04/12/10 08:08 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Sweet. Thanks for the info duct2006. I've been wondering what they were for a long time. Are springtails ever a problem? Seems like they stay right in the dirt and don't bother the roots at all.
For some reason I have this overwhelming fear of getting spider mites. I guess it's everyone else hyping them like they're the devil. I don't think they exist this far north. I'm always worried about them being in my store bought soil though. The only place I've ever seen them is in internet pics.
Apparently, they exist in the southern part of the state though. Which means they are in most, if not ALL of the rest of the US.
From wikipedia.org: Springtails are cryptozoa frequently found in leaf litter and other decaying material, where they are primarily detritivores and microbivores, and one of the main biological agents responsible for the control and the dissemination of soil microorganisms. In sheer numbers, they are reputed to be one of the most abundant of all macroscopic animals, with estimates of 100,000 individuals per cubic meter of topsoil, essentially everywhere on Earth where soil and related habitats...
Guess they're everywhere.
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“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” -Dr. Seuss
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jwes420
Support Legalization!
Registered: 05/13/09
Posts: 258
Loc: NE Great Lake Region
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Re: first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics [Re: DrGreenThumb]
#449805 - 07/22/10 08:37 AM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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Bringin back the dead posts. Sorry...Well not really...I was invaded INSANELY by 1000's of the albino, flea jumpin, sub-soil suckin' fuckers just this morning! INFESTATION LIKE CRAZY!!!
I was pretty stressed thinkin it was fungus gnats, I had never seen spring tails before. I was scraping the top soil layer for cleaning and WHAM!!! I was havin flashbacks of lookin in a dirty hippies hair-do!
No prob though right?
Quote:
What you are describing are springtails. He described crawling white bugs (larvae)
Here is one of my dillemmas: These critters did not crawl or slime their way around like a maggot larvae would. I witnessed fungus gnat larvae dessimating seed guts of some Afghan Kush beans- no jumpin. Just larvae.
These springtails jumped like fleas or crab louse or somethin. THOUSANDS of them in EVERY pot top couple inches. They must be fresh born as there is no color, they're perhaps a .10mm - .40mm. and I have been keeping the soil very dry and water uptake on only 1gl per week(watered yesterday. I wonder perhaps if they laid dorment in between water uptakes.
Think its possible? Also has ANYONE ever lost more than the lower leaf discoloration/death. I'm going into flower today and I'd LOVE to know!
_One Love
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.........."And You Will Come to Find, that WE are ALL, ONE MIND.....
.....Capable of ALL that's IMAGINED, and ALL That's CONCIEVABLE.....
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SuperBudMan
Weedaholic
Registered: 04/10/10
Posts: 27
Last seen: 11 years, 9 months
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Re: first grow, little bugs in soil and yellow leaves help!! with pics [Re: jwes420]
#450577 - 07/23/10 08:48 PM (14 years, 4 months ago) |
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well so far as i know they didnt cause any damage to my plants in the end...heres the same plants about to be harvested, not the biggest crop due to a long veg stage and cfls but they smell amazing lol:
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