Hi everyone,
I've been vegging three large plants in a UK greenhouse over the summer months and I'm now planning to move them into my 3 x 3 grow tent in an insulated shed so that I can flower them out. I usually flower them in the greenhouse but this year I thought I'd do this indoors to keep the smell and mould issues that I usually get towards the end of flower under control.
My main concern in doing this is that I'll be bringing predators into my indoor grow space which may hurt my crop and cause problems with future grows. To avoid problems with this I plan to spray the plants before bringing them indoors too kill most of the bugs and then hang sachets of beneficial predators in the grow tent to keep the surviving insect population at bay.
My questions are:
1. What sort of spray should I use to kill the insects before bringing them indoors? The plants have all started flowering so something non-toxic would be necessary.
2. Any recommendations for beneficial predators? The plants are currently showing signs of spidermite and thrip damage so I was thinking of getting Amblyseius Cucumeris and Amblyseius Californicus to tackle these.
3. Is there a chance that once I cut down the plants at the end of flowering, the insect life will hang around in the grow tent until next year's grow (which will be starting next April)? My hope is that they'll all die/move on over the winter months when I don't use the tent.
4. Any other recommendations for avoiding trouble when moving outdoor plants to an indoor grow tent?
Thanks!
Daedalus
I did two sprayings with very strong coffee. I recommend a compressed air sprayer, a pump up type. Spray the Holy Hell out of it, then spary it some more. I waited 2-3 days and sprayed again. No more bugs!!
Apparently a very simple and dirt cheap material seems to do well. Spray your plants with strong black tea or coffee. Make sure to soak everything to the point of dripping wet, top to bottom. The caffeine is very poisonous to bugs but not to humans. That should hopefully help avoid too much of a problem. If you notice any bug damage in the tent, repeat the application as needed. Several growers are finding this very effective and safe too
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I agree with monkey I used a tea spray when I was paranoid about a spider mite issue. I did 3 tea bags in a litre of boiling water and let it sit for an hour, transfered it to a spray bottle and went nuts on the plant with it I was week 3 flower when I did that it didn't change any flavour or smell for the plant worked very well.
Clean the tent after this grow geeezzaaaa the bugs will always stay if they can and it's better to know they are not there. Clean down with iso after the grow get every nuck and cranny. When they come back in the tent environment they absolutely thrive so better being safe than sorry.
Bit of a late reply this so hope it is still relevant for you
Daedalus Topic starter
September 25, 2024 10:45 am
@ukgrow89 Thanks man, that’s great. I’ve done the move now and all seems to be going well so far but I’m keeping a watchful eye out for them. I left one plant in the greenhouse as there wasn’t room in the tent and it’s still being absolutely savaged by the spider mites, so I think I’ll probably need to do another tea spray on it (I don’t think I made a strong enough tea first time around so I’ll follow your recipe for the second spray). And yes I did have a fear that the spider mites might hang around so I’ll do a thorough tent clean after the grow
Hi mate,
Like yourself in live in the UK. I have vegged outside and took inside to flower a few times now .
It's definitely a good idea to give to plants a couple of sprays before you them in. Coffee grounds is good , I have a spray that I make from Nicotiana leaves.
Although I still got some bugs, they have not taken hold and become a issue . I don't spray once the lights are on 12 12. .
Watch out for caterpillars! These are a pain , they crawl in your bud and eat the stem and that nice bud days . Hard to see and when you find them they do a jump while attached to a Web thing . Curled up leaves a cigarette is another sign .
If I see signs of a large out break of anything on leaves I remove them .
As your plants have been outside keep a look out for mould and powdery mildew
You might get the odd flying thing lol
Once the grow is over I wash my tent down with a diluted bleach dry and wash again with just water dry and pack away
Personally I have enjoyed growing this way and not had any problems apart from starting a plants in April try get 4 8ft plants in a 4x4 ! I lol i think if you put them straight into 12 12. 10 weeks ain't enough time for nasties to take hold at your probably bringing in predators in as well as the ones you don't want . I like to know other people's opinion on this tho . I like to see ladybirds and spiders living on my plants
Best wishes
Your plants look great too
H
Daedalus Topic starter
September 30, 2024 6:14 pm
@hashimoto Cheers man, the spray seems to have worked really well and they are now happily in my grow tent with no signs of a pest problem so far. I bought some beneficial predators who seem to be tidying up any remaining pests and *touch wood* no signs of damage to the plants. Interestingly those plants which I left outside that I applied the same treatment (tea spray and beneficial predators) are still being savaged by spider mites.
I really like the combination of vegging in the greenhouse and then flowering inside under lights as, although UK summer is pretty shit, it’s really nice doing all the training and stuff in the greenhouse. Other than the pest issue I think it’s the ideal process for the hardy strains as the bud quality at the end of the grow is far better than if I do the flowering outdoor. The taste of outdoor grown bud is pretty special though…
Yes mate . I have enjoyed growing outside. In the UK it's hard because of the weather and come September the weather changes and mould becomes the issue . I can get autos to harvest no problems but photo period are harder . Fast flowering plants are good choice because they really should be called early flowering , my experience is they start flowering a month before the normal photo period.
Outside I think your going to get Bugs and it's a case of keeping on top of it.
Once your in your tent just keep an eye out for anything nasty , spider mite and caterpillars in my case . Then once your into flower keep a look out for mould. I'm sure your be fine especially as you have taken precautions.
My plan for next year will be autos April and when they done July hopefully I will start my photos. Lol that's my plan , but best made plans etc . It also my plan this year but I was late and only got as far as autos lol
Best wishes
H
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