The bugs are back!

[Jammin]

Dont know about you but it looks like the bugs are waking up to me! Since the weather has started to get a bit warmer ive noticed alot of the little bastards in and around my glasshouse lately, and they're advancing!

Ive had to start checking my plants over and picking the little shits off.

Anyway, if like myself you dont like using pesticides on your plants then you might start to worry about attacks from the garden. I know i am.

At any rate ive decided to try and get some info from you guys, see if theres some useful tips and tricks out there, so if youve got a comment, feel free to add it to the post.

Ive had a few ideas myself. Personaly, my greenhouse is fairly standard, windows open otward and are secured with an arm. Ive found that if you put a fine gauze cloth inside the frame of the window, and secure it all the way round, it prevents greenfly, blackfly and other such small insects from coming in through the opening.

I also try and allow spiders to build there webs inside the glasshouse, as it helps to catch anything that does make it inside.

As for protection against the ones that crawl along the ground, i have small trench about a hand span thick, all the way around my greenhouse that is filled with gravel. This tends to keep most slugs/snails off the roof and sides.

Believe it or not they do get in. I have found leaves that have been touching the sides with munches in them.

To keep things coming through the floor, i put down two layers of plastic sheeting over the floor, which i then ran into the trench and covered with gravel. As far as i can tell it works so far. I have also put concrete slabs onto the floor, just to settle the whole thing.

Well thats my lot, cheers and good growing.

[Mono]

Spiders, lacewings, ladybirds....find them in your garden and introduce them to your greenhouse...very green too I'm sure

Blagging hairclippings from a barber....honest they the best slug repellant I know...All my fritillaries and hostas nested into loads of hair clippings....looks good too if your bothered with aesthetics...

If things get bad use Wilder's Hot Pepper Wax...it's organic and would work well in a greenhouse to stop the plants sweating too much on very hot days, as weell as putting off bugs...

Mono...x

[Guest THE PUFFER]

The only thing with Hot Pepper Wax is it won't work forever...they will get tolerant.

I tend to use the insects definetely but also tend to use repellents derived from rape seed oil which the little buggers don't get tolerant to.

[friedaweed]

I use a home made concentrated which i use throughout flowering. Heres the concoction.

Things required.

One pasta saurse jar or similar.

One fat cuban cigar (Sacrificed and crushed)

one handfull of red chillies Chopped

Half a bar of ivory soap (Grated)

method

chuck the lot into the jar

fill jar with water leaving about half an inch air top.

pop on the top leave in window for two days

mix thoroughly and keep in fridge.

one teaspoon in a 1 lt spray is enougth to put the critters off.

The secret is to stop them settling on your plants rather than deal with them once they've populated. Plants sprayed with this mix stand a much better chance of a pest free life than those left alone. None of this harms your plants and the stuff washes off easily i spray one day, leave on for two, wash off leave off for two and so on. Most of the time im not this accurate because i do smoke the shit as well as grow it but i find this gets me by.

Another approach is to grow other plants that discourage mj pests from settling in the area, such as garlic, chrysanths, strong odord herbs such as corrianda, thyme.

regards

frieda