Charles Dowding compost trials

[botanics]

Yeah, I've noticed this too @Dodgee since growing again, I manage to keep them down mate using coffee and chilli/garlic stinky brews and by mulching the top with shingle and also sticky ribbon like but never eradicate them completely, it does keep them down though and ok when they are established but I think the larvae in the soil really does affect the development of the growing plants a and slows them quite a bit, the other day for instance I had a rummage through one of my failed germs and as I scraped the soil away I could see an adult gnat on the seedling that had begun to develop as the shell had opened up

 

They are indeed a pain in the arse mate

[pariah]

@Dodgee

 

@botanics

 

Tough little shits! From your experiences I'll be nematoding, sharp sanding, sticky padding and meshing my greenhouse grow.

 

I might pre-inoculate my medium with nematodes and fungi a few weeks before starting.

[Guest]

@Dodgee have you tried neem meal / oil mate? I have the odd gnat appear but never had a bad issue with them. I put it down to neem meal in soil mix and topdress and odd spray of oil. I use fresh worm castings and keep my soil nice and moist so by all accounts should be having a nightmare with them. 

[Ital]

Last year I went to a seminar of his, organized by a local group of Horticulturalists, to try and gather more info on the whole No Dig/ No Till way of growing for both my gardens . At the time he said all his compost was coming from the local council but he didn't go enough into the actual soil and the living side of it  and with a room full of people didn't want ask loads of questions. He had a few books on the table that I should have bought. Nice man, great salad bags.

Edited March 23, 2017 by Ital

[uBercaMeL]

Nematodes (I used nemasys fruit & veg which contain a few types but they also do the specific one for fungus gnats on its own) work to knock them right back but only for a few weeks and then they steadily return ime, and you don't want to let the pots dry out as much as normal or they die off faster. I used them every few months last year and they definitely helped but never quite got rid. Caught some sort of predator mite resembling hypoaspis miles eventually (probably either from my garden or incoming cuts) and since then the numbers dwindled to having seen none in 6 months+ (nor another odd soil mite that was all over my mums). Now I keep the pots from the previous grow around for a while to allow them to establish in the new pots, though I really just can't bring myself to get rid of them as I know the bugs will freeze outside and they are quite cute . I've planted some herb seeds in a few to put outside in april, currently sat in the overspill from my mum tent but am slowly growing a collection of old rootballs full of predator mites  (that I keep trying to push on friends who don't have fungus gnats 'you know, just in case' , want 1, or 22 @Dodgee? ;0 )

I've used most methods for fungus gnats except DE (too messy and I used to use airpots with coco so not practical) and if I was to lose this predator population I would definitely go with nemasys fruit & veg and ~2 weeks later apply hypoaspis miles (some growshops order them or go direct to agralan, or harrod horticulture though they might not have them yet, too cold outside still). Also they seem to like a top mulch (more moisture and surface area).

e2a - soz 

Edited March 23, 2017 by uBercaMeL

[pariah]

@Ital

 

I think he uses municipal stuff topically on his beds, that might limit the impact the clopyralid / aminopyralid has on the plants as they'll have a lot more exposure to light, which I hear breaks this shit down fast.

 

@uBercaMeL

 

I had no idea you can buy a predator mite, that's very interesting, judging by pics you could confuse them for the red spider mite, very interesting, probably very useful for indoor and outdoor grows!

 

Also very useful to know how regular you have to apply nematodes!

 

Cheers

[uBercaMeL]

@pariah They suggest every 2 weeks and I found they would wear off after that, so a small pack per meter squared every 2 weeks would be effective but probably be significantly more expensive and not much better than 1 application followed by predators ~ 2 weeks later. You can store them in the fridge for a little while (usually 4 weeks max) and they do a pack with 2 or 3 sachets for a repeat applications, as once open they only last a few days in the fridge if that.. Also the hypoaspis can feed on nematodes, so it makes more sense to apply them like this than at the same time imo..

[Bird]

17 hours ago, Dodgee said:

In the past couple of years compost/multi-purpose is becoming the bane of my growing life.

 

Its seems no matter which brand I buy or where from there's always some shit in there which fucks me over.

 

Just before Christmas I had a mites infestation.  So did the big clean down.  And I mean BIG.  All the usual, everything got cleaned using a strong bleach (peroxide solution) then I got the steamer out and gave everything a blast of superheated steam to rinse away bleach residues. 

 

Then all equipment was was piled into the 2 tents and a forte fog fumer set off in each and the room left sealed for several days. I fortefogged the room itself the landing/stairs area.

Proper belt n braces style.

 

Come the new year I bought fresh compost and started off fresh seeds. 6 weeks later I got the mother of all fungus gnat infections!  Every pot is absolutely crawling and sticky traps and multiple treatments with gnat off ain't touching the sides.

 

Its really really getting me down now and I'm close to packing in growing altogether for awhile.

 

Sorry waffling now but the ONLY place those little fuckers could have come from was in the compost..

What you gotta do these days?  Treat every bag with a multitude of pesticides before you even crack a seed?  I don't really want to go that route but if I can't find a source of good clean compost soon it's gonna be pack in completely or dare I say it aloud... turn to the dark side... hydro!

 

Have you tried buying online dodgee?  Forget saving money and pick the most reliable place you can think of.  Where it it is likely to have been well stored & have a high turnover.

 

fwiw I have had no problems with compost from our former sponsors.

[Dodgee]

@Bird

Funny enough mate I had a look last night and can get 50L bb light-mix for just under 14quid delivered (prime).

 

I'll probably give that a shot. 

But if I pay 14quid for 50L and still end up with frigging bugs then stuffs likely to get broken!  

 

I have had bugs from premium brand compo before but far less frequently than I have been with the generic stuff of late...

 

Thanx for chipping in mate

[Cheeky Monkey]

I absolutely love Charles Dowdings work. He's made my gardening life allot easier... I barely have to weed in my veg patch anymore. I looked at all the time I was spending weeding and realised that £40 worth of compost would save me more time in terms of £40/hours saved weeding... I can imagine my weeding would have only worked out to save £1/hour over mulching with compost. The plants are healthier too plus the ground holds onto moisture allot better.

 

I've even applied some of the stuff I've learned to kill weeds before a gorilla grow (cardboard & compost). Instant popup beds with no need for tools, although on the day of planting I will be bringing a dibber.

Edited May 6, 2021 by Cheeky Monkey