mariganja

Hey all, I've been having a cupple problems trying to grow the sprouts that I'm growing now. For a cupple days now, its been pretty cloudy outside...and the sun's not shining anywhere untill it gets around 3-4 pm..and my plants will only get like 4-5, sometimes even 3-4 hours of sunlight due to the clouds. Also since theres no sun, but since its not cold outside, it makes the perfect time for gknats to come out and when I went to go water my plants today there was a SHIT LOAD of them around the area my plants are located at. I looked closely at one of the leafs and there's like 3 small holes in them..and I'm pretty sure they were caused by the gknats. I have a 10 inch tall catnip plant in the center of my garden because I read up on here that they can repel gknats and some other pests but it doesnt seem to be helping much..
I bought a bunch of those sticky fly strip things and im gunna set up a bunch around the area and I'm pretty sure that'll help the gknat problem. My main concern though is the weather...I can't controll the sunlight or the clouds...and to top it off I think it might even rain tommorow and I'm afraid that'll kill my sprouts....what should I do? Is there anything I can feed them so that they can still get nutrients if there's a lack of sunlight? What would be the best thing to cover them in incase of rain? I was thinking maybe some clear container with alot of small holes in it...what does everybody else suggest?
thanks to all that reply

Stone

I've never had this specific problem, however, knats are very common in my area.
I don't think that you are going to even put a dent in an outdoor knat population with sticky traps, even if you line the yard with them. So I'd invest elsewhere.
There's really no need to eliminate the knats, just to keep them away from your babies.
If it were me, I'd think a anti-pest spay applied to plants, as well as a few knat deterrants, in a close perimeter to the plants. Something along lines of a tobacco or neem poison with some dishsoap, and whatever else might work specifically for knats (a little research is in order ). You did say these were in your yard, or accesible? This will help greatly, because a plant spray such as this will need to be applied every few days, and after every rain. You had the right idea with the catnip, but keep it right by the plants. It's fine as long as the knats don't bother your plants. No need to waste resources chasing them out of the city.

mariganja

Hmm thanks for the help. But do you know what I should do to my plants incase there's a heavy storm? There just sprouts and I don't think they can handle it. And what should I do about the lack of sunlight? It says it's going to be cloudy all week! I can't aford any grow lights! Tommorow afternoon I'll buy a cupple more catnip plants and I'll research some good gknat repellents thought.

Stone

Just make a small shelter them. Can be anything, cut 2l bottles, sarran wrap tent, etc...
Why are you so worried about the lack of sunlight? I'd consider it almost beneficial because seedlings can't take full sunlight all day as well as they can when older. You may lose a tiny bit of growth, but your plants won't burn, a good trade in my eyes. Just watch for strong wind or rain.

swordfish

Silica sand about 1 inch thick should be placed on the topsoil in a radius around your plants. These small flys like to lay their eggs in the soil detrius and will eventualy eat away at your roots.
As the seasons change these flys become less evident. Just this evening I purchased some Cutter with 98.11% DEET because the same flys you speak of drive me nuts and bite me anyway. I always carry some NEET swab towellettes with me. I have found April and May after any rains to be the worst. I get totally swarmed and bitten big time. Take precautions.

mariganja

Thanks for the shelter and sunlight tip stone. And thanks for the sand tip swrod fish, I'll do that as well. Also, I know you probably can't but is it alright to spray like cutter on your plants or will that kill them..? If not I was thinking of taking some cutter and spray a shit load of it on some socks and hang the socks on nearby trees or just on the ground by the plant. Do you think that'll help at all? I know it dosen't last for long so I'll re-apply everytime I visit my grow site.
peace yall

swordfish

Once your plants or should I say if your plants get larger like when their beganing to become rootbound in a one gal cont or at least visualize that much root mass if you got them in straight soil. I'd be more wary of small spring birds they screw that jackrabbits in the morning sun anyway let me do a bowl.
The flys are probably there because your there and you smell like a five day old tuna; that is as far as there concerned. The DEET is only for your protection. Some of my friends can be in the vicinity of these wicked little gnat buzzers or maybe some can be mosquitos that could carry West Nile Virus. Then you will really become a victum to big pharma sort of like Hep C thearapy with pegalated Interferons and retro viral cocktails that you or some fool insurance company will spend $400.00 per injection to cure you of West Nile Virus. Just spray your ass down good before entering your jungle and you'll do fine.
Oh sounds like your ground is pretty saturated with H20, this could be your problem especialy if your useing contaminated potting soil. Home Depot has taken a bad rap regarding this but I have other reasons to despise them. Sometimes the Larvea (sp) from the flys gets into the bags when they sit in big piles outside at the lumber yard. I like to get my Ocean Forest at over three times the cost of Depots stuff +<10%.
If your in the wild all bets are off anyway but if you have a good root mass and are allowing for dry cycles (if containering) you got a big jump on the game once you get some size. Don't forget the $10.00 bird netting.

Grower4Life

mariganja, when its it cloudy outside your plants are still receiveing good sunlight, and all plants are going to have some bugs eatting them in their early life, if it is really bad then do like others said and cover them with clear plastic bottles.

mariganja

Hey all, today was actualy a nice sunny day so I gave em a lil water, and sprayed this non-harmful multi bug reppelent on them. I'll start making the shelter incase of any sudden rains. Thanks everyone!

mariganja

today I went to go check up on my plants, and I was closley examinging all of the plants when I found out 1 of them had this small ass bug attached to the main stem. It had like a pointy soringe thing like a mosquito,whitch was stuck in the main stem and sucking out all the plants juices, but it was really really small...about twize the size of of a ball on a ball point pen and it was like a dark red color. The bug repellent didnt work because I didn't spray it on the main stem but I was just wondering if anyone has ever seen or heard of this bug so I can look up ways on how to repel it incase some more show up if my repelent doesn't work.
thanks to everyone that replys