This looks promising i sure will! Thanks!!
1 Like
Never mind the naysayers. Just do your own test and blog the results for the rest of us!
4 Likes
Whenever they say nay i am like than move outta my way! 
3 Likes
I’ve defoliated a lot of clones today and and flushed the remaining twigs with luke warm tapwater. Some didn’t have any growth spurt yet so we’ll see if they make it.
2 Likes
Not once they are rooted, I remove virtually all the leaves when they go into to cloner but once they start making new ones I would leave them be, they don’t have many glucose factories at that point so removing them will only slow them down imho.
Also I sterilise them by dipping them in a weak bleach solution so that takes care of the pests pre rooting.
But there are no rules, only techniques.
4 Likes
As far as the Op
That’s a hell no
If find pests I trash the whole plant.
Why?
Cause years of fucking with this shit
Has learned me and as i grow way more than I can smoke there is never a pressing issue.
Now if it’s veggin and it’s spider mites or something controllable
I have used a pre mix.neam spray that works well and is gentle
On the plants.
Broad mites…
Forget about it.
Kill everything and sterilize and so start over with everything new.
I have had them on cuts
Its just not worth it.
Simply put if cuts have pests
You mums have em
Your room has em
Time to clean up and try again
If were talking Broad mites
Just saying that sends chills
1 Like
So if i understand correct you remove the leafs before the cuts have rooted?
1 Like
Starting over again and again with a clean environment is something i have done too many times. And you are right that mothers are infected too when cuts have them. This is why i stopped working with mothers because they are impossible to clean once infected. In nature there are spider mites everywhere here and i no longer believe i can keep them out of my grow room longer than one grow. Which is long enough when i start clean over again.
Defoliation of clones is my last resort and if that doesn’t work it will be seed only.
2 Likes
When I take them I cut the top set back to maybe 1/2 inch of leaf, and snip all the other leaves off to the shoot tip. They don’t need much leaf area when the roots are forming and snipping them off reduces the water they lose via the leaf, so you don’t have to water spray them as often and you also get less mould from yellowing leaves etc.
The shoot tip is kinda where the magic happens so once the clone has established a root system it starts making auxins and other hormones that stimulate shoot and leaf growth. But yeah, it’s super important to sterilise everything and to do it frequently🙏
3 Likes
(I got your shit together man just need a stamp 
)
1 Like
Thanks man sounds awesome appreciate the diversity.
1 Like
I been there to Hammie
Went seeds only for a while
And am.just now doing clones.
For most every problem do this.
1.
I put bags and dirt in bathtub
I boil lots of water and pour over bags and dirt
I do this even with new Fox Farm soil.
2
After they cooled and drained I put
Cuts, or seedlings in dirt.
3
I add fish emulsions to build up bacteria.
Useless told me a long time ago
Humidity can.be big issue
To dry and hot and mites seem to pop up
To humid other issues.
Keep the humidity even keel.
Keep soil on moist but not wet side.
3
Before you put plants in line botton
With plastic.
And of course bleach everything
Spray everything except if its broad mites.
Use another closet for a while if it those bastards.
But ya pests made me quit clones for a year.
Imo dirt is the culprit 75 to 80 percent of time
Sterile it
1 Like
IF you are interested in keeping bugs at bay… I follow these rules:
Only bring in things that have been cleaned.
Never walk from outside into the grow.
Contamination is the enemy.
4 Likes
Spider mites are a bitch for sure, every time I have got them it’s been because I’ve had plants outside that I have the bought indoors, and then the mites have no predators and get out of control. I get rid of them by putting them outside for a week, defoliating fairly hard and then putting them back inside and spraying neem oil at the start of the dark cycle. The last part is important because neem is phytotoxic 
1 Like
This current grow i discovered spider-mites in the first week 12/12. What i did was a full defoliation of all leafs without touching the first signs of buds. Then i flushed the remaining twigs in the shower and put the plants back. And now a few weeks later all the leaves grew back and i haven’t seen a single mite since.
5 Likes
If it works it’s a win, you take a chance and try something and it works or it doesn’t but you learn something just the same. A lot of trial and error in nearly every grow truth be told.
They can take a lot of defoliating and bounce back, so if it successfully rids you of spider mites, it’s as good as any method.
1 Like
Defoliation has proven to be far less hazardous to the plants than any insecticide i have ever applied to the leafs and it also worked way more thorough. When/if i discover mites again during my next run, i most definitely will defoliate up until the first or second week of flowering.
After that i think it gets trickier to cleanse the plants from pest by defoliation.
1 Like
So far two clones have died and the rest still look alive.
1 Like
It takes a bit long for the cuttings to recuperate from defoliation and some probably won’t make it. Thus i am not too happy with the result, but i am glad i tried it. Next time i will wait a bit longer before i will defoliate again. Maybe even as long as the first week of flowering like it did with my current grow. I discovered some mites in the first week 12/12 and i know from experience that it would become a plague without taking action. So i did a full defoliation and flushed the remainign twigs with tap water. They took it with ease and a week later or so all leafs grew back on. A full defoliation may not get rid of all the pests but most certainly those on the leafs. And now in the fifth week of 12/12 the plants are still clean!
1 Like
This is the remnant of the ten or twelve Amnesia cuts that i defoliated.
These cuts will survive but next time i will wait a little longer with defoliation. I will wait until they have lots of roots and are thriving. Like i mentioned before: during my current grow i discovered spider-mites in the first week of flowering. I defoliated every single leaf on the plants and after that i flushed them under the shower. And look.
When you defoliate in the first week of flowering, it will take at least a week before the leafs grow back on, breaking the cycle of the mites. So even if on or two survive, it will take a lot of time before it will be a pest again. But it is still theory, at least for another five weeks and i have not yet tried it with a heavy plague of spint in lets say week two of veg. But defoliation for pest control is promising enough to investigate it some more!
1 Like