I grow outside and use yellow sticky pads, they are very effective with aphids and all types of creepy crawlies.
But, somebody told me itās a short term solution and the bait will attract more when used consistently, as we are missing the elements of ecosystem which causes the balance of healthy predatory insects and the bad ones.
While I believe that maybhave merit, I keep my yellow boards facing inwards towards my grows, so the majority of attraction comes from any insects inside the circle of my grow. Not outside. And there are the unfortunate aspects, in several years I have had a bird or two come in for an easy meal. And get stuck.
But the benefits far outweigh the detriments.
@Barefrogās suggestion about planting milkweed is a great idea, too. Iām assuming I have some of those in my back yard as the aphids will cover it completely, almost. All while I had 3 plants going right near them. Iāll find out what they are this year. Something in the chain will suffer eventually if itās not an organic solution, imo, of course.
In the last 6 years of living in this place, Iāve really learned to think about all of the other things that can be affected by my action. Iām learning to respect insects that I once tried killing most of the time. Itās like a light bulb went off, and I started studying and observing how the ecosystem in my yard works every year. The more I learn, the more I learn, lol.
One thing is that I live far from most serious farming and crops, or cities or any town of any size, so we donāt have pesticides sprayed continually every year in our area. Itās almost like I went back in time somewhat. I hadnāt been in an area with such a strong insect community like when I was living in the city or suburbs. Iām seeing bugs I forgot all about since I was a kid.
So, Iām happy learning to take less evasive actions these days and I love watching my miniature friends in action. Iāll try about anything to not use poisons anymore. There are usually special tricks for certain species.
After all, Iām the one smoking my pot!
No doubt. Outdoors, no issues. Iām not seeing many aphids anyway.
I suspected this happened when I used a peroxide spray. Great info. Makes sense. Iām not spraying anything.
Iāve been spreading it around my valley for the monarchs for two years. We had 7 monarch caterpillars last year. Hoping to double that this year. There are some good sized patches now. I happen to have seed if you want some. They are perennials.
@GMan itās not only fascinating learning about the little things, but loads of fun too.
We have a type a fern that grows along a waterway. Every year, Iād weedwhack it and the other weeds ( wildflowers)growing alongside it.
Itās only 10 feet from my garden.
We grow beans here each year and Japanese beetles used to hammer them. While weedwhacking the ferns I saw beetles on them, so i stopped cutting them down. Seems the beetles prefer the fern over anything else so now each day I go to the ferns, grab a handful of beetles, and throw them in the pond for the fish. The perfect trap.
Tirah Valley indoors finished, now soon I will share the smoke report.
Itās the 2nd pheno it had a very great trichome production also the flower development was amazing the look it had with foliage turning darkish.
Nice chunker there! I have a couple that will likely fill out like that one. I canāt wait! I see a few stigmas starting to whither on one plant. Maybe three weeks for that fastest oneš
I just went over the shortest Hindu kush type pheno, looking for bugs. ( there arenāt many) This one is a poor yielder indoors without a longer veg, but the smell. Hot Damn does she smell good! She has an Orange base, but some nasty funk mixed in. I only touched one bud, for one second, and now, an hour later,itās all I can smell. My fingers still reek, too. Pungent little lady! She is worth keeping in the genepool for smell alone.
The first photo is of a late bloomer, now aptly named " āMiss Late for dinnerā. This one has crazy resin and an exotic sweet perfume smell. She looks like she will fill out well too.
Notice the strange leaf mutation on Miss Pistachio. Last photos.
I think sheās going to be the first one I pick. Hairs are starting to turnā¦
3 photos up is the Peshawar pheno. Definitely used too much Nitrogen for this plant in particular. Those Curly leaves are the giveaway. She has slowed down nanner production now. I maybe picked off 10 or 15 total so far from the light cycle screw-up. Not bad at all. Sheās very resinous and definitely looks different than the others.
I found a really nice Tirah male I am collecting pollen from to make seeds at some point too.
@upstate I heard that aphids in a well took care of space like yours is generally a sign of too much N at least thatās what they say lol just something to think about, Iām not saying thats it for sure just something to think about
Yeah, definitely got an overload of N it looks like. My outdoor last year suffered a bit of that, because of my broken leg. I just put bloom food in the dirt and let them finish with that. It has a good bit of N but I just couldnāt take care of them any other way.
Last night I loaded a bowl of the Oaxaca and the turpentine smell/flavor is morphing into some ammonia/cat piss terps. What a plant.
You have me geting excited about these, too. Looking real good. peace
For sure high n will attract them and my soil had too much for these. I was planning on using the soil I used in the spring after it had been rained on and diluted. Oddly, they havenāt bothered that particular plant showing curled leaves and the one they like the most has low N and is a Peshawar, which they prefer over Tirah. Typically landraces ( tirah)are more resilient against pests than worked lines.( Peshawarā¦a worked landrace)
Anyway, they arenāt nor have they been any issue to the plants. They are just there , and i have to kill them once a week or they might become a problem.
@GMan landraces are fun to grow. Hardy and pretty easy to keep them happy once you dial everything in. This one grows well in the same
Soil as the Sativa landraces Iām used to.
Donāt know about as far north as you, but down southern New England, the ladybugs are starting to hatch the last couple days. Iām finding 3 or 4 every day in our windows. Iād scoop up any you find and throw them on the plants. Theyāll fix that aphid problem in a day or two. Good luck brotherā¦
@firehead Thanks, buddy. Yeah, Iām tossing them in there as I find them. I put 4 in last week. None lately. Hoping they laid eggs after a big ladybug love session.
Last pic is Miss Late to dinner. This is what I call a sleeper. Laying relatively unnoticed until a sparkle catches the eye one day. Sheās a little slower than the others, but will be another special plant by the looks of it. Maybe the most resinous of all of them.
I agree, everything landrace or very close, that Iāve grown, have been the easiest, and least needy plants Iāve ever grown. It seems hard to phase them.
Miss Late to Dinner is turning purple on the leaves with 55 degree nighttime temps. She just keeps getting nicer! I pulled 30 seeds from her yesterday. All big, ripe seeds.
Miss Big Leaves is getting closer. Resin heads are growing. Wonāt be long now. Mid April, maybe sooner
I snuck a smoke off the Peshawar Sativa pheno because I couldnāt waitšMicrowaved it was nice and strong predominantly head high 4 weeks immature.
the purple pheno could not get any better, the miss big leaved showing that indica dominant display, I hope the aroma has gotten mature. Also, thats what happens in the open pollinated sourced landraces. even if you narrow it down to one female you can still expect a decent variation.
So, for the Tirah valley stock which I have sent you is especial for your outdoor grow it will hit bulls eye for what you are seeking for a long time. Also I went to peshawar Last week, but could not find any mature female with seeds, lots of hermed primordials in the off season which I do not prefer taking seeds from, one thing is very interesting the structure and flower development it is safe to say you got the genuine Pehsawari seed which you have been growing. salute!