Control

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

Sometimes, even when all preventative measures are taken, pests and diseases still slink in and setup housekeeping. First they establish a base on a weak, susceptible plant. Once setup, they launch an all out assault on the rest of the garden. They move out in all directions from the infested base, taking over more and more space, until they have conquered the entire garden. An infestation can can happen in a matter of days.

Most insects lay thousands of eggs in short periods of time. These eggs hatch and grow into mature adults within a few weeks. For example, if 100 microscopic munchers each laid 1000 eggs during their two weeks of life and these eggs grew into adults, two weeks later 100,000 young adults would lay 100 eggs each. By the end of the month, there would be 100,000,000 pests attacking the infested garden. Imagine how many there would be in another two weeks!

Sprays often kill adults only. In general, sprays should be applied soon after eggs hatch s young adults are caught in their weakest stage of life. Very lightweight (low viscosity) horticultural oil spray works well alone or as an additive to hep kill larvae and eggs.

The availability of some sprays can be seasonal, especially in more rural areas. Garden sections of stores are changed for the winter, but extra stock is sometimes kept in a storage room. Look for bargains on sprays at season end sales. Today, there are many disease controls all year round.