Anyone know what this is?

Hello! I am growing a few different strains organic outdoor. So far they have been in the ground over a month and have vegged well. Due to the frequent rains i have mostly top dressed with Guano and worm castings, but I did get a chance to brew a batch of tea and apply it two weeks ago. The tea included Mexican guano, Jamaican guano, Worm castings, sea kelp, mollases and liquid karma. I used low dose ratio to water the fiirst time as not to burn my plants. The first ten days after they took well to the tea, but in the past few days i have noticed these spots showing up. I use a local creek for my water source and am planning on pHing the water from it today when i get out there. I also checked the plants all over for bugs, but no sign of them. Does anyone recognize what this is, because so far in my research I'm coming up with vague possibilities and would like to narrow it down. Thanks for any and all help! FF

Looks like bugs to me.

Yeah thats def bugs. Pics 3 and 4 show real good evidence. Try using some neem oil on them. Might slow it down, but I'm growing outdoors and the bugs are just endless. They look great otherwise.

Ahh! The dreaded spider mites!!!

Thanks for the help! I purchased some neem oil at the beginning of the season. I also have some Monterey Garden Insect spray for Organic Production. It says it contains spinosad. It's OMRI listed but i do not see anything about it controlling spider mites? Also, being that i'm growing in a grassy area, would it be a good idea to spray the grass surrounding the plot with neem as well?
I went out tonight and they looked a little worse, with more holes cut in the leaves..

Also would it help if i sprayed them down with pressured water can before i add the neem? I thought maybe it would nock off some of the infestation from the plant.

Freda Felcher said:

Thanks for the help! I purchased some neem oil at the beginning of the season. I also have some Monterey Garden Insect spray for Organic Production. It says it contains spinosad. It's OMRI listed but i do not see anything about it controlling spider mites? Also, being that i'm growing in a grassy area, would it be a good idea to spray the grass surrounding the plot with neem as well?
I went out tonight and they looked a little worse, with more holes cut in the leaves..

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Yes. From what I've researched "Spinosad" is what kills spidermites and most other pests. For my outdoor plants I sprayed whatever weeds/grass was growing close to my plants, but left the rest. That way the spidermites have something they can eat. Otherwise they are just gonna keep coming back to your plants. I haven't sprayed my plants in over 3 weeks (I sprayed mine with neem oil and organicide for about 4 weeks) and have seen no damage due to insects since doing this. Also, my local shop sales some kinda insect that eats spider mites. You just sprinkle thier eggs on the dirt under your plant, they hatch and go to work.

Freda Felcher said:

Also would it help if i sprayed them down with pressured water can before i add the neem? I thought maybe it would nock off some of the infestation from the plant.

Click to expand...

What I did before applying neem oil or Organicide was I sprayed the plants with just plain water in a spray bottle, then the next day I would spray them with whatever pesticide it was time for. Then after 4-5 days I would spray them again with water, to clean out the plants pores, leave it for a day, then spray it again with the pesticide. I did this for 4 weeks and I haven't seen any bug damage since (besides some damn crickets). But if you can, try to spray early in the morning or around dusk so the sun doesn't burn your leaves from the water or pesticide. Good luck with your grow and keep me updated on your pest probs!!

thats not mites, mine get that to so i started having to walk through my garden like 8 times a day to keep grasshoppers off. I think the grasshoppers leave that when there sitting on the leaves.

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