5 Ways to Keep Insects and Pests Out of Your Garden

Outdoors, ladybugs are natural enemies of aphids - Photo by TCurtiss

Outdoors, ladybugs are natural enemies of aphids - Photo by TCurtiss

Pests are among the most annoying and difficult problems facing gardeners. The best way to deal with them is to prevent them from entering. No matter the growing method, pests will infect your garden if they are given a chance.

Here are some ways to prevent them from getting in:

1. Pets: Pests enter using pets as transportation. Don’t let your pets in the garden. Their fur also accumulates on sticky buds.

2. Clothing: Clothing worn outdoors can carry in pests. Even a single pest can be a vector for a fast growing colony. After going outside, wash and dress in freshly laundered clothes.

3. Plant Quarantine: Before letting a plant enter a pest-free garden, place it in quarantine and use a pesticide/fungicide spray or dip just to be sure.

4. Planting Mix: Make sure the planting mix is composed of inert or pasteurized ingredients. Planting mix that is not inert or pasteurized may contain pests and diseases.

5. Pest Highways & Airways: Make sure all air coming into the garden space is filtered. Repair any cracks, holes or other open spaces.

The larger an insect infestation the harder it is to eradicate. It is easier to deal with a small infection rather than a large one.

I’ll be posting more on pests that commonly affect cannabis and the information that allows you to recognize and eradicate them: the ones that are most likely to attack your plants – aphids, fungus gnats, mealy bugs, spider mites, thrips and whiteflies – Along with in-depth preventative and control methods to both keep the pest away from the plants and get rid of an infestation.

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The U.S. Postal Service employs over 500,000 Americans and is the #1 employer of veterans. Plus USPS is the best way for me to ship you my grow books. Sign the petition now. (Link in Bio) https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?acti
The U.S. Postal Service employs over 500,000 Americans and is the #1 employer of veterans. Plus USPS is the best way for me to ship you my grow books. Sign the petition now. (Link in Bio) https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=13933 📬✊🏻🔥 #GROWYOUROWN  #cannabis  #cannabiscommunity  #cannabisculture  #edrosenthal
In my new Book “Ask Ed Marijuana Success" I have a chapter called Cultivar Bazaar: High quality strains for hobbyists. . I asked some of my favorite seed breeders to suggest their best cultivar for home growers. The stipulations were that
In my new Book “Ask Ed Marijuana Success" I have a chapter called Cultivar Bazaar: High quality strains for hobbyists. . I asked some of my favorite seed breeders to suggest their best cultivar for home growers. The stipulations were that each was easy to grow, adapted easily to different environments, & most importantly, that it had a distinctive personality. The breeders responded with some great suggestions. Each cultivar is handsome, above average and potently effective. A garden featuring these selections will provide you with a library of wonderful sensations to fit time, space and mood. A couple of the strains produce high ratios of CBD. Here is one of my favorite CBD strains - Chocolate Tonic. . “This CBD strain grows like a weed and can handle abuse.” @caperpurple . Chocolate Tonic Parents: Cannatonic x Chocolate Kush Indica/Sativa:  35% - 65% Seed Company: Purple Caper Seeds . This strain originated from a CBD project designed to help patients with a range of conditions: pain management, seizures, and inflammation, & cancer treatment. The breeder crossed a high THC father with a high CBD mother. Both were chosen for their cannabinoid content, vigor, and yield. Chocolate Tonic offers a 2:1 CBD to THC ratio. The typical gardener can expect 14% CBD and 7% THC, as well as small amounts of CBC and CBG. Chocolate Tonic is very versatile & can grow in any environment. Plants can reach heights of 8 feet outdoors. It’s a strong grower that can withstand heat, drought, and even being root-bound. Outdoors, when planted in May & grown in the ground or planted with 6-foot centers, look for a yield of 3 pounds per plant. Ripens in October. Indoors flowering time is 8-10 weeks. Expect 1.5 pounds per light. Pain relief is a key feature of the high. The numbing and relaxing qualities are also sleep inducing after a long day. Chocolate Tonic lives up to its name with a chocolate, piney, citrus flavor. . Check out Chocolate Tonic if you are in the market for a high CBD ratio strain that is easy to handle - @caperpurple did an amazing job breeding this fantastic strain. . #edrosenthals #GROWYOUROWN 💪🏼 #420 #cannabis #cannabiscommunity #cannabisculture
Now you can get an inside look at the new book. It covers tips from my backyard experiments, travels, and access to commercial operations. I was very pleased when a professional grower commented, “Before I read this I didn’t know what I d
Now you can get an inside look at the new book. It covers tips from my backyard experiments, travels, and access to commercial operations. I was very pleased when a professional grower commented, “Before I read this I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Very helpful.” Amazon has the book in stock. Or order from my site by ‪April 20th‬ and I’ll send you an autographed first edition copy plus a couple of Boveda humidity control packs to keep your stash fresh until the next harvest. Stay well. 🍁📚📸 #GROWYOUROWN  #cannabis  #cannabiscommunity  #cannabisculture  #edrosenthal
Here in the Northern hemisphere we’re enjoying Spring. Each day brings additional hours of light. I want to encourage flowering so the plants need to get 12 hrs. of darkness. A simple frame was built that they can easily draped with plastic. B
Here in the Northern hemisphere we’re enjoying Spring. Each day brings additional hours of light. I want to encourage flowering so the plants need to get 12 hrs. of darkness. A simple frame was built that they can easily draped with plastic. By checking the time of dawn for the upcoming day, I calculate back 12 hours. Based on tomorrow’s dawn time, I’m covering the plants at 6:30pm. Any time after it’s fully dark, around 8pm, cover is removed. I’m looking forward to harvesting them in about 5 weeks, early May. ☀️🍁🙌🏻 #GROWYOUROWN #cannabis #cannabiscommunity #cannabisculture #edrosenthal
Here’s my no-effort garden tucked in with the Swiss Chard crop. Started mid-February from rooted clones, after six weeks these three will be ready to harvest. I expect almost half an ounce. The white plastic reflected light back to the plants and the low maintenance hydro system did all the work. If your weather is now mild, try some auto-flower seeds or clones for a spring harvest. 🌿🌱🍃 #GROWYOUROWN #cannabis #cannabiscommunity #cannabisculture #edrosenthal
Last year around this time I visited my friend @caperpurple He’s is an award winning cannabis breeder in the Bay Area.⁣⁣⁣⁣ He has developed a really cool method to germinate 10 year old seeds. Growing from seeds makes for strong, healthy p
Last year around this time I visited my friend @caperpurple He’s is an award winning cannabis breeder in the Bay Area.⁣⁣⁣⁣ He has developed a really cool method to germinate 10 year old seeds. Growing from seeds makes for strong, healthy plants. But it has it’s own challenges and it can be pretty disappointing when some of the favorites don’t take. There are a lot of good method’s out there [incl. the wet paper towel], but I was really impressed when he brought some of my old secret stash seeds back to life. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣Sterile germination is key! He sterilizes the coco and tube with an autoclave. The germination solution needs to be perfectly balanced and PH’d for good development. The air in the room and test tube is consistently filtered and sterilized. Purple Caper also uses a custom spectrum LED T5 Light Blend.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣Mind-blowingly cool, right?⁣⁣⁣⁣ I have play by play instructions on my website [link in bio] Take a look and give it a shot. If you have questions go ahead and post them here or talk directly to @caperpurple ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣He is a great guy and will help you if he can. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣Photo by Lizzie Cozzi @lizardfritz ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣. . . ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣#purplecaper #GROWYOUROWN #cannabis #cannabiscommunity #cannabisculture #edrosenthal
The U.S. Postal Service employs over 500,000 Americans and is the #1 employer of veterans. Plus USPS is the best way for me to ship you my grow books. Sign the petition now. (Link in Bio) https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?acti In my new Book “Ask Ed Marijuana Success" I have a chapter called Cultivar Bazaar: High quality strains for hobbyists. . I asked some of my favorite seed breeders to suggest their best cultivar for home growers. The stipulations were that Now you can get an inside look at the new book. It covers tips from my backyard experiments, travels, and access to commercial operations. I was very pleased when a professional grower commented, “Before I read this I didn’t know what I d Here in the Northern hemisphere we’re enjoying Spring. Each day brings additional hours of light. I want to encourage flowering so the plants need to get 12 hrs. of darkness. A simple frame was built that they can easily draped with plastic. B
Here’s my no-effort garden tucked in with the Swiss Chard crop. Started mid-February from rooted clones, after six weeks these three will be ready to harvest. I expect almost half an ounce. The white plastic reflected light back to the plants a
Last year around this time I visited my friend @caperpurple He’s is an award winning cannabis breeder in the Bay Area.⁣⁣⁣⁣ He has developed a really cool method to germinate 10 year old seeds. Growing from seeds makes for strong, healthy p
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