This year has been the worst grow year I’ve encountered since 2015. Constant rain and a slug infestation has left me wondering what strain would grow best in the northwest. This year’s menu is Grand Daddy Purple, Gorilla Glue, White Widow and Purple Kusk. All auto flowers from ILGM. I always deploy “Soldier Bugs” from Nature’s Good Guys every year, but they don’t eat slugs and Ducks will eat young vegetation. Bad, bad grow year for an outside grow. So, anyone know of an auto-flower strain that would do well here?
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No idea but I know @MattyBear used to fight that environment all the time. Hopefully he can help.
The Gorilla Glue didnt put up a good fight? I always see it in ‘resistant’ lists. White Widow is also one hardy frigging strain
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I grew these strains just because I’ve grown them before. It has been a bad year for growers here and not just cannabis but some fruits and some vegetables. Great year for slugs and swamp root, though!
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Fellow outdoor Washington grower. This year is dismal. The only thing happy this year is my potatoes and raspberries. Cold and wet yikes
My secret weapon for slugs is ammonia in a sprayer. About 1 shot glass full to 1000ml spray bottle. It will burn them like napalm. Dance piggies dance. Damn slugs. No need to reapply. They melt there in about an hour like the wicked slug of the west. It won’t hurt the plants if you overspray. It is just a nitrogen foliar spray. I go out about 9-10 after the slugs are out. It is a slug slaughtering dream.
The lemon scented stuff works fine. I often cannot find it unscented. Just household cleaning ammonia from the grocery store.
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Super crummy Oregon summer also. I feel ya!
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I will certainly give that a try.
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My first year here in Oregon. Definitely been wet more than sunny. Trying my best and the plants aren’t doing too bad… at least I started when it was hard maybe I’ll have better results next year but I’m having fun so who cares.
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What part of Oregon are you at? Jw
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Douglas county
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Ugh. No rain forecasted today. But somehow I woke up to rain. The summer that never was. This is getting ridiculous.
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@noddykitty1 a little salt is their kryptonite as well. A little sprinkle gets their full attention.
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Yes it is good at killing them too. The old salt.
But I have found when it’s raining the salt often isn’t fatal on big slugs. They manage to slime rinse it off somehow. If they slime after ammonia it doesn’t help them. Also, in the coastal pnw, the slugs are unreal. I am afraid if I salted them all I would run out of salt and risk salting up the soil too much for most plants. I have gone out after sunset and seen so many baby slugs on my plants that I cannot see any green. Like the way a bee swarm looks. Just covered. No salting one’s way out of that. I just get out the pump sprayer and load up the ammonia. I feel like the slug buster.(play ghostbuster song)
I also think ammonia is a great growers utility tool. I use it all the time in the garden.
My thoughts on ammonia:
Once again, not telling, just discussing a tool I use a lot. I have found ammonia to be amazing at nuclear bombing powdery mildew on plants. Ammonia foliar feeds leaves nitrogen at the same time the high pH of the ammonia just destroys the cells of the powdery mildew. (That’s why milk and baking soda work for PM too; high PH) If you spray the powdery mildew when you see it on the first leaves, sometimes you can curb it for almost a month before it gets a foothold on outdoor. An old hippy grower mentor taught me this for pumpkins and cucumbers.
Anyway, I have found bugs hate getting sprayed w ammonia too. Especially it you put 1 drop of dish soap as a surfactant. I just use a standard 1000ml spray bottle and put about 1.5-2 oz (shot glass) of grocery store ammonia in. Lemon scented hurts nothing and is often all I can find. The best part is as the ammonia is exposed to the air (oxygen) it reduces to nitrite and nitrate. It is a very powerful nitrogen foliar feed. It will green the leaves all up. The only warning is don’t do it under the lights or sun. Sunset is the best. Spray them dimmed low or do it before on cycle. You can do it in the morning light, but not once the sun is beaming on them. I know everyone has a “tip” so no worries. I don’t mention this much so I don’t feel like I am cramming down peoples throats. But it works real good. Real real good.
I oversprayed some pumpkins trying this trick the old hippy mentor taught me. Then I noticed my cannabis had never been so green. It’s the ultimate nitrogen foliar feed. Ditto on the slugs as an overspray lucky accident. Before that I used expensive sluggo pellets and beer pit traps. Now I just drink the beer while I spray dilute ammonia. Ha
Powdery mildew loves cucumbers and any other Cucurbits. It’s always a tossup between my cucumbers pumpkins and zucchinis who gets the p.m. first. As soon as the relative humidity goes up towards the end of summer. It’s a battle every year. Somebody needs to breed cucurbits for p.m. resistance.
1/2 gallon jug ammonia at the grocery store: $1.99
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I was born in Oakland.
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Rain forecasted for Saturday and Sunday for Vancouver area…then sunny/cloudy/rainy for a few more before we get another stretch of rain!
My 2 Moon Babies are in flower too, but my clones haven’t stated yet. Ten will be going in the tent soon, leaving the moonies and 2 clones in 7gal bags to finish outside. I don’t know if the 2 clones WILL finish this year or will just end up rotting.
Born in roseburg! Small world
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Thats a great tip, thanks @noddykitty1. Do you think it would work on grasshoppers and Mexican beetles? They are hard to see at dusk, but not impossible
The systemic nature of spinosiad seems a little slow to work, and its hit and miss at times. Glad we don’t have slugs to contend with.