7-17-07 Day #28 of Flowering.
Cab Temp: ~ 75F
RH: ?
Nutrient Temp: 74F
PPM: 1100
pH: 5.7

Ok, I apologize for not posting as frequently, but if you have been following along you know its been a bit hectic in the garden. I will attempt to catch everyone up.

First off, the pump that went out was replaced later the same day. The new pump is a lot better for now but I think for the next grow we will probably do a complete nutrient delivery and air stone overhaul with better pumps that cost only a few dollars more. You can get quality air pumps inexpensively at a local hydro shop.

Second, we had big problems with the spider mites on all plants. We have been spraying daily with bugzyme and we were beginning to think that it was not doing anything to the mite population. I also mentioned that we got a hotshot pesticide strip which we also thought was not working. We used one of these hot shot strips on our last grow however, and didn't see but one mite the entire grow. The only concern of ours (and others) is that these hot shot strips release pesticides into the air that are not suitable for human environments. If you are going to be eating, sleeping, breathing the chemicals from these it can be hazardous to your health - it even says so on the warning. We were faced with a difficult decision as you know, so we had to decide to lose the whole crop due to mites, or eradicate ourselves of them as quickly as possible. We even went as far as to call in to the local hydro shop to see what the pricing was for P. Persimilis which is the natural predator of the spider mite. Persimilis is also a mite but feeds on spider mites at a rate of about 10-20 a day. Our local store said they can special order them for us since they are very perishable and need to be used right away.

We were going to do this in the next day or so but when I woke up this morning and checked on the plants there was not a single mite alive. All the mites in the webs were dead and the ones walking were dead in their tracks. We are going to spend the next few days with Q-tips trying to get rid of as many mites as we possibly can so the smoke is better in the long run.

As far as the growth goes, the buds are starting to fatten up and smell like the stanky danky we all love and admire. There are trichomes all the way out to the tips of the leaves. Here are some pics