Marijuana Pests & How to Solve It

One of the unavoidable hassles of growing your own marijuana is pests. Pests could be people of course, but I’m talking about the insect kind. The pests that do things like suck the juices out of the stems and eating the leaves of your plants. The pests that kill the leaves and ruin your seedlings. The pests that destroy your crop.

There are a few ways of combating pests, and they fall into “natural” or organic methods and chemical methods. I prefer using natural solutions. But it’s not always possible. So here’s what works:

- Ladybugs. For some reason at a previous residence I had ladybugs show up in the room where I was growing. I don’t know how/why they got in the room and stayed, but they did. And now I know that they must have been eating the aphids or whatever pests might have otherwise destroyed my precious cannabis plants! Because I rarely found any evidence of damage to my plants.

- Soapy water. One of the common “cures” for pests is spraying down your plants with a solution of dishwashing liquid soap, vinegar, and water. I can’t vouch for this, but many people swear by it. Supposedly it will keep away many types of pests.

- Poison. Yeah, I would avoid this - because who knows what will make it into your final product? You don’t want to smoke weed that has pesticides in it. (At least, I don’t.) However there are some products that are labeled as “good for organic gardeners” and safe for food plants which might be okay. If used, I would recommend using them before budding just to make sure no residue remains on your plants, and you don’t smoke something poisonous.

Obviously the best option would be to populate your grow area with natural pest predators. If this is possible with your grow area, you can usually get ladybugs from a local garden center. Call around - you may find a gardening supply shop, “feed store”, or similar place that has them.

 

My New Jock Horror (or White Widow) Grow

OK, so I just ordered some Jock Horror and some White Widow seeds from my favorite seed company, and - *gasp* - they got mixed up. So I can’t tell which ones are which! All the seeds look pretty similar, and the seedlings look fairly similar as well. So we’re gonna have to wait another couple of weeks at least before I can tell the difference.

The mix-up was my fault - I have to mention that. I ordered the seeds, they got to the delivery address in about a week and a half, and they were packaged “discreetly” (i.e. well-disguised). Yep, I got cannabis seeds shipped to my house in the U.S.A. all the way from Amsterdam no problem. And then I somehow managed to do the following:

  1. Open both seed packets at the same time
  2. Spill all the marijuana seeds from both packets onto my floor
  3. Have a huge mix-up

So I wasn’t too thrilled. But I figured, “Hey, I’m gonna grow all of these anyway so what does it really matter?” and I just went ahead and picked four seeds and planted ‘em. They’re all marijuana seeds anyway. If the marijuana grows, it’ll be awesome whether it’s a Jock Horror plant or White Widow either way, right?

So I tried something new this time. Previously I used only natural light to grow my plants (last time it was Durban Poison not that it matters). Right now I am growing all my plants indoors (in a garage). Actually I follow this plan:

  1. Plant the seed in a plastic drinking cup filled with Moisture Control soil
  2. Keep it wet and sit it on a shelf in the garage until I see the plant sprout
  3. Put the marijuana seedling outside in the sun during the day, and bring it in at night
  4. When indoors, put it under a plant light
  5. Keep alternating between indoors at night and outdoors during the day until the plant looks like a marijuana plant
  6. When it looks recognizable as a marijuana plant, I bring it inside and put it under constant light (with a plant light) until I am ready for it to bud

Right now I have a Early Special plant and it’s getting big - and it’s probably four weeks old now.
I am fairly certain no one will see these, and eventually my plans will go “up in smoke”…as in, I will get to smoke some Early Special weed and eventually some of this White Widow and Jock Horror I’ve always heard so much about! There’s really nothing quite like growing your own pot.

I just wanna keep it to myself, grow quietly and secretly…and enjoy it. What more could someone ask for?

 

Marijuana - Easier to Buy or Grow?

If you’re afraid of getting busted buying pot from a shady dealer somewhere (such is the situation much of the time), you should seriously consider just ordering some seeds and growing your own plants. It is very easy to do, and once you have your seeds…all you have to do is keep your plants a secret. (Tell absolutely no one that you’re growing marijuana.)

A tip: do a search on Google for “marijuana grow guide”, “cannabis growing guides”, “how to grow marijuana outdoors”, “ways to grow pot”, etc. and I guarantee you’ll have more info that you even have time to read. But it’s really simple, even without a grow guide:

  1. Order your cannabis seeds. Have fun shopping for just the right strain, and place the order. My favorite is Nirvana Shop (because they ship to the USA), but there are many very reputable seed suppliers listed here on our site.
  2. Get your pot-growing supplies. Go to Home Depot or Lowe’s and get yourself some planters, some Miracle-Grow potting soil, a watering can, and (depending on if this will be indoors/outdoors) some lights. (The plant lights.)
  3. Germinate the cannabis seeds. When you get your marijuana seeds, first put them in some paper cups (one each) in soil and get them to grow into seedlings.
  4. Transplant the marijuana seedlings. Plant each successful marijuana seedling into a planter. Water it. Put it where you want it to grow (a good outside spot, or your indoor grow area).
  5. Let your pot plants grow. When you see buds, trim off a few here and there and put them away to dry. Keep your plant growing, and just keep getting buds as they become ready.

When the buds are dried out after a week, smoke them.

That’s the abbreviated version of what you need to do! In my opinion, it’s really easy and way less risky (and way less expensive!) than buying from other people.