Only my second grow. First one went fine. No problems at all, got 3 oz. of great bud from a 16" tall plant. This grow had problems with fungus gnats i believe. Used a bt mix and diatomaceous earth. Haven’t seen any gnats in weeks. Leaves had similar issues during bug problem, but seemed to be getting better when bugs were gone. Now they seem to be getting worse. PH stays on the high side, 6.5-7.3. I’m growing in ocean forest soil using fox farms big bloom. Any suggestions?
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Welcome to the forum.
You likely have a nitrogen deficiency.
If using Big Bloom, then you should also be using Grow Big and Tiger Bloom. All Big Bloom contains is micronutrients such as iron, boron, and manganese. Your plant also needs nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous. Grow Big contains nitrogen and Tiger Bloom contains the latter 2.
Fungus gnats are a symptom of overwatering. Let your soil dry out between waterings. These wet/dry cycles are important for root health as well as mitigating gnats.
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Raise the EC of your feed strength, it needs more nutes.
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Thank you
Try to maintain a steady pH going in. 6.5. over 6.8 and the roots have a heckuva time uptaking nutrients
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I would disagree that fungus gnats are caused by overwatering and and letting medium dry out inbetween waterings isnt going to get rid of them, once you water plants again there right there, I’ve had 6 grows one with gnats, first grow ever since ive used t drops (tanlin drops) 2 drops per gallon of water, kills the larvae, no more gnats and use once a week, i use every watering, i think its almost $60 that includes shippingbut will last for numerous grows and should be kept in refrigerator, i buy mine from miles hydro
All articles cite overwatering as a significant contributor.
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I’ve always felt that the overwatering just contributes to a perfect environment for them to thrive. They’re definitely a pita.
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Exactly. Moist environments encourage mold, and fungus gnats feed on mold. Dry cycles help mitigate mold growth.
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I’ve used mosquito bits with great success to get rid of fungus gnats. As @MidwestGuy said about watering, once I corrected that I haven’t had a problem since. You can use fly strips for the flyers and the mosquito bits for the larvae. Very easy and very effective.
All im saying is water period will bring out fungus gnats the eggs are in the soil, i would say even underwatering can activate those little, well i don’t want to curse on the lords day
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I said i disagree that overwatering is the cause of gnats, of course it is i guess i was trying to say that if the eggs are in the soil any watering will start the cycle and i believe if you start letting your medium dry too much you’ll start running into problems with the water finding certain paths through the medium and you could end up with uneven feedings