







Nothing can ruin an indoor grower’s day more than pests, diseases, fungi and molds. Hunting for those telltale webs of spider mites, the pinholes in the fan leaves from thrips, the white sheen of powdery mildew or that spongy feeling of aspergillums and other plant-killing molds is a full-time job that must be taken seriously, indeed.

The cure is usually prophylactic — designing the grow space with enough ventilation, airflow and filtering. Molds and fungi can be prevented by reduced humidity, germicidal UVC light and constantly improving techniques for cleanliness.

Hygiene and proper maintenance are necessities, especially when working indoors. Pumps and irrigation lines must be flushed and cleaned, tables and sumps scoured, and the rooms disinfected like hospital operating rooms. The goal is to start fresh and to supply your next crop the perfect environment to grow up strong and healthy. Remember it’s medicine — poisonous chemicals need to be avoided or flushed and washed away with environmentally friendly products.

Organic solutions are preferable, but not always practical. Kyle Kushman offers arguably the best organic practices available today. His Veganics aproach gives indoor growers healthy solutions to vexing problems and is eco-friendly and 100% non-toxic. It eliminates harmful chemicals and minimizes the salts that alter the pH balance by using beneficial bacteria, fungi, and enzymes derived solely from plant extracts.

Some prefer the surety of chemicals while others like to balance biological solutions such as predator mites and thrips or herbal remedies like rosemary oil or Neem oil. For most, a mixture of technologies is necessary. That’s why farming should be considered a practice.

Remember, there is more than one way to do things, and everyone has an opinion. Ed Rosenthal’s latest edition of the Marijuana Handbook and Indoor Marijuana Horticulture by Jorge Cervantes both hold useful advice, and Hemp Diseases and Pests, by McPartland, Clarke and Watson, remains the most comprehensive tome.

There are a lot of alternatives for treating your problem, if caught in time. Otherwise, you might need to start over. Whichever one chooses, the goal should remain the same: a healthy product that does not hurt patients or consumers.

Stay safe out there, and remember that security is always the first consideration.