HelpfulGardener.com

Handsomeryan wrote:

"I spend as much time on pest control killing thrips, aphids and whiteflys as I do actually working with the plants. "

Have you ever considered hydroponic growing? I simply let the autopots do their thing and hardly ever see a bug. If I do it has wandered in through the vent and is quickly dispatched. Bugs love dirt...

[img]https://i404.photobucket.com/albums/pp121/hydrogardener/ghcucumbers.jpg[/img]

my greenhouse is soil and crawling with bugs and such. yet none pose a threat to any plants. spiders and lizards and frogs and other insects eat the pests.

To each his own. I am of the opinion that the only good bug is a dead bug.

Hydrogardener wrote: Have you ever considered hydroponic growing? I simply let the autopots do their thing and hardly ever see a bug. If I do it has wandered in through the vent and is quickly dispatched. Bugs love dirt...

One of my first passions when I became interested in horticulture was building (and to a lesser extent operating) hydroponic systems. My parents used to drive me to the hardware store to pick up pipe and fittings because I wasn't old enough to drive yet.

I still play around with it a little every now and then but I've gotten so busy with other things I don't have as much time now to plan and build them.

Unfortunately the GH I manage is set up exclusively for dirt-in-pot growing because the plants are used for research they need to be portable. We also have a very high plant turnover and growing media could be costly.

While hydro growing might solve or greatly improve my thrips problem, things like aphids and whiteflies can complete their entire life cycle without the need for soil.

I have used the same organic product with soil and hydroponic applications, Azamax. It is neem based and was completely harmless to my dogs, who like to sniff around in my raised bed like they own the place, so I would assume it is to other animals too. It didn't bother the spiders and other "friendly" garden insects which I consider a good thing. I hope we gardeners can see the benefits of both soil and hydroponics.
I have traditionally always used soil because that is just what momma taught me. But with today's unpredictable, and sometimes unforgiving, weather I am starting to buy into hydroponics. I look forward to picking my first red pepper, from a cutting in my soil garden, this December. Furthermore I hope to see urban hydroponic gardens spring up across the nation but that is a different post waiting to happen.