Spider Mite Breakthru? Mellow Yellow banana peel revivial?

Here’s a powerful new organic weapon in the battle against spider mites and other pests. And it has a real interesting twist: The main insecticidial element in an organic bug treatment made from orange peels is a terpene found in cannabis that reduces anxiety! That’s right. d-Limonene is one of the hundreds of active elements found in marijuana, and it has been shown to have anti-anxiety effects. A new bug spray, available at health food stores and many hardware stores, is called Orange Guard. It contains 5.6% limonene which has been extracted from orange peels. This is exactly the same organic element to which researchers have attributed psychoactive properties to in cannabis.

A gallon of Orange Guard retails for about twenty bucks. It contains about six ounces of pure limonene. All the other elements in Orange Guard as listed by the Center for Disease Control as “GRAS”, or “generally regarded as safe” for human consumption. And, yes, it seems to be very effective against spider mites … but, first I will answer that burning question that just popped into your mind. But, before I do that, let me say one thing: Don’t ever drink bug spray of any kind for any reason whatsoever.

Here’s what happened to the guy who did try the Orange Guard for the limonene – nothing. And he said he wasn’t at all anxious after he chugged the stuff down, so he feels that the anti-anxiety properties may be present.

He actually consumed one millilitre of the stuff, expecting 56 milligrams of limonene (Orange Guard is 5.6% limonene). Plans are to try the experiment again when he hasn't medicated for a few days to see if any effects are more apparant.

Hopefully, the knowledge that one can actually consume psychoactive chemicals found in cannabis by drinking Orange Guard bug spray or eating orange peels won’t trigger a rebirth of a new form of the 1960s fad of smoking dried banana peels.

Listen to AM radio much in the Bay Area and you have heard a million ads for Planet Orange, a company that uses orange oil to kill termites. Termites are very tough to kill, and the orange oil does a great job.

Here’s our testing results to date using Orange Guard on medicinal cannabis.

1. I drenched a lower branch of an indoor indica every day for a week. Heavy spray. HPS lights on. No wash off. Absolutely no damage to plant visible. Orange oil seems to have the same “leaf polish” qualities as neem oil.

2. A friend sprayed a house plant that was heavily infested with spider mites. Killed the mites completely with no damage to the plant.

I have not had the opportunity to try Orange Guard on a live spider-mite infestation in cannabis, and I hope I don’t get that opportunity anytime soon. But if any of you fellow growers get the dreaded mites, you might want to give the Orange Guard a try … and share the results with us here.

D. Gold’s Organic Grow Method

For the last two years, D. Gold has taught the free Sunday Afternoon Grow Class at Harborside Health Center in Oakland. The class starts at 2:00 every Sunday and goes until 6:00. Over a thousand patients have attended the classes, which are always free.

The classes emphasize the need for simplicity when beginning; more complicated high-tech enhancements are best added after initial success. The beginner’s course is designed to be as simple as possible, yet contain the necessary nutrients and additives to grow high-quality medicine the first time out, with the highest chances for success. Very soon, an instructional video of the entire process will appear here. It’s highly recommended that those with the capacity to do so attend the Sunday Afternoon Grow Classes. Specific questions relating to this growing method can be directed to D. Gold in the member’s forum / blog. Comments, tips, and other input by master growers is always appreciated.

A Simple Method for Organic Growing – indoors and out

Buy:

1. 5 gallon buckets @ Home Depot
2. #14 round plant saucers (if necessary to protect floor)
3. 1 gallon flower pots @ Home Depot
4. Foxfarm Ocean Forest Organic Potting Soil
5. Foxfarm Big Bloom Organic Fertilizer
6. Botanicare Pure Blend Pro Gro
7. General Hydro Subculture B + Subculture M
8. Ph Test Kit or pH meter 9.PH Down (or use lemon juice) and pH up
10. Moisture Meter
11. Mosquito dunks
12. GH Floralicious Plus
13. Rolling plant scooters (Wal-Mart / Home Depot / OSH)
14. Jorge Cervantes Medical Growers Bible
15. (2) large trash cans
16. Double fish tank pump, tubing, bubblestones (Wal-Mart)
17. Neem oil (Einstein Oil)
18. Botanicare Sweet
19. Hi – Lo Thermometer and hygrometer

Prepare Soil:

Mix one bag Foxfarm Ocean Forest, 2 tsp. Subculture B + M (even mix). Use for both 1 gallon and 5 gallon pots. Don’t pack but fill pots to top.

Prepare Water (if using tap water within acceptable TDS limits):

Bubble air thru trash can full of water for at least 2 days. Better yet, use R.O. or Spring water.

Adjust ph of water to 6.3. Put half of a mosquito dunk in can.

Grow plants in 1 gallon pots until root mass fills the pot and a number of roots protrude from the root ball. Don’t let go until roots circle the pot and become rootbound. (1 – 3 weeks for clones).

Saturate soil with pure aerated water and let drain well. Use Pure Blend Pro Gro (sparingly) if any deficiency is noticed in the first 3 weeks.

First Watering:

Mix aerated water, Foxfarm Big Bloom @ 1 oz /gallon, Subculture @ 1/4 tsp./ gallon, 1/4 tsp. floralicious / gallon. Adjust pH to 6.3 after mixing.

Prepare Home Depot buckets by drilling 5 big holes in bottom and filling with soil mix. Do not pack. After transplant, water every time with Big Bloom @ 75% of recommended every-time concentration, ¼ tsp. Floralicious / gallon, 1/4 tsp. Subculture / gallon. Keep pH @ 6.3. Flush monthly with 10 – 15 gallons pH adjusted water.

Flush with pure water for last two weeks before harvest. Grow indoors or out. Induce flowering via photoperiod control. If growing large outdoor plants, an additional transplant is needed into a much bigger container (or amended hole).

This is a simple recipe for growing healthy cannabis plants both indoors or out. Once one is comfortable with this basic recipe for success, many refinements and enhancements can be added. Section coming soon on setting up an indoor grow room.