Small tan spots on fan leaves

[Mollisol]

Basic Info:
Genetics: Cereal Milk (from seed)
Soil: Fox Farm Ocean Forest
Nutrient: Week 3 Fox Farm soil Trio & CalMag (one feeding)
Light (2) Spider Farmer SF-1000
Location: Basement
Temperature 64 F
Humidity 55%

Hey everyone! I recently topped all three plants and moved them from 2-gallon pots to these 5-gallon planters. I drilled six ½ inch holes in the planter bottoms. In addition, I placed a 2 inch layer of coarse perlite in the bottom of the pot before filling it with soil. I found this helpful with drainage.
The temperature and humidity are constant (dehumidifier running). I have no ability to change them. There is an 16 inch oscillating fan providing air circulation
On the fan leaves small tan colored spots showed up around a week ago. These look different than the examples of mold/mildew/bugs, on GWE site. Am I mistaken? Any information anyone has on this or what to do would be awesome!

[90Gizmo]

I've secreted my guess because I'm a newbie. Someone who knows will join in soon. I wish I could get my basement humidity that low. It's 13 courses, 9 feet, tall... I put two dehumidifiers in it and two months later I saw a $400 electric bill so I've abandoned my basement to the spiders. I never considered the convenience of draining straight on to the floor. That's very nice. Looks like you're in the sweet spot for VPD but that might be a little cold and you may need to raise the temperature as the plants mature.

[Mollisol]

Wow $400! The basement temp will rise a bit with spring coming but unfortunately I'm pretty much stuck with the temp. Thanks!

[3Berries]

FFOF can be hot so pH of the soil may be an issue. Did you add any limestone and perlite to the soil before planting? Not a whole lot of air on the leaves is needed just to have some air moving around to stir up the CO2 and keep water from condensing.

[Mollisol]

HI, I did not add anything to the FFOF. They were in straight FFOF in the 2 gallon pots before the transplant. And I had noticed the spots at that time. Other than that they looked healthy. Water is adjusted PH of 6.5 or around there. My fan is set to low and set back so it just gently rustles the leaves as it oscillates. Thanks for your response! Does this look like disease or pests to you?

[3Berries]

Maybe too wet too. Big pot syndrome.

[SoOrbudgal]

Check for bugs

[Sixwinds]

To me it looks like the dreaded spider mites. At least when I got an infestation a few years ago they started out looking just like those spots. I hope it's something else, but that's my guess.

[SoOrbudgal]

Kinda thought the same

[Mollisol]

Hit it with that mildew and bug all in one stuff?

[Sixwinds]

if it is a spider mite infestation, I would check out the steps recommended on this site.

When my plants got infested, they few weeks from harvest so I just toughed it out and harvested early. After the harvest I basically nuked the entire grow room. Used a fogger and sprayed down all surfaces with 2 different anti-mite sprays. Then I let the room air out for 10 days and started over. Have not had a problem since (knock knock).

But, I'm not sure how to treat them on a veg plant. I think you can do some sprays and dips to get rid of them, but I would defer to someone more knowledgeable.

[dirtymike]

Is this always on the bottom leaves? 64 degrees seems a little cool. Does this strain like it that temp?

[Mollisol]

So far. Its been ok temp wise. I have never grown cereal milk before. It seems hardy it grew well in FFOF. With only one dose of nutrients that it probably didn't need.
As far as the spots I don't see any visible bugs. Nothing moving under a magnifying glass. I took more pictures. No brown spots underneath some tiny white dots on the underside. I don't see any damage on the underside of the leaf. What do you guys think?

[Rwise]

I agree with bugs! And toss in PH. Those black spots are bug poo (pics 3 and 5), I would recommend either a spinosad (safe in veg) or ISO (rubbing alcohol)(safe for entire grow). Either of these are contact killers, so you must treat them at least 3 times at 3 day intervals. If spinosad follow the direction to mix it. If ISO 1 part ISO to 8 parts water (I have went 50/50 with no issues). Spray the top side then the under side, the soil, the pot, the floor, the wall, you get it everydamnthing! Its the alcohol in the ISO that is the killer (the alcohol evaporates very fast leaving behind water that also evaporates) and either of these will not kill the eggs, after the three treatments watch for the return. Oh ya, spray with the lights off until they dry (a fan helps) so you dont get burn spots.
Good Luck!

[AGH]

Sadly, I also think you have some pests. But no worries, that doesn't make you a bad person or a bad grower, all it means is that you have pests and you're looking to learn so that's a good thing!

I grow organic so when I had pests in a previous grow, I used a triple-pronged approach. If you're growing synthetic, you have a few more options but below is what I did:
- Day 1: After watering, I sprayed the plant with Insecticidal Soap. I would also spray the top of the soil with it. Insecticidal Soap is a contact killer and works by destroying the waxy coating on pests and drying them out.
- Day 2: Once the top of the soil was a little dry, I'd sprinkle Diatomaceous Earth all over it. This kills the pests by cutting through their exoskeletons and drying them out.
- Day 3: Take a deep breath and know that this isn't the end of the world, just some pests.
- Day 4: After watering, spray the plant and top of soil with Neem Oil. This works as a systemic killer as it enters the pest's body and disrupts their reproductive system.
- Day 5: Once the top of the soil is a little dry, another round of Diatomaceous Earth.
- Day 6: Another deep breath and reminding myself that this is going to take 3-4 weeks before it's completely effective.

That last part is important. You need to continue treating even after you stop seeing the pests. The lifecycle is such that about the time you finally eliminate all of the adults and you take a victory lap, the eggs that are in the soil hatch and the problem starts again. To eliminate the pests, you essentially have to create a population collapse and doing that takes several generations (for the pests, not you) to accomplish.

I see that you don't really have an enclosed space for your plants so this issue is going to continually appear. If you can, invest in a tent. Nothing fancy or pricey, but it will help you control the environment and will help keep pests at bay.

If you aren't able to invest in a tent at the moment, it will be beneficial for you to always keep a dusting of Diatomaceous Earth on your soil. And add a fan or two to keep the air moving. The Diatomaceous Earth works to eliminate any larvae that might hatch from eggs that were dormant (like seeds, eggs can lay dormant for a LONG time in soil and become active when it's warm and moist enough) and the moving air will help prevent any flying pests from landing, laying eggs, and getting their freak on. Of course, keeping the environment dialed in makes a huge difference. The ideal environment for cannabis is different from the ideal environment for pests, otherwise cannabis woudn't grow in that environment. So do your best to keep your temp/humidity/ventilation/circulation/and watering regimes locked in. Again, the goal is prevention but if that fails, then population collapse/management is your next goal.

Keep us posted with how it goes! I've also attached a photo showing mite eggs on leaves that I found on Google. It looks very similar to the pics you've posted.

[Mollisol]

Thanks for all the input from everyone. I have some Diatomaceous Earth ordered. I also sprayed it with Gardensafe Fungicide3. Following the directions on the bottle. I'll post changes good or bad. Thanks.

[Mollisol]

24 hours after spraying and no visible changes. It occurred to me after the fact that I should have sprayed one and waited. Just in case something horrible happened. But I sprayed all three.
I decided to take advice and ordered a grow tent. Since I'm in a basement I think I'll be fighting a losing battle against bugs and diseases if I don't.

One other hard lesson learned. For the money I spent on lumber and paint building my own grow box. I could have bought two or maybe three quality tents. That's not counting my labor and any modifications require cutting into plywood its a pain!

[golfnrl]

Hi Mollisol been following along trying to learn a little bit. Perhaps you’re already on top of this, thinking of the temps in your grow space, can you put something under your pots to get them off of that concrete floor? The floor will leach heat from the pot. Totally understand about building your grow space. Lumber ain’t cheap nowadays. I’ve got a small fortune invested in equipment including two grow tents. I went with Gorilla because they’re rated as the toughest (not sure what that really means) but they’re pricey. There are some really good pharmers on this forum. You’ve got some of them commenting on your issue. I’ll defer to what’s already been said. But again, I’m trying to learn a bit.

[Rwise]

Garden safe Fungicide3, fine in veg, avoid it in flower.

Active Ingredients ; Clarified Hydrophobic Extract of Neem Oil, 70% ; Other Ingredients, 30% ; Total, 100.00%

Safety Data Sheet (just for info)

https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/30/30136b7d-ba21-4e83-92f3-4e978b3d0f40.pdf

[AGH]

Thank you for pointing this out! Definitely want to avoid Neem Oil during the flowering phase. The guidelines tend to say to avoid spraying on or near buds within 2 weeks of harvest, but I agree with Rwise and I never use it once buds are forming as it has the potential to not degrade in time for harvest and has the potential to be detrimental to your health especially if you're sensitive to Neem Oil.

During flower, stick with things like Insecticidal Soap and diatomaceous earth.

[90Gizmo]

So, not as toxic as DDT.

[Bootsy]

Hey. I am following in interest, hoping for you that these are not the borg, but I agree with the others that it is started. I have had them twice and do no longer have the gumption to keep the regimen up to get rid of them. At your plant size, i would just kill and sanitize and re-start. Those F...kers are relentless! Truly - good luck.