Indoor Garden is Recovering After Diatomaceous Earth Treatment

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(Edited)

Hello Everyone,

A couple of days ago I posted an update about the indoor garden, and how it was under attack by thrips, (a small winged creature that feeds on the plant foliage.) and wasn't really sure what to do about it with what I have at my disposal for getting rid of pests.

Some great suggestions were given to me, thanks all of you. Turns out I had some diatomaceous earth, which @drutter suggested I try. I had forgotten that I had some and that it can be used to eradicate pests from indoor plants. I purchased it last summer to get rid of fleas that my cat Covid brought in from outdoors. It worked like a charm!

Since topping the soil of my indoor plants with some diatomaceous earth, I haven't seen any new signs of the thrips, and the new plant growth is looking very healthy.

Here is the current condition of the garden:


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There are no drastic differences yet, but the important thing is that it is looking pest free and new growth is occurring.
I went pretty heavy on the diatomaceous earth, which is noticeable in the photos as a white powdery looking substance on the top soil. It is comprised of some aquatic creature called diatoms that have become fossilized and are ground up into a powder that will obliterate bugs that come into contact with it.
Every time I use it, the bugs seems to disappear real fast.

Let's have a look at some more photos.


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Thrips can't hold this one back, it has some pretty lush new growth starting, and I suspect the fan leaves will get big very fast.


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Nice and green, looks a little rough in some spots but I think we will be ok.


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The canopy is not as even as I would like it, but I can work with this and probably manipulate it a bit during this growth stage, which should increase in speed now that the fan leaves are getting large, and repotting will be necessary one more time with these, as I'm planning to grow them a little larger than usual due to losing a few plants from the trips attack.


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I have high hopes for this one, because it came from very strong purple stuff that was labelled "purple cheese." It stands out compared to the others and looks quite different in my opinion, so it will be interesting to see what happens. Hopefully it is a female because it's the only one I have growing of this particular strain, but I still have a few seeds left of it anyway that I will start next batch.


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Overall the cannabis plants are looking pretty happy, and so is the graptosedum bronze.

Here's a close up of the graptosedum bronze:


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Looks like a scabbed up mess after the thrips, but it is still a very healthy plant and will recover just fine.


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I have some lettuce sprouting here, and a variety of wild flowers that came in an assortment pack.
This is a 3D printed seed starter that I found on Thingiverse. Seeds Hydration Jar by Taskino April 05, 2021
Its intended as a hydrator for seeds, but I use it for a seed starter with the soil. It's one of the most used and most practical prints that I've produced thus far with 3D printing as far as indoor gardening is concerned. I like that I can pop out single seedling containers if some need transplanting before others, very convenient.


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More very healthy looking flower sprouts. I don't know what any of them are, they are just labelled as a variety.


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They kind of look like some sort of dandelions to me, maybe they are genetically altered :D


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Usually I keep the tent wide open, but for now I'm keeping it zipped up as a means to keep the pests out.

That's all for today, thanks for stopping by.

Have a great day! -@futuremind



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12 comments
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Okay good, nice to hear the bugs are coming under control.
What kind of damage did they cause to the canna leaves? Do you have a good closeup?
Those 3D container and trays seem pretty cool! How durable is the material they're made of?

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Thank you for the help and feedback, I appreciate it.
Great questions, I didn't take any close ups of the leaves with the camera today, but considering I have some damaged leaves, it would make a good research project on thrips with an article displaying what they can do.

I intend to remove the damaged foliage anyway because it's an unpleasant sight and could possibly cause some kind of unforeseen plant problems later on. It's a risk I would rather not take. I'll get some acceptable close ups under better light and incorporate the photos into a post about thrips damage.

The 3D printed containers definitely come in handy. The material is printed in PLA (polylactic acid) which is a biodegradable thermoplastic aliphatic polyester substance that is made up of renewable cornstarch products. Which is pretty cool but it will break down over time.

I'm not sure how long it will take, but I have had some vases in the sun almost every day this summer and there's been no noticeable melting or breaking down of the compound, so my guess is these little trays will last a couple of years at least.

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Thanks, looking forward to shots of the insect damage! I've got some yucky spots showing up on some of my leaves at the moment, and wonder if they look anything like yours. Mine aren't holes, though, they're more like grayed out flakey-shaped irregular spots. I'll also get some pics. In the meantime I've sprinkled on a fresh dose of diatoms!
So the plastic isn't food safe, I guess? What I think would be really cool is hemp-based resins rather than what I assume is petroleum.

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Looks good!

You named your cat Covid? lol

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Yes because his love is infectious! ;)
Or he was a stray in my backyard who's a real lovable jerk, I couldn't think of a better name at the start of this plandemic.

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I LOVE THAT FACE! By cats are the best. So loving and appreciative. I'm happy you have him.

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I love Covid! Never thought I'd say that, but I love Covid the Cat!
We had a stray at our door, one bitter winter, but I was unable to bribe him with food to lure him to shelter in our house. Very feral. Looked a lot like your tuxedo cat. I called ours James Bond. Bobi the Bad may have made it clear no other feline gets to set foot in his domain.

Thought of you today when reading @yahia-lababidi's post https://hive.blog/hive-174578/@yahia-lababidi/a-conversation-with-kafka-a

I have been thinking, too, of fairy tales. The idea of Alice and the rabbit hole and its connection with physics. I don’t know much about physics. I’m just another artist-groupie, but I am captivated by the idea of a wormhole. A hypothetical tunnel connecting disparate points in light-space, with the attendant, hypothetical, possibility of time travel. None of this is encouraged by hard science, but neither is it entirely refuted. Disputed, more-like. This idea of a shortcut between worlds, which, for me, translates as a shortcut into creative space, where inspiration is able to move with more agility and vision to engage with more dexterity.

Also, you've reminded me of Guy T. Martland's time-traveling cat. If you ever find the time, the stories are short, and The Cat is based on the real-life Gordon, who died last year of old age, and in the series, we see this aging cat slow down and not leap so high anymore.... what's really sad, though, is how small the audience for this excellent sci-fi feline saga.

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More here:

http://www.guytmartland.co.uk/p/the-cats-page.html

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Hey @carolkean!
Thanks for checking out Covid! Bobi the Bad and James Bond are some creative names for cats, I love it! 😄

Covid is quite feral too. Apparently he's been snipped but you would never guess it with how wild he gets at times. Season changes are the hardest. For some reason when he starts getting wild, he likes to mess with things of mine that he knows I don't like.

Currently he will sleep on my computer keyboard, and it creates all kinds of PC problems. I have to lock the screen now, and sometimes need to hard crash and restart because the keyboard stops working. I'm going to just start shutting it down when I sleep.
He knows he is not supposed to do it too... because he takes off running from the keyboard when he hears me getting up, like I won't know...

Lately I'm a bit frustrated with him, but I still love him to death and he still manages to get his favorite meals out of me... little bugger he is sometimes.. He's mastered the art of loving up at the right moments.

Thanks for sharing this interesting post above. I've not checked it out yet but it's on my to do list. Lately I've been so swamped and finding it hard to keep up with everyone, and also have fallen behind with some content creators. This is a full time job no question about it. Even with the years I've been doing it, it never seems to get easier, but I'm not complaining because I love the content creators here and find this is such a nice outlet for all of us autistic artistic types :)

Also, you've reminded me of Guy T. Martland's time-traveling cat. If you ever find the time, the stories are short

You've deduced very well how busy I am 😂

I just glanced over the page, and find it super cool. Giving it a bookmark, and sure I will find some time to check it out. What a nice and creative way to document a cat's life.
It's amazing the love we share with our animal friends.
Thanks for your attentive reading of my blog and sharing these amazing resources for me to check out in the future 💚

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