SoilBible · Episodes · Ep 018

Ep 018: Integrated Pest Management Keystone Walkthrough

· 48 hours into flower, Jeremy does a quadrant walk-around then delivers the season's keystone IPM lecture. He covers the BuildASoil prevention-first philosophy (build a warrior ecosystem, not a sterile room), walks through product categories (wetting agents/soaps, essential oils, enzymes, silica, sulfur, spinosad, neem) with rotation logic, and demonstrates the actual spray on the 10x10 using EM-5 at one-to-two ounces per gallon. He stresses that IPM is scouting plus ecosystem plus rotation, not just spraying, and that the cure can never be worse than the pest.

Topics

48-hour flower flip quadrant update · grow cow calcium foliar at start of flower · compost tea with BuildAFlower and Gem fish hydrolysate · why soil mites and rove beetles are beneficial · preventative IPM versus eradication programs · clone quarantine and double-time spraying · rotating three products to prevent resistance · wetting agent and saponin category (Thermx, Saponaria, Dr Bronner, lactose soapcillus) · essential oils and phytotoxicity with lights · enzyme sprays (EM-5, Procidic Therm-X, Dr Zymes) · AgSil 16H potassium silicate for emulsification and powdery mildew · wettable sulfur big-guns option and oil incompatibility · Captain Jack's Dead Bug spinosad nuclear organic option · cold-pressed wild-harvested neem oil and azadirachtin levels · proper foliar spray technique — underside first, dim lights, good coverage

Sections

0:00 — 4:58

48 hours into flower — quadrant 1 and 2 update

Jeremy opens 48 hours after the flower flip and walks all four quadrants. He recaps what happened off-camera: a morning foliar spray with Grow Cow calcium on its own in water, plus a compost tea of BuildAFlower at one and a half cups per four gallons water with a third cup of Gem fish hydrolysate and a 'mysterious' 10-way mushroom blend from his health food cabinet. Plants responded phenomenally with no burnt tips. He philosophises that compost tea may work partly because it forces you to think about plant health 24 hours in advance. Quadrant 1 is the no-till earth box with 3.0 soil — kashi reaction visible under mulch, predator mites and rove beetles working. Quadrant 2 3x3 got tea but no BuildAFlower top dress because the larger soil volume depletes slower; one plant is slightly intensely reacting to the calcium foliar.

  1. 1. Walk into tent 48 hours after flower flip
  2. 2. Tour quadrant 1 earth box — lift mulch to show kashi and beneficial mites
  3. 3. Tuck and weave tall branches to keep canopy even
  4. 4. Tour quadrant 2 3x3 — skip BuildAFlower top dress on purpose, more soil depletes slower
  5. 5. Note one plant rolling leaves slightly from calcium foliar — decide to leave it alone
4:58 — 8:19

Quadrant 3 recovery and quadrant 4 vegetables

Quadrant 3 was heavily defoliated and is popping new growth from every rip site. The previously over-watered plant has made a full 180 recovery — green colour and sheen returning — after a basic worm-casting-plus-molasses tea with Blue Gold sugar blend applied to the root zone followed by four-to-five days of zero water. Jeremy drives home that sometimes the best fix in living soil is backing off completely. Quadrant 4 pepper plant is throwing new bud sites and early peppers from the compost tea; tomatoes are struggling in the 3-gallon pots as expected. Clones got moved out of the tent because the 10x10 is now on 12 hours of light, so they're in a separate tent with their own small light. Kale is turgid and refilling; lettuce is regrowing after harvest.

  1. 1. Evaluate defoliated quadrant 3 — confirm new growth push
  2. 2. Evaluate over-watered plant — confirm 180 recovery from back-off strategy
  3. 3. Resume normal watering only once root system is healthy again
  4. 4. Check quadrant 4 pepper for bud sites and early fruit
  5. 5. Pull heirloom tomato fruit to let plant push new set in 3 gallon pot
  6. 6. Move clones to outside tent with dedicated small light because 10x10 is on 12/12
8:19 — 13:37

IPM philosophy — ecosystem not sterility

Jeremy launches the keystone IPM lecture by asking viewers to 'borrow confidence' from BuildASoil: the grow sits inside their retail store, customers peek in all day, hemp farmers and vegetable farmers walk in and out, he wears his shoes inside, and they run every soil recipe, deep mulch, mushrooms, vegetables and decaying leaves in the same room — everything 'they tell you not to do' — and still have no pest problems. He contrasts this with the old Procidic-era advice of no compost and no leaf indoors because you must be sterile. His principle is permaculture: 'nature abhors a void and fills it with things' — fill it with what you want (predator mites, rove beetles, worms, beneficial soil mites) and nature is less likely to fill it with what you don't. He also warns that clones are a 99.99 percent problem source and need double-time spraying and quarantine.

  1. 1. Build an ecosystem — add beneficial mites, rove beetles, worms, decaying mulch
  2. 2. Follow basic practices so the warriors out-compete pests
  3. 3. Scout daily — look for intersex traits, leaf issues, powdery mildew, damp pockets
  4. 4. If you run clones, quarantine and spray twice a week minimum
  5. 5. Prefer seed starts for home growers because clones almost always bring problems
13:37 — 16:15

Prevention vs eradication and the three-product rotation

IPM is more than a spray — it is ecosystem plus scouting plus a rotation plan. BuildASoil's rule of thumb is to keep three products you like and rotate them so overlapping modes of action hit whatever is trying to establish. Rotation products don't have to be branded gardening products — castile soap, Dr Bronner's, even Dawn dish soap will work, though Dawn is harsher than castile. A single-ingredient soap spray at one ounce per gallon is a solid preventative. When a problem appears you go on offense and tighten from weekly to every one-to-three days, and you must use gentle organics because the cure cannot be worse than the pest.

  1. 1. Pick three rotation products you like
  2. 2. Spray once a week as preventative baseline
  3. 3. On sighting a pest, tighten to every 1–3 days (depending on pest)
  4. 4. Keep daily-application sprays gentle so you don't burn the plant
  5. 5. Never use a cure harsher than the pest damage would be
16:15 — 17:47

Category one — soaps, saponins and wetting agents

First category of any foliar mix is a surfactant/wetting agent so the spray actually sticks to the leaf. Examples: Thermx 70 yucca saponin extract (BuildASoil bottles it), BuildASoil Saponaria (label in design with J. Plant Speaker), Dr Bronner's castile soap, and a locally made Lactose Soapcilus soap that includes lactobacillus probiotics. One ounce per gallon is preventative; two ounces per gallon is eradicatory. Soaps alone will crush aphids and spider mites even though they're not labelled as pesticides. Saponins on their own are potent enough to function as IPM.

  1. 1. Pick one soap or saponin wetting agent for every spray
  2. 2. Use 1 oz/gal for preventative
  3. 3. Use 2 oz/gal for eradication
  4. 4. Even plain soap will crush aphids and mites — don't over-think branding
17:47 — 19:19

Category two — essential oils and DIY additives

Next level adds essential oils, hot chilli pepper, organic alcohol, or organic vinegar to the soap base. These make leaves inhospitable to powdery mildew, mould and insects. BuildASoil buys bulk essential oils from Liberty Naturals and blends them, rather than buying tiny grocery bottles. Use a few drops per gallon up to one ounce per gallon, but essential oils are phytotoxic under lights — you must dim or switch off the lights before spraying.

  1. 1. Add a few drops up to 1 oz/gal of essential oil blend to your soap base
  2. 2. Optionally add hot chilli, organic vinegar or organic alcohol instead
  3. 3. Before spraying, dim or turn off grow lights to prevent phyto burn
  4. 4. In flower, spray at lights-out so plants have 12 hours to dry
19:19 — 21:09

Category three — pre-made concoctions (EM-5)

EM-5 is BuildASoil's homemade-style ready-made plant cleaner Jeremy uses today. Ingredients: organic EM-1 effective microorganisms (probiotic consortium that ferments it into stability and drops pH), organic apple juice concentrate as fermentation sugar instead of molasses (keeps it plant-based), organic grape alcohol, organic apple cider vinegar, yucca extract wetting agent, and organic peppermint essential oil. Everything fermented together. He uses it both as a foliar plant wash and as a tray/algae cleaner. He also directs viewers to the free BuildASoil IPM report (blog on buildasoil.com, or 'buildasoil ipm report' in Google) for specific recipes.

  1. 1. EM-5 = EM-1 + apple juice concentrate + grape alcohol + apple cider vinegar + yucca + peppermint oil, fermented
  2. 2. Use as foliar plant wash or as tray cleaner to scrub off algae
  3. 3. Read the BuildASoil IPM report for exact ratios of each component if making your own
21:09 — 24:55

Enzyme sprays — Procidic, Dr Zymes

Procidic (by Safe Solutions) is the original enzyme plant wash — patented enzyme pesticide that causes insects to molt. Pests can't build resistance because it's a physical enzyme action, not a toxin. Also contains boron and essential oils. Enzymes work better in warm water — Jeremy uses clean filtered water at about 90 degrees. The safer evolution is Dr Zymes Eliminator — purer enzymes, approved for full flowering plants, safe late in flower for powdery mildew or bud rot scenarios. Jeremy still prefers never to spray flowering buds, but if forced, Dr Zymes or EM-5 are the comfort choices. The BuildASoil bundle (IPM Bundle number three) includes both plus EM-5 at a discount. Spray with lights off or dimmed — enzyme sprays can push a stressed plant over the edge under full light.

  1. 1. Warm clean RO water to roughly 90°F to boost enzyme potency
  2. 2. Mix enzyme product per label
  3. 3. Turn lights off in veg, or spray just before lights-out in flower
  4. 4. Work from bottom of plant underside up
  5. 5. Repeat applications — one shot never eradicates a real infestation
24:55 — 28:18

Aloe, AgSil 16H silica, wettable sulfur

Aloe — one of the few plants that gets no pest issues, high in saponins, used for both foliar spraying and health tonic logic; people eradicate fungal issues on citrus with it. BuildASoil sells it as horticultural aloe, not a pesticide. AgSil 16H — potassium silicate made from sand with potassium hydroxide, alkaline, used to emulsify neem oil into water, and on its own is a known powdery mildew eradicant. Use sparingly, it's potent. Wettable sulfur (Microthiol Disperss) — Jeremy sells the 1lb unlabelled version as sulfur and the same manufacturer also sells a pesticide-labelled version. CRITICAL: never interact oils with wettable sulfur or you'll really hurt the plant. Large-scale guys with rust-mite problems swear by sulfur, Jeremy has never needed to use it himself.

  1. 1. Consider aloe as a gentle leaf cleaner and fungal helper
  2. 2. Use AgSil 16H potassium silicate in tiny amounts to emulsify neem oil into water
  3. 3. If reaching for wettable sulfur, DO NOT mix with oils and do not spray after recent oil sprays
  4. 4. Follow the pesticide-labelled version's directions if using as pesticide
28:18 — 32:27

Big guns — Captain Jack's Dead Bug and neem oil

Captain Jack's Dead Bug is any spinosad product (spinosyn A + D) — a natural bacteria-derived insecticide. Not on the commercial cannabis pesticide approved list, so BuildASoil doesn't talk about it much, but for home growers in veg with thrips or spider mites it is a 'nuclear organic bomb' — one dose (most do two or three for coverage) wipes them out. Spray the soil surface too to kill larvae. Never spray in dense flower buds. Neem oil — the single most misunderstood IPM product. BuildASoil imports cold-pressed wild-harvested unadulterated neem from India at 3,000+ ppm azadirachtin, compared to the typical 200–800 ppm hydro-store product. Avoid 'manufactured neem oil' where cheap neem is re-infused with extracted azadirachtin. Use at 1–2 oz/gal, emulsify first by warming in a hot water bath and blending with AgSil 16H or a saponin/soap. Hit pest cycles every 3 days because eggs hatch every few days — rotate neem with Dead Bug and others.

  1. 1. For thrips or spider mites in veg, consider Captain Jack's Dead Bug spinosad — 1 dose, typically 2–3 for coverage
  2. 2. Spray soil surface too to hit larvae
  3. 3. Never spray spinosad in dense flower buds
  4. 4. For neem oil, warm bottle in hot water bath until liquid
  5. 5. Emulsify neem with AgSil 16H or a saponin/soap wetting agent
  6. 6. Apply neem at 1–2 oz/gal
  7. 7. Hit pest every 3 days through egg hatch cycles — rotate with other products
32:27 — 37:27

Live EM-5 foliar spray demonstration

Jeremy mixes and applies today's EM-5 preventative spray on the 10x10. Label rates: 1 oz/gal for normal use, 2 oz/gal for dunking clones and young plants, 2–6 oz/gal for heavy cleaning. He doesn't measure at home — just eyeballs one-to-two ounces into a one-gallon jug. He uses a metal Chapin pump sprayer with wand and a 0.5 GPM fine-spray nozzle. Pumps it extra because only a gallon is in the can. Sprays underside of leaves first (flip the wand upside down), then the tops — underside first because spraying the top makes leaves droop and block access to lowers, and because spider mites and mildew hide under leaves. Dim the lights even for EM-5 to be safe. Spray plants until sagging from water weight — coverage is the whole game. For a known problem, defoliate affected leaves first and remove them from the room before spraying the rest.

  1. 1. Fill 1 gallon of water in the metal Chapin pump sprayer
  2. 2. Dose 1–2 oz EM-5 directly from the bottle — eyeball it
  3. 3. Fit the 0.5 GPM fine nozzle on the wand
  4. 4. Pump the sprayer extra because it's only half-full
  5. 5. Shake (below foot-drop height — those Chapins will break a toe)
  6. 6. Dim the grow lights even though EM-5 is gentle
  7. 7. Flip wand upside-down and coat the undersides of all leaves first
  8. 8. Then spray the tops until plants sag from water weight
  9. 9. Optionally spray mulch layer, tray, container to make inhospitable
  10. 10. If you see a problem, defoliate affected leaves, remove from room, then spray the rest
  11. 11. Test new products on one small area first

Notable quotes

"Integrated pest management is more than just a spray."

Opening thesis of the lecture portion

"Nature abhors a void and fills it with things. So what we've learned at BuildASoil is that we fill it with what we want — that's a permaculture principle — and then nature's less likely to fill it with things that you don't want."

Core IPM philosophy statement

"We're creating an army of warriors that are out-competing, and that's very different than trying to create a sterile environment."

Contrasting the BuildASoil ecosystem approach with older sterile-grow dogma

"Nature has no bad — they just have things that do jobs."

On reframing pests as natural agents rather than enemies

"If you have a spider mite, it's typically because your crop needed to be taken down in nature's opinion, or it was food for them."

Nature's functional view of pest outbreaks

"The cure can't be worse than the actual problem, or there's no point to it."

Core rule for selecting eradication products

"Successful gardeners put a lot of thought into their garden, and that comes off as love and attention — I feel like there's a relationship between the plants."

On why compost tea brewers get better results — possibly because brewing forces 24 hours of advance thinking about plant health

"Sometimes the worst thing that you can do is try and fix it every day."

On rescuing the overwatered plant by backing off completely

Glossary terms from this episode

3.0 soil · aphid · azadirachtin · back off strategy · bud rot · BuildAFlower · BuildASoil IPM report · castile soap · clone quarantine · cold-pressed neem oil · Compost tea · dim the lights · Earth Box · ecosystem building · effective microorganisms (EM-1) · EM-5 · emulsification · enzyme spray · eradication program · foliar spray · good coverage · Grow Cow · Horticultural aloe · integrated pest management · IPM Bundle #3 · Kashi blend · manufactured neem oil · nature abhors a void · no-till living soil · nutrient tea

Products mentioned

BuildASoil Saponaria · Worm castings · molasses · Therm X 70 · Build-A-Flower top dress · EM-1 Effective Microorganisms · Grow Cow calcium foliar · Gem Organic Fish Hydrolysate · 10-way mushroom blend · Blue Gold sugar blend · BuildASoil Earth Box · Dr Bronner's Castile Soap · Lactose Soapcilus · Dawn dish soap · BuildASoil Essential Oil Blend · EM-5 · Organic Apple Juice Concentrate · Organic Grape Alcohol · Organic Apple Cider Vinegar · Organic Peppermint Essential Oil