Someone was asking me about pests. These have spider mites, they're not super bad but I'm going to spray neem oil anyway. It's not ideal but my ecosystem doesn't have any spider mites predators right now so it's really my only current solution. I'm not interested in non-native predators but if anyone has a line on some Illinois native predatory insects holler at me.
You can also see how well established my cover crop is! I'm a big fan of cover cropping. Monoculture is literally poison to the Earth, so obviously Bizzle don't play that shit.
Anyway the big one in the middle is up to my nose ๐ and they're fully flowering which sucks but I'm learning for next year. Nothing I ever do is a failure, it's just some shit I did.
Are ladybugs a possibility for combating those pests?
Second on the ladybugs. You have a grow house to contain them and makes them that much more effective. They cost about 15-20$ for a container of them and live for about 2 weeks, sometimes more.
I used neem oil on other plants and it leaves a residue that I didn't like. It also raises the leaf Temps and blocks leaf pours/stoma. There are also home made remedies with water/soap/alcohol that are better for the plants.
Definitely will try to source native ladybugs. My greenhouse isn't sealed in any way, so that sucks. I'm sure I'll lose some to escape. I agree about neem residue, I'd honestly rather not spray anything at all