Category Archives: Pests

One of the best things about growing in water is the lack of pests and diseases you’ll encounter, That’s not to say that there aren’t any but due to the lack of soil soil based pests won’t be a problem. In this category are the problems I’ve encountered myself and the ways I have fought against them, I try not to use pesticides and chemicals as these don’t appear to help much for me.

Whitefly (On Pepper plants)

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This is of the other common problems I occur, Fortunately at the moment it only seems to occur on the Pepper plants and only in one greenhouse (The plastic one, Though I’m not sure why)

I have tried some of the ideas displayed around the internet such as using a solution of water & washing up liquid, Unfortunately not which must success.

The water and milk solution I use on the cucumbers above seems to help slightly.

At the moment though the way I get rid of the whitefly is quite simple albeit a little long winded. I purchased a rechargable low power portable vacuum cleaner normally used for vacuuming cars. Now every week or so I go around the plants with Whitefly and vacuum all the whitefly off the plants.

This is 100% successfully, Although you do have to make sure the vacuum cleaner is low powered otherwise you’ll suck up the plant leaves as well .

Related posts:

  1. Water culture and Raceway systems
  2. Slugs (Attacking all the plants)
  3. Powdery Mildew (On Cucumbers)

Powdery Mildew (On Cucumbers)

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This is the most common problem I encounter, Partly due to the lack of recirculating air in the greenhouses.

This fungal disease attacks just my cucumbers and creates a powdery substance which covers the leaves and eventually kills them if left untreated. Fortunately after several years of the problem I seem to have found a good solution and a simple one at that.

When the problem starts to occur, I make a solution up of 1 part milk to 10 parts water, This is then liberally sprayed all over the leaves underneath and on top.

So far (fingers crossed) this has helped tremendously.
I simply repeat this every few weeks or so if the problem starts to occur again. Just make sure you empty the container you’ve used after spraying, Otherwise the container gets a little smelly after a few days. As I’ve found out already.

Related posts:

  1. NFT (Nutrient Film Technique)
  2. Slugs (Attacking all the plants)
  3. Whitefly (On Pepper plants)