I'm a bit emotional right now. But in the bad way to be fair.
I just got stung by a wasp without any reason, after having to take a extensive shower before because my body was totally itchy from all the mites and whatnot. UGH! 😫
I've been pretty proud in the beginning of this experiment, because there were lots of wild bees, beetles and other cool critters around here. It's basically like being in nature.
But I forgot that nature sucks... 🥲
For example, imagine laying in the grass and just chilling.
Beautiful for the first 5 seconds, but then, you begin getting stung in the asscreek by a dozen ants and get everything ruined.
Nature is basically dead in my area, so only the asshole bugs survive here.
The whole balcony is swarmed by aphids/ mites as well as ant colonies that protect those suckers from ladybugs and other beneficial predatory insects.
The aphids droop honeydew everywhere, which attracts lots of yellow jacket wasps, which in return could kill my girlfriend in minutes because she's highly allergic.
I didn't even realise that asshole (the wasp, lol) is there until I got stung just by existing.
I'm right about to pull the trigger and get my pesticides (neem oil/ pyrethrum extract) out.
Also, I began to hate soil even more than before.
I have to hunt for slugs every evening, because they're everywhere, and I can barely stand a chance against them.
There are gnats living in it too, as well as other unwanted guests.
The plants in soil are starting to spread diseases and pests to my otherwise healthy plants in hydroponics. I will for example harvest my weed soon, and there are bugs sticking in the buds like in a glue trap. I have no idea how I should get them out of them, it's just disgusting.
I also largely prefer hydro compared to soil, not only because there are less pests, but also because due to the much lower water demand and control it gives me.
The soil is guzzling water like crazy and still the plants are looking way less healthy.
Spraying neem oil on my hydro plants and just not using soil anymore seems to be the way better choice right now.
Sorry for the rant. It had to be.
What should I do?
so okay a lot to unpack here
but let's keep in mind that "nature" isn't sleeping beauty, it's animals and plants all trying to get one over on one another. They don't give a shit.
Second, like, agriculture isn't nature. It's highly managed systems out of any kind of ecological context. So mixing you pot in with nasturtium? Maybe get off of tiktok for gardening advice.
Pick: Do you want to grow plants for human products or do you want a slice of the natural world?
If you want to grow for production, out doors indoors doesn't matter. The name of the game is sanitation sanitation sanitation. And you can manage that in a mixed system.
Second, your "mites" aren't mites, they are aphids. I can't believe I have to explain this to a weed grower. Ants will move aphids around plants, effectively using them as their own form of animal agriculture. So relying on spraying doesn't solve the primary issue there. You will need to spray to get the superficial stuff under control if you want to, but getting the ants under control is the only real way to control the aphids. The ants are far better at spreading aphids than you are at managing them. Beat the ants and then beat the aphids.
As far as beating the ants. Figure out what species they are first. Plenty ants will die back a bit from a chemical spray, but then come back with a vengeance a few weeks later because stress causes them to make more queens.
What can you do? Take it all as a lesson, take some time to clear you mind about what you want to do, and give it another go after cleaning up the mess. The outdoor pot is prob unrecoverable and will be swaggy after anyways. And it's not clear why you are growing. Figure out what you want from growing and focus on doing that effectively.
If you want nature, that comes with slugs and wasps and ants. And mixed systems can be effective (my garden has probably a hundred different species). But it takes a long time and a lot of experience to have the knowledge to be able to identify issues early and respond appropriately for each plant in a mixed system.
Hey, buddy. Take the shade out of the comment and someone might be more willing to listen. You just j Sound like kind of a dick the way this is phrased.
Get some help 🙏
Yeah, you should be saying that to yourself...