Grow Room screen enclosure for outdoor plants?

[Badfinger]

I'm not advertising, just throwing out an idea I am going to try. My outdoor patio plant is doing way better then my indoor plants (as far as growing speed). But I spend the majority of time debugging that plant. So I decided to get one of these and give it a try to give my girl better protection from the bugs. I seen them on Amazon, its a Butterfly habitat, but it looks perfect for a plant enclosure. Maybe a couple bricks on the inside corners to make it stay in place, I dont know, but we shall see.
I ordered one that's 28" square X 48" high for around $25. Hopefully the mesh will leave in plenty of light.

 

[sidfinch]

I built PVC frames and used insect netting to make custom sized cages. It's worked well but it's not perfect, I used agfabric insect netting but the moths will still occasionally lay their eggs on the netting and at that age they can get through. So, it's not a substitute for IPM - you should still do a preventative spray(s), and compulsively observe/remediate any caterpillars.

I might try Agribon AG-15 next, but you can't really see through it, air does flow through it but it does block a little light. It appears no insect could really get through - just water/light/air, it's not a netting it's more like ground cover fabric but lighter weight.

I also tried a vegebag (round thing - lower right), which is basically a sub-irrigated planter with the mesh tent you bought on top. It worked well for insect control but required heavy LST to keep it in the container. It's just not big enough for a medium-large auto imo and I won't use it again for cannabis. Great for lettuce, herbs, etc.

 

[Badfinger]

I built PVC frames and used insect netting to make custom sized cages. It's worked well but it's not perfect, I used agfabric insect netting but the moths will still occasionally lay their eggs on the netting and at that age they can get through. So, it's not a substitute for IPM - you should still do a preventative spray(s), and compulsively observe/remediate any caterpillars.

I might try Agribon AG-15 next, but you can't really see through it, air does flow through it but it does block a little light. It appears no insect could really get through - just water/light/air, it's not a netting it's more like ground cover fabric but lighter weight.

I also tried a vegebag (round thing - lower right), which is basically a sub-irrigated planter with the mesh tent you bought on top. It worked well for insect control but required heavy LST to keep it in the container. It's just not big enough for a medium-large auto imo and I won't use it again for cannabis. Great for lettuce, herbs, etc.

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You have put a lot of thought and work into pest control. Of all the gadgets out there for multitudes of things to make life easy, it seems no one has come along with a gadget for what we're trying to accomplish.
I was going to buy some netting and also try my hand at a pvc frame too. Then when I seen this mesh habitat, I thought if it works, it should keep out everything.

 

[sidfinch]

I'm using my side yard that's pretty narrow, so custom sizing was going to be my best option to use the available space. And all of the ones I was looking at seemed pretty flimsy compared to 1" PVC.

But.... it's not necessarily cheap. The connectors add up.

I say if it's not too expensive give that one a go and see if it works for you, it's always about trial/error and adjustment.

 

[Badfinger]

I'm using my side yard that's pretty narrow, so custom sizing was going to be my best option to use the available space. And all of the ones I was looking at seemed pretty flimsy compared to 1" PVC.

But.... it's not necessarily cheap. The connectors add up.

I say if it's not too expensive give that one a go and see if it works for you, it's always about trial/error and adjustment.

Yea, my item is just a quick fix for one plant. But if it works good, I will grab one or two more for next summer, and just do the closet grow in the winter months.
Outdoor growers need to get ready, I'm at ground zero for the Lantern Fly invasion, another sweet gift from China. They completely cover everything and are seriously destructive. The stink bugs were just a nuisance, but these things are tree and plant killers. They showed up last year from the county next to mine, and their spreading fast. The whole base of this tree was black from their poop, like it was covered in tar.

 

[JP1]

Yea, my item is just a quick fix for one plant. But if it works good, I will grab one or two more for next summer, and just do the closet grow in the winter months.
Outdoor growers need to get ready, I'm at ground zero for the Lantern Fly invasion, another sweet gift from China. They completely cover everything and are seriously destructive. The stink bugs were just a nuisance, but these things are tree and plant killers. They showed up last year from the county next to mine, and their spreading fast. The whole base of this tree was black from their poop, like it was covered in tar.


View attachment 1353108

The tar is actually black mold that grows on the honeydew that the lanternflys excrete. The mold will suffocate the tree eventually. We started seeing the lanternflys here late last summer. You can treat the trees with insecticidal soap or any store bought pesticide weekly and power wash the mold. Can also wrap tape around the trunks but I've seen birds stuck to the tape on people's trees around here so I wouldn't recommend the tape. They've killed all the tree of heavens around here and are now moving to the soft wood trees like the maples, sycamores and apple. They also love grapes. Kinda expect them to start wiping out vineyards in the next couple years

 

[Badfinger]

well the butterfly habitat enclosure works great for any size bugs. But its so flimsy I had to load it down with a couple bricks.