Is this mold on my Bruce Banner? Why is it here and how to prevent it?

[Personal Stash]

I posted a few pics. of this problems a few weeks ago, somewhere, but there was no consensus because there was so little white stuff and I couldn't get a good picture. That went away by just handling it trying for a good ptc. but now that I have harvested, I can clearly see mold between the densest of buds. But why? I have humidity 50% rh, good air flow, temps 70f-75f, and I never, ever get the buds wet. I grew this Bruce Banner Photo from 420 in a 2'x4'x6' tent with a Mars Hydro SP3000, with a 4inch inline fan, always on and 3 small fans. I grow in a peat moss/vermiculite mix in 4gal. cloth grow bags and use Jacks nutrients. I get dryback before watering. Any ideas why I got mold and how to prevent it in the future?

 

[Justin Goody]

It is, unfortunately. It happens with big buds, even when humidity is dialed in. Try not to spread spores. Go on the hunt for more, it’s rarely just one spot but maybe you caught it early.

 

[Personal Stash]

No, it's not just one spot. I harvested last week and was working on some of the, already dry colas, and found it. I have found mold on three of the six colas I have looked at. I haven't checked any of the smaller buds for they are still damp. So, besides growing smaller buds, nothing I can do? That sucks and goes against everything I believe in. lol.

 

[Justin Goody]

So, besides growing smaller buds, nothing I can do? That sucks and goes against everything I believe in. lol.

Definitely never suggested growing smaller buds.
There are lots of things you can do- in the future.
But for this bud, if it’s all drying together, be careful what you smoke if half of it has shown mold so far. Try to figure out if it happened during the grow or during the drying.

After this grow you will need to sterilize your grow area because 1 little spore of that mold will cause this same problem in the future.

Beyond that- air filters, humidity control, constant monitoring, lots of clean air movement.

Many experts here on your particular problem, no one wants to see that fuzzy stuff on ANY weed and I’m sure you can find a solution.

 

[improvise]

Manno feel your pain stash
I had it once but that was outside shed grow
Indoors never had so far touch wood
Regards

 

[Personal Stash]

Definitely never suggested growing smaller buds.
There are lots of things you can do- in the future.
But for this bud, if it’s all drying together, be careful what you smoke if half of it has shown mold so far. Try to figure out if it happened during the grow or during the drying.

After this grow you will need to sterilize your grow area because 1 little spore of that mold will cause this same problem in the future.

Beyond that- air filters, humidity control, constant monitoring, lots of clean air movement.

Many experts here on your particular problem, no one wants to see that fuzzy stuff on ANY weed and I’m sure you can find a solution.

The mold started during the grow. These are pics. I took Dec. 19th. This was just a tiny piece of mold in one spot and I didn't find anymore until yesterday, a week after harvest. For those that might read this, the drying room is kept at 60% rh and temps. 60-69 depending on the a/c and weather. I keep good air flow also. If any of this is wrong or could be improved on, please let me know.

 

[Regrowth]

Those spores exist everywhere. Even in the most controlled environments.
We breathe them in constantly. Grey mold is same mold that kills your strawberries in the fridge.
Moldy buds will obviously increase the likelihood of spreading spores but dont take the decontamination too seriously.

Usually when buds mold while hanging there was already a mold issue at play.
If you wash your buds I've found that budwashing can just amplify the problem.

If bud washing for mold try the lemon and baking soda instead of the peroxide and hang with good air circulation.
The gas it forms is proven to fight mold. Think the peroxide step is useless for mold but still helps with Mildew.

Or better yet consider not washing at all.
Gotta be really thorough when trimming when you know there was a mold problem, pulling apart colas when you can.

 

[Justin Goody]

Those spores exist everywhere. Even in the most controlled environments.
We breathe them in constantly. Grey mold is same mold that kills your strawberries in the fridge.
Moldy buds will obviously increase the likelihood of spreading spores but dont take the decontamination too seriously.

Usually when buds mold while hanging there was already a mold issue at play.
If you wash your buds I've found that budwashing can just amplify the problem.

If bud washing for mold try the lemon and baking soda instead of the peroxide and hang with good air circulation.
The gas it forms is proven to fight mold. Think the peroxide step is useless for mold but still helps with Mildew.

Or better yet consider not washing at all.
Gotta be really thorough when trimming when you know there was a mold problem, pulling apart colas when you can.

True it’s not as bad as PM or botrytis and the grey mold is a good warning and much less heartbreaking

 

[Azimuth]

How many tops do you try for? More topping resulting in more, but smaller, buds might help.

 

[Personal Stash]

Those spores exist everywhere. Even in the most controlled environments.
We breathe them in constantly. Grey mold is same mold that kills your strawberries in the fridge.
Moldy buds will obviously increase the likelihood of spreading spores but dont take the decontamination too seriously.

Usually when buds mold while hanging there was already a mold issue at play.
If you wash your buds I've found that budwashing can just amplify the problem.

If bud washing for mold try the lemon and baking soda instead of the peroxide and hang with good air circulation.
The gas it forms is proven to fight mold. Think the peroxide step is useless for mold but still helps with Mildew.

Or better yet consider not washing at all.
Gotta be really thorough when trimming when you know there was a mold problem, pulling apart colas when you can.

Hey Azimuth, Yea, I had a little mold a couple of grows back, now that I think about it. This mold started while growing. You can see pics. in the earlier post above. I won't be smoking any mold so no bud washing. It goes in the yard. I really want some good ideas on how to prevent it from happening again. Thanks for replying. Here's pics. of it while growing.

 

[Personal Stash]

Manno feel your pain stash
I had it once but that was outside shed grow
Indoors never had so far touch wood
Regards

Thanks improvise.

 

[Personal Stash]

How many tops to you try for? More topping resulting in more, but smaller, buds might help.

I just try to fill the scrog up. This plant had over 40 colas/buds so I have plenty. I am trying to break a pound in a 2x4 or a 3x3 so I don't want to grow smaller buds. I want to grow big buds like last crop, it was Big Bud.

 

[Personal Stash]

True it’s not as bad as PM or botrytis and the grey mold is a good warning and much less heartbreaking

Is this grey mold Justin Goody?

 

[Regrowth]

i think gray mold is just slang for botrititus. but yes, its mold for sure.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Hey @Personal Stash... sorry to see your situation. As we say here in Hawaii, I think your buds are pau... gone, ruined.

I've dealt with a lot of Botrytis bud rot in my outdoor grow. My recommendation is to grow strains/phenos that are naturally resistant, and I've been doing a lot of research on that (check the top link in my signature). For any strain you are flowering, if bud rot is anticipated, you should keep a close eye as she gets close to harvest. There will be a critical point which I call the harvest window, where you will need to harvest before the bud rot sets in. Hopefully at that point trichomes will at least be mostly milky. Bud rot can set in very fast and ruin your whole harvest... I call that the rapid onset kind. It takes experience to learn how to deal with it. With some phenos, you'll find they are 100% resistant to bud rot, or highly resistant and will just have some localized patches. Clip them out.

I have correlated bud rot resistance to a phenotype's terpene profile, and I think the key terpenes are terpinolene (dominant) combined with the other "pine terpines" – pinene, terpinene, terpineol, and ocimene. These are typically strong in sativa-dominant phenos, and are usually associated with a stimulating effect. Sometimes the pine terpenes are also strong in 50/50 hybrids, and occasionally somewhat strong in indica-leaning phenos. Here's the results of my last wave of theoretical research...

Quest for mold-resistant strains, Hawaii outdoor greenhouse grow

Next up, bringing my terp thresholds down a bit... Agent Orange (50/50 hybrid) 3.24% total terpenes So I just found out that the Holy Grail here involves large amounts of alpha-pinene. If I search for significantly less alpha pinene, then a whole lot more results show up. Very interesting...

www.420magazine.com

I checked some Bruce Banner terpene profiles, and it looks like the phenos are usually dominant in beta-caryophyllene, humulene, limonene, and myrcene. I call these the non-pine terpenes, and so it's not surprising to me that BB would be susceptible to bud rot in the right conditions. There are 3 main phenotypes of BB, 2 of which are sativa-leaning, and one that's 50/50. So, none are sativa dominant.