PM infestation! 4 weeks from harvest! Help!

[sunshineEtron]

We have PM big time! We have tried spraying the plants with H20 numerous times but this doesn't seam to be working. It is quickly spreading throughout the room. Be have increased the air circulation 10 fold. Our buds are so far along we are scared to use anything that will affect the taste. I have read that baking soda is the best thing but will this affect the taste of our weed? We want very clean bud. Any suggestions? This is my first grow...

 

[420]

SNS 244 FUNGICIDE

 

[BWC BayArea]

Sunshine,
I feel you bro, PM sucks!. I dealt with it in my 1st journal "BWC's Largest Solo Grow To Date". I was never able to fully eradicate the mildew, I was able to manage it and prevent it from spreading further throught bloom cycle. I tried baking soda and water spray which wasn't so great. I'd see the PM growing right next to the soda once it dried. 1st piece of advidce, STOP SPRAYING WITH H2o. PM thrives in high humidity. Watch your temps. Warm days, cold nights, with a 15 degree or more fluctation in temp between the 2 + high relative humidity is an ideal climate for PM to thrive. I used a product called Serenade & did a product review a while back. U can search the threads for it. It can be used until close to the end of harvest w/out greatly affecting taste, however trichome development may be impeded. Try not to spray directly on the buds. Spray a close to begining of light cycle so plants have a chance to dry b4 lights out. If not u run the risk of bud rot. Also work toward better air flow/circulation within ur grow space. I cant emphasize this enough, think VENTILATION. U want to replace theair removed adequately to prevent stagnant, humid air in ur grow. Air should be ushered out as fresh air is ushered into ur grow space. Also cleanliness is important. Be sure to clean ur equipment after use thoroughly with bleach or peroxide. Once the cycle is completed, clean the entire grow area with the same. I hope u find this info useful. Good luck to u bro. Be sure to remove the worst parts and/or affected plants. If this means an early harvest for some then so be it. It can destroy ur entire crop if left unattended or treated ineffectively.

 

[sunshineEtron]

Thank you very much for the precise advice, that's exactly what I needed to hear. I picked up some "serenade" and have started treating the plants. I don't have a heater in the room right now and it is getting too cold at night. Temperature fluctuation is a problem right now, hopefully this issue will be fixed soon. I have about six fans running with a heavy duty exhaust and intake so I believe the air circulation is good in there. Can you please tell me how often I should be treating the plants with this "serenade" stuff? Thanks again for the great advice!

 

[sunshineEtron]

 

[BWC BayArea]

Use the Serenade™ as needed. I'd do it every 3-5 days. Be careful not to spray buds. The strength of the mixture depends on the exigency of the problem. Read the booklet taped to the bottle. Beware, this stuff STINKS! Also since I recomend spraying as the lights come on, u may wanna raise ur light (ig using CFLs or HPS) 6"-1' to prevent light burn. Also if the infection is extreme, remove leaves that are covered in 50% or more PM. Carefully remove and bag as not to jostle and knock spores into the air further exacerbating ur problem. The ones with less than 50% surface area covered w/PM u can use 2 clean/new sponges soaked in vinegar/H2O (1 cap per 2qts H2O) and carfefully wipe the fan leaves off. Test on one plant 1st. This is time consuming. One other thing. If u see it on the stem & around flowers, I'd strongly consider harvesting that plant early. PM is at its worst when the pots dry out and/or the leaves aere damp when the pots are dry/light. Good luck and post some pics if u can.

 

[sunshineEtron]

 

[sunshineEtron]

 

[BWC BayArea]

It looks dense in that space. I'm willing to bet its real humid in there. Looks like a nice indica u go goin. Is therfe a way to give ur plants more space between each other so less leaves or overlapping/resting on top of each other? Yes, u must agressively address ur problem in there it doesn't take long for it to run rampant in our gardens and its hard to get rid of. Be sure to clean ur fans, ducting, walls, tools, etc once this grow is finished. Thanks for sharing.

 

[sunshineEtron]

These pictures are not the best but you get the idea. We made the mistake of spraying the buds on the first time around. Hopefully we don't see bud rot as a result. We have turned the exhaust fan on so it is constantly running rather than on a thermostat. It is going to get chilly in there, I'm not sure which is worse. We will try the vinegar solution tonight. I'll keep you updated. Thanks again for the timely response! BTW I am just a helpless little lady trying to run a grow show, I am impressed with the knowledge I am able to obtain from this site - wicked

 

[BWC BayArea]

Thats what we're here for. I really suggested u raising the temp ASAP and getting control of temp fluctuations. A space heater can be used to raise temps til u figure out better environmental contols. I also forgot to mention, water and feed plants as close to lights o time as possible. Remember cool temps and humidity are a heaven for PM

 

[Droopy Dog]

You might want to check into a sulfur burner/vaporizer.

A quick google search should do it.

DD

 

[BWC BayArea]

Droopy, good suggestion but is it a good idea to use 4 weeks into flower? I saw MoslowJJ do this in a greenhouse grow on here last year. Never used it b4. Drfoopy's pretty knowledgable too. I can't speak much on sulfur, thank God the reinforcements have arrived. Thanks droop.

 

[Droopy Dog]

Should be ok at 4 weeks. I've done it with no taste issues. A friend did a burn less than 2 weeks from chop and said there were no taste issues, but I can't vouch for that, since I didn't taste the end product.

The thing is, with a sulfur burn, it's usually a one shot deal, problem solved.

You need to keep re applying sprays and I haven't seen one yet that doesn't smell/taste bad, or work with one application.

There is a DIY burner that is super cheap, but the link goes to another site and it will just get deleted if I try and post it.

Again, google is your friend here.

I would really check into this, as it's the closest thing to 100% I've used.

DD

 

[SavorDank]

Water right when the lights turn on so plant can use water all day.

Drop the Humidity in the room with a dehumidifier.

Lots of air circulation is needed.

Wash leaves off then use Mildrew spray.

You Can use SaferGro Mildew Cure. Its an organic blend of oils and can be used up to the day before harvest, as long as dried and cured properly no taste or smell will be on Buds.

I heard sulfur works well but depends on your grow space and situation. Shit smells.

This is a problem better prevented or kept under control than to have to deal with.

 

[sunshineEtron]

Thanks DD, I looked into the sulfur burning method. There is conflicting advice regarding it. I like the fact that it is a one shot deal. We are moving on to our 3rd application of Serenade tomorrow. I think it's doing the trick but it is hard to tell quite yet, I don't think it is getting worse at least. The problem, as BWC pointed out, is that our room is quite dense and a good number of plants are overlapping each other. We simply don't have any more space to spread them out. I try and rotate them every day and make sure they are getting as much air circulation as possible. I am concerned that Serenade will alter the taste of our bud, the stuff is so potent. We are going to lower the dosage as we get closer to cropping out. If this doesn't work then we will consider the sulfur method - but taste will also be in jeopardy. Thanks for the suggestion. Also, BWC - could you tell me when we should completely stop using this stuff before crop out?

 

[sunshineEtron]

 

[BWC BayArea]

For more detailed info on the process click the "BWCs Biggest Solo Grow to Date" link then search the threads using 'Serenade' as a keyword. It should take u through the posts so u can actually see for urself how the treament worked and how harvest was affected. I documented it the way I did just for people in ur situation. Check it out first and if u have more questions just ask.

 

[sidewing]

for a room that size man u need a sulfur vaporizer.. im using one currently late in flower and have been told by 4 experienced growers that its safe to use up until a week before harvest.. one swears that its safe up until harvest and even while drying/curing with no adverse effects to taste or smell...

ive vaped for a week every other day, 30-45 minutes at a time in the middle of the dark cycle.. then i kick the venting fans back on and pull all the stuff out of the room.

im only running 16 plants but they are tight together like yours are, and spraying every inch of a plant is just out of the question.

get the "EcoPlus 704050 Greenhouse Vaporizor" and get the 99.5% sulfur pellets.. they look like small little yellow round tictacs sort of.. flat and circular.

run it at least 2 hours after lights go off, no more than an hour at a time, and be sure to vent it out at least 2 hours before lights go on. i personally just run it 30 minutes, then turn it off, and turn vent fans back on..

do this every other day for a couple weeks. and your problem should be under control..

the bowl of the sulfur vaporizer has an adjustable height, i put it as high above the heating element as itll go for a cleaner vape. the opposite being the metal bowl sitting right on top of the heating element.. this got my room very smokey fast, im looking for a cleaner burn rather than smoke the shit out of it type burn.

they say the sulfur goes away after 3 days.. so just to be on the safe side im stopping vaping 2 weeks before chop..

i DO NOT smell any sulfur on my plants the same day as i vape, and the plants still smell better and better every day and look better every day, no burn, no rotten egg smell that u read about.. im going to be harvesting in about 3 weeks and i expect phenomenal results..

i read a lot of the same back and forth bs posted on forums and u have to remember 95% of the people posting dont do this do that have never done any of it themselves.. as i said ive had 4 experienced growers tell me in person face to face that its completely safe (non chemical) way to keep PM at bay..

remember that fresh burned sulfur is toxic for humans, so dont hang around your space right after a burn.. i hold my breath and walk into the grow space (which im not burning directly in that space, but inside a large grow box which is inside that room) just to unplug the burner, and turn back on the vent fans, then i leave.. i can go in an hour later and not smell anything and all the sulfur has been vented outside... i would do this over any other spray.. sulfur vaping will prevent/treat any mold/mildew problems and keep spider mites/gnats at bay also.. its a natural element so its not chemical treatment.. and sprays are just adding moisture to your plant surface which is asking for bud rot and a list of other problems.. im currently 47 days into this flower cycle and im running til day 70.. so just do the sulfur vaping and stop 2 weeks before harvest if u are concerned.. remember it is inert, it takes 3 days for the sulfur to break down and go away. research it. so 2 weeks should be more than plenty to settle any conerns.

i cannot speak on the final product as of yet, but im confident in the people that instructed me that they wouldnt steer me in the wrong direction, we are all organic growers where clean and chemical-less is the primary concern.

for me especially being allergic to molds/mildews.. i do not want to just ride it out and have asthmatic reactions to mildews and/or molds in buds..

oh cant remember if i mentions this, but turn off all oscillating fans while vaping, supposidly it can lead to burning of the leaves for whatever reason. and dont sulfur vape if u have sprayed oil based sprays on your leaves in the previous 30 days.. such as neem oil.

 

[BWC BayArea]

Sounds good sidewing. I just learned something. That seems like sound advice. I'm looking at the pic from a comp screen right now. Thats a big bloom room. Damn. Yea thats a lot of space plants/time to spray. I had a fairly large space like that but didnt have a choice. couldn't burn sulfur because it was in a living space where clothes and what not were present. If you can burn sulfur seems like enough members are confident that it won't affect the smell or taste of ur harvest. Its your call bro, but at least u have more than one person sayin the same thing about the sulfer sun. Keep us posted. For future reference its not wise to grow that big without a handle on environmental controls. Ventilation, air circulation, and temperature control are key.