Mold issues - Fluffy white kind

[Hythlodaeus]

Hey folks, as the title says I have been having mold problems during last two grows, haven't lost an entire plant but as they tend to go for the big cola's i did loose quite abit of weed.

The first time i encountered mold i would say it was due to slightly too high humidity which i didn't kept under control.

So this time i fixed humidity, plus its winter so its alot cooler which helps, humidity never went above 40% i would say, generally mid 30's. I dont had a fan blowing on the plant all the time, the fan i use is a little too big for this small grow, but its on maybe once a day (most days ) for an 1hour or so to give it a blast.

The grow is in a bedroom cupboard, i have a small 4" carbon filter i use in the room, and tend to open window late at night to avoid any smells escaping during the day. I smoke in this room too, .

Now much to much annoyance - i have a Green House Auto Exodus Cheese hydro plant finished could have went a week longer maybe more, but i found some of the white fully mold in two/three places, so cut down any near by bud and binned it and planning on flushing it for a couple days then taking it down, hopefully no more spreads.

It wasn't massive amounts of mold, very little in fact and its hard to see with it being white, looks similar to the crystals, but its definitely mold - had a little look through magnifier looks different to crystals. Its late at night and your eyes are tired its easily to miss, and its deep in the nuggets so you have to dig a little to check.

I'm a fairly new grower, only had a few small grows for some medicinal weed, done lots of mistakes during my first grows and tried not to repeat them, so i would like to get rid off mold once and for all hopefully

So for this grow, the cupboard was cleaned before using it, its a hydro auto cheese grow, roots look fine etc, and humidity was good, some nutrient def last couple weeks, but it didn't seem too bad. Plant seemed generally healthy apart from the deficiency towards end. I use good quality nutes, change water tank 20 liter once per week with fresh water and nutes.

My main reason for mold this time i think is the amount fresh air getting into the room and air circulation.

If i had a fan blowing on the plant constantly, would this help alot with mold prevention? Assuming all else is fine.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Scientific]

I don't think a fan is going to help as much as you might want in a closed cupboard because the humidity is going to be the same throughout--that is, you might just be blowing moist air around.

You can try to keep the grow area cleaner to reduce the number of mold spores (and air filter on cabinet?), but I think the best way to reduce mold is going to be to get the humidity as low as you can get it.

Maybe cover the surfaces of pots as much as possible to stop moisture from passing from the pot to the air?

Maybe grow a strain with less dense buds? My heartbreak monster bud that was rotten with mold was not only big, it was dense, so that even though the humidity was low, it wasn't able to get rid of the moisture from transpiration. (That's where your fan might help, but only if the air in the chamber was already a lot dryer than inside the bud.)

Maybe harvest earlier?

Maybe try to find a strain that is known to be more mold resistant? (I'm not aware of any, but if the strain you're growing tends to mold, try something different.)

 

[Rider509]

Mold doesn't grow so easily in a desert as it does a forest. Kick the heat up, drop the humidity, and keep dry air blowing through the plants. You may not have the ability to do that in a cupboard grow so a different strain like Sci suggested may be your only hope, Raphael.
(I'm presuming that you took the name from a character in the book Utopia)

 

[DaddyKush]

Listen to what Scientific said. Basically two things are happening: mold spores are finding their way into your grow area and the temperature and humidity provide a comfortable environment those spores to live and grow. This is a common issue with "closet-style" grows in which the grower doesn't have complete control over environmental variables. Whenever your finances allow, invest in a small grow tent.

 

[Hythlodaeus]

Thanks for the advice folks.

As far as Temperature and humidity goes, for this grow I thought i had nailed it. Temps where around 19 °c at night and 26-28 °c when lights on and the humidity never went above 30's % majority of the time. My last grow had a little mold but humidity was above 50% so i think that caused it last time, but this time it was always well below 50% humidity, so it was disappointing when i noticed a little mold.

I thought it might have been caused by stagnant air and lack of air movement.

I had been looking at the plant a couple weeks ago thinking to myself, she's probably the best i have grown. I managed to LST it really well compared to my usual attempts, tucking leaves under all the time to let more light in area's etc. Which resulted in a beautiful looking little monster, maybe 3 oz + so was quite happy. Hate mold

Also, would you recommend thinning some leaves out towards the end of a flowering, once majority of growth is done, to allow more air through the plant?

I have found a little Air Purifier fan thing lying in the house, i think its ment to take pollen/mold out air etc
Silentnight 38060 HEPA Air Purifier with Replaceable Triple Filter [Energy Class a]: Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home

Think this might help too?

I've had a little look at some mold resistant strains last week or so - Moby dick strain is supposed be be resistant so I think ill try that next, and it gets good reviews which is a bonus.

(I'm presuming that you took the name from a character in the book Utopia)

yes indeed

 

[Scientific]

It sounds like you've got your process pretty much down! FWIW, I had my big moldy bud when the RH was about 40%. I suspect that a big, dense nug just doesn't let the moisture that it is constantly evolving escape very well. I guess you could experiment with reducing water to the plant so it doesn't have so much to transpire, but that sounds like it could be counterproductive...

A HEPA filter will definitely filter out spores. I guess you could really go after that and the disinfection route, trying to be super clean and wiping down surfaces constantly. Couldn't hurt...

I'm thinking a more resistant strain might be the best bet. (I have tried to grow giant pumpkins in this famously damp part of the country and always got downy mildew. I thought about sulfur sprays and other antifungal measures, but finally just decided that I needed to grow something that suited the climate better...)

 

[Oldbear]

fwiw every set of instructions for setting up a grow area include having a small fan constantly blowing. They sell low power clip on fans.

Possibly start there?

 

[DaddyKush]

Good airflow is the best way to avoid any type of pest, mold included.

Yes, by all means start trimming the fan leaves if harvest is approaching. Many of those big fan leaves will start becoming yellow and unhealthy by then anyway. Better light penetration will help fatten up those buds.

 

[Scientific]

Good airflow is the best way to avoid any type of pest, mold included.

Yes, by all means start trimming the fan leaves if harvest is approaching. Many of those big fan leaves will start becoming yellow and unhealthy by then anyway. Better light penetration will help fatten up those buds.

FWIW, my candidates for trimming are any leaves that are unhealthy, in full shade, blocking light to a flower, or obstructing air flow. A leaf that tics more than one of those boxes is very likely to be snipped...

 

[Oldbear]

While airflow and in shade covers it, I like trim any leaf touching soil.