NorthernCosmos' First Indoor Soil Auto Grow: 2019

Am I right in thinking that this one moldy cola could be the direct result of a combination of (1) the airflow practically stopping, (2) the temperature raising to possibly compromising levels (28C), (3) the plant being almost impenetrable to air (super dense bush) and this cola being particularly big and dense, and (4) the ever present cloud of fungal spores in the air around us?

I know about the importance of air circulation, and seeing these huge moist colas, I can believe that mold can take hold in them if given the chance, as outline above.

Are mold strikes like this an ever present danger, or are they rare?

Got to try to extract some kind of learning from this...
 
NorthernCosmos said:
Am I right in thinking that this one moldy cola could be the direct result of a combination of (1) the airflow practically stopping, (2) the temperature raising compromising levels (28C), (3) the plant being almost impenetrable to air (super dense bush), and (4) the ever present cloud of fungal spores in the air around us?
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Yes!
NorthernCosmos said:
Are mold strikes like this an ever present danger, or are they rare?
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Not rare in that environment unfortunately. Some strains are listed as "mold-resistant" though. Not sure if that's true for autos though.
 
OK. I like to know that it has an explainable cause that doesn't normally strike unless you have a runaway environment and a bit of bad luck. This is yet another thing which is in my awareness now, and I'll do my best not let these factors come together and bite me again.

Thank you @InTheShed! :thumb: A few words from a veteran grower did wonders to calm me - I was pretty desperate here for a while... o_O
 
I've lost loads to bud rot unfortunately. One of the perils of growing outside where I do.
 
1. I would turn off that humidifier you got going in the tent, its probably this that led to the mold in the first place.

2. Mold spores are already everywhere in the air, its impossible to get rid of but you can take away the conditions for it to get hold.

3. Toss that infected cola its not worth the effort to even make oil if its gone that far as the pictures show. Well that is if you have some people you know smoke weed and don't like them... :laughtwo:

Besides that harvest looks great!
 
Thanks CraZy!

1. check
2. yes, a frightening thought, I'll try not to let these combined conditions arisev again
3. done

Those buds from the AK420 are extremely moist, almost wet to the touch... I have a fan blowing into the drying box now, and the RH is at 38% there. I'll let that run until tomorrow, and take it from there.
 
NorthernCosmos said:
Thanks CraZy!

1. check
2. yes, a frightening thought, I'll try not to let these combined conditions arisev again
3. done

Those buds from the AK420 are extremely moist, almost wet to the touch... I have a fan blowing into the drying box now, and the RH is at 38% there. I'll let that run until tomorrow, and take it from there.
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I'm very glad you caught this is time so your hole harvest wasn't ruined by it. I only had mold once and that was on my outside grow this summer at first I just though this was a sign of maturing on her but soon as I was starting to dig around in the buds I found mold.

It's been debated about this spores but I don't think you need to be afraid anymore just keep RH down and I'm certain you won't have any more problems with it.

I have read some people are looking for dry weed with mold and write about more psychedelic effects from smoking it. Not anything I would recommend anyone doing but there are always two sides of a story.
 
It's day 70 for the BCN Critical, day 54 for the Amnesia and White Widow and day 32 for the next AK420 and BCN. All had their feeding today. For some reason every 3rd days is conveniently just about right for all the plants, except the first month or so for seedlings. The 70 day BCN is set for a chop in 10-14 days time.

The drying of the AK420 is going its course. I had a fan on them for almost two days with RH at 30%-40% to prevent the mold from that devilish cola to take hold. Then I put in humidifier trays and got the RH to ca. 50%. Now, after 3 days, they're possibly a little drier than the previous plants at the same point in the drying process. I don't dare increasing the RH for fear of the mold - I just hope I'm not making dried up un-curable buds here...

The new Amnesia and White Widow are huge compared to the previous 4 plants. The BCN to the right, which is the size of the chopped Amnesia, White Widow and AK 420, serves as a comparison. Well... I guess they're still tiny compared to many other autos I see, but in my little world, they're looking grand :)

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CraZysWeeD said:
No worries just put them in a jar and in to the fridge a few days and they are moist again!
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Are you thinking straight away, or after the drying has finished?

I don't think they're overly dry yet; when I squeeze them the leafs aren't crumbling or anything. As I mentioned to CraZy elsewhere, the buds were so moist when chopped that I almost imagined water dripping from them in the drying rack... hence the initial mold-combating fast drying.
 
NorthernCosmos said:
I just hope I'm not making dried up un-curable buds here...
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If you can get the room up to 58-60% and leave the fan on low, you'd be golden. Having gotten the main moisture out I think you're in the clear in terms of mold. Or take a few buds and stick them in a jar with a hygrometer and let it stand for 8 hours or so. That will tell you where you are.
 
NorthernCosmos said:
Are you thinking straight away, or after the drying has finished?
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I always do it like this when harvesting, its probably not the right way to go for super cured weed but it works very good for me and my needs.

1. Chop and trim the same day.

2. Dry in veg tent for 3-4 days, then its crisp and crumbling.

3. Stick it in jars and put in fridge for 3-4 days and take it out for airing a few hours then back in the fridge for a few days and repeat this procedure a few times.

There are many methods for drying and curing but this works best for me.
 
The buds have been drying for 5 days now. I struggled to keep the RH above 40% in the drying box. The ambient RH is 20-something, so sparks are flying...

The tent has 23% RH right now. Isn't that a bit on the low side? How might the plants react if I keep it that dry for a long time?

And here is my rehydration attempt. The branches aren't really snapping cleanly off, but the buds are dry and light-weight. I put it all in a 2.65l (0.7 gallons) jar with a small perforated alu-foil pouch with some wet paper in it. It now sits in the fridge. I'll keep checking on it, and I plan to split it into two jars with 62% Integra Boost packs in it. I hope it comes out usable in the end... In any case, I'm learning from this experience too :)

Edit: the wet weight was 260g and the dry weight is 60g. That's 23% of the wet weight - and it was very wet to begin with - so perhaps that isn't too bad?

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You treat your weed like its a queen next to my brutality... :hippy:

About the RH in the tent, I stopped trying a few years back to get it anywhere. Tents are too small to make it work in any way it would benefit the plants its just creates more problems than it helps. A real bear favor :laughtwo:

The best way is the cloth method I think, I used more than one air humidifiers and from every one I always learn that mixing water with electrics is the best way to get an accident happen. Dam this reminds me you never got to see my Poseidon project with water cooled leds and YES you can guess how that turned out. :laughtwo:
 
I'm not sure how putting them into the fridge helps, but when I need to rehydrate a jar I put a slice of apple, lemon, or orange in for 6 hours or so. Then I take it out and leave them overnight and see where it settles.

23% is pretty low for tent RH even in flower. Can you put in a bowl or bucket of warm water with a towel hanging in it? Put that in front of a fan and you should see a rise in humidity.
 
Right, I shall try a wick type humidifier in the tent. Whatever RH is there must work for seedling, veg and flower since they live side by side. I'm thinking 40% is OK.

As for the rehydration, the fridge tip could be because of condensation and RH increasing as temperature falls perhaps? Of course the air in the jar was pretty dry at 20-something %... but I did put that wet-paper humidifier in there. I chose a bleached toilet paper as the moisture carrier, as opposed to the usual slice of vegetable/fruit (as used in my tobacco days), thinking that it's the least likely thing to exacerbate any looming mold scenarios.
 
Seedlings and veg like it even higher, so is there a chance you could get your hands on a humidifier (pricey) or a vaporizer for the room the tent is in (cheap!)?

They sell the Vicks Vaporizer here for under $20...pure steam. Higher RH is good for humans as well :).

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