Outdoor Grow And Frost

[sorcerer13]

Hi everyone,
Well my plant has been exposed to two nights of frost so far and forecast here in Ontario is more to come. Trichomes are now white/cloudy and I found a small bit of mold on some bud.
Question is should I start to harvest or will the frost destroy the flower.
I'm a new grower and have read various things but am still confused.
Thanks

 

[Dwight Monk]

Outdoors you kind of go more by the weather and if they close enough. Most strains are ready middle to late October, some will go into November if weather cooperates, but that hard to get to in most parts of N America. As once mold starts it will spread like wildfire, and a little bit early and slightly less potent is better than throwing away more of it (or least that is my person point of view). Some strains just difficult to grow outside, as some of the heavy Sativa's can go 12 weeks of Flower time which is way late in November most parts of this continent.

 

[bluter]

if you are getting mold take it now. fall conditions in that part of the country are perfect for mold. most outdoor grows in canada don't get all the way to full maturity. it gets too cold and wet by the time we're at 12 hours of dark in the fall.

 

[Bill284]

Hi everyone,
Well my plant has been exposed to two nights of frost so far and forecast here in Ontario is more to come. Trichomes are now white/cloudy and I found a small bit of mold on some bud.
Question is should I start to harvest or will the frost destroy the flower.
I'm a new grower and have read various things but am still confused.
Thanks

Hey @sorcerer13 hope your doing well today.
I don't know anyone here in Ontario who has not harvested yet.
If you have mold I'd cut that out and harvest the rest.
You may want to rinse your buds to get rid of spores from mold.
I would not wait.
Frost and dampness are going to make everything moldy and ruin your harvest.
Stay safe.
Bill

 

[sorcerer13]

Thanks for all your insights!!!! Going out now to harvest

 

[SmokingWings]

Question is should I start to harvest or will the frost destroy the flower.

The plant will handle frost and keep right on going. I have read articles, threads, blogs, and so on which have mentioned the plants that have survived snow. The only downside to the colder weather and the nights getting longer is that the plant grows slower and slower. It takes temperatures down to around the 25 to 27 degree F range for a "killing frost" and that is what will do them in.

Some people will put their buds in the freezer and then mix them in with ice to separate the trichomes to make their own hash. So, we know that the cold does not ruin the trichomes, it just ends up shutting the plant growth down.

This link is to a thread I posted several years ago and it shows the progression of a couple of plants on my patio as the frost moved in and then the snow.

https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/we-are-past-the-frost-warnings-or-the-lady-finally-sang-the-last-song.474763/

.... and I found a small bit of mold on some bud.

If you found a small amount now there is more so look carefully. Pull out any bad sections and dispose of. The remaining buds can be washed with a mixture of water and Hydrogen Peroxide. This mix is good for killing off a lot of the mold and mildew spores that are still in the buds. Then use the original bud wash method as explained in the Bud Washing thread. Read the thread through. The bud washing sequence is in the first several msgs and then the addition of the Hydrogen Peroxide wash comes in later in the thread even though it is supposed to be done first.

https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/bud-washing.200881/

@Bill284 brings up some really good points. The best thing to do right away is to rinse the harvested buds off.

I do disagree with him as far as the frost making the mold/mildew worse. Most Cannabis growers get their first experience with these mildews, etc at the end, at harvest time in the fall and they think that it is the cooler weather that is the cause. However, by the time we see the stuff on our plants it has been there for weeks, sometimes as little as 3 weeks and sometimes as long as 4 to 5 weeks. Molds and mildews grow best in warm humid air. They spread during those days in the summer when it is warm and low humidity. When the air is dry enough the spores can break off and the breezes will blow them around. Mold and mildew does not grow well during the rain and the spores will not break off.

If the molds preferred cool to cold temperatures then people would not be putting their foods into a refrigerator to keep it fresh and healthy for as long as possible.

There are some recipes for mixing cider vinegar with water to spray plants to prevent or at least reduce the chance of molds. Preventative spraying will have to start in the summer time for future grows to reduce any possibility of loosing part or all of a plant in the fall.

 

[bobrown14]

Thanks for all your insights!!!! Going out now to harvest

Best move bud wash too. That mold doesn't die with the plant.