What is growing on my buds?

[Makeminefullgrown]

Hello all, I harvested 1 of 3 plants about a month ago. I wet trimmed it tight and hung to dry in my cellar. Temps were a steady 58-60F with 57-62% RH.
After 10 days they seemed dry enough to begin the cure. I placed them in Grove Bags and waited. My hygrometers read 62% the entire time.
After about 2weeks I decided to open and get a whiff. I was hit in the face with the dreaded hay smell.
I got some opinions and concluded I had bagged them too soon and they needed to dry more.
I was advised to put them in brown paper bags for a bit, then back to the cure.
So I put them in a large brown bag, opened and turned over every 12 hrs.
After 3 days I was going to move them back into grove bags for the cure…..but I notice some sort of mold/fungus growing on them.
It’s a fuzzy consistency and almost looks like heavy trichome coverage…..but it’s dry and the buds come apart easily.
I think I already know the answer, but what is this and is there any treating it??
Every single bud has this, some worse than others. The smell and stickiness is almost non existent.
Anyway, I pray the other 2 plants don’t catch this in the air. They were placed in jars yesterday and looked good going in.
It tough to see in my pics but under the jewelers loupe it’s heavy.
Lemme know what happened here…..thanks all.

 

[KingJohnC]

Mould mildew commonly referred to as Botrytis blight or grey mould disease. Double bag the contaminated buds and take it off your property to properly dispose. Clean every area this was kept in with a pine sol cleaner and sterilize any scissors or equipment used with a dishwasher or boiling water.

I have frequently seen large quantity's of brown paper sack cured destroyed cannabis buds infected with mould which have to be destroyed and area entirely cleaned to avoid reinfections. Moist and low air flow are perfect fungus incubating environments. That crumpled brown bag approach does not keep fruit or vegetables well either from rotting.

 

[Phytoplankton]

Yeah, unfortunately I think you know what it is, mold/fungus. No way I know to fix it. I just won’t smoke/process moldy weed. Might of bagged them prematurely, I know I have jarred them too early and lost a jar or two. As far as the others let them air dry longer and try and keep some air circulation, which will speed up drying. Very probable that there was some unseen mold on the buds before they were harvested. Bummer, looks really nice otherwise.

 

[Makeminefullgrown]

Yeah, unfortunately I think you know what it is, mold/fungus. No way I know to fix it. I just won’t smoke/process moldy weed. Might of bagged them prematurely, I know I have jarred them too early and lost a jar or two. As far as the others let them air dry longer and try and keep some air circulation, which will speed up drying. Very probable that there was some unseen mold on the buds before they were harvested. Bummer, looks really nice otherwise.

Thanks for the confirmation.
Can I pick your brain quickly concerning the other 2 plants ?
They were both jarred yesterday morn and so far my hygrometers are reading anywhere from 56% to 61%.
I opened to burp just now and they smell much more dank and skunky.
I’m wondering if the RH being in the high 50’s is too low to get a decent cure??
I have some Boveda 62% packs and could add them. There are 6 jars, each with 3/4 oz. Two of them are right at 56-57% and the others are 59-61%.
I certainly don’t wanna do anything stupid and ruin the rest of the grow.
Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate your time and wisdom.

 

[Phytoplankton]

For curing your R/H at 56-57 is right on the edge, but they should continue to cure, I'd add the bovedas and just let time take it's course as far as curing goes. Now that they're jarred with the bovedas they shouldn't lose more humidity, but keep burping occassionally. Good luck!

 

[KingJohnC]

Please refer to Help me with my dry & cure issue please

During the cure process the strategy is to gradually reduce the moisture content within the buds to a easy ready combustible consistency. The extended period is required for the bud to partially degrade unpalatable offensive metabolite residues left in the cannabis buds. The slower and more drawn out the gradual reduction of moisture content the smoother resulting quality of the cannabis buds.

I believe the buds were isolated too early before a consistent moisture level was reached.

With this quick cure method when you cure your buds you need to allow the humidity to stabilize throughout the buds as they cure by placing the buds in a large bowl for 10 minutes per day for 10 days where they can stabilize to relative humidity. I also re humidify my buds by placing the buds in a container with a humidity pad that you wet to add humidity back to buds and stabilize the cured buds to 62% humidity before smoking. Using a brown sugar saver can also be used to re humidify cannabis buds. I recommend after the buds are dried and the buds just snap from the stem you can cut the buds off the stems and place the buds into storage containers to begin curing. Boveda 62% humidity packs can be used to keep your curing buds at 62% humidity and used for long term storage

Boveda for Cannabis

Primarily I believe that the timing of when the cannabis buds are thoroughly dried to same consistency and then sealed to prolong the cure process is key to producing high quality cannabis medicine. I believe that the buds are too moist and were not consistent when they were placed in the sealed bags. Additional time should be given to allow the buds to dry to the point the buds can just be snapped from the stems before being placed into bags or containers.

when we write concerning relative humidity levels the intended purpose of the cannabis buds also factors into the ideal moisture in the cannabis buds. When the cannabis buds are used for either concentrates or infusions the preferred moisture levels are either 58%, 65%, 69%, 72% or 75% humidity based on intended use. This is why Boveda now caries different selections of Humidipaks.

Most cannabis smokers who use rolled joint or pipes prefer 58% - 62% humidity levels, others who use vaporizers or bongs may find the cannabis too dry which they report more cough side effect due to the dryness.

 

[Makeminefullgrown]

For curing your R/H at 56-57 is right on the edge, but they should continue to cure, I'd add the bovedas and just let time take it's course as far as curing goes. Now that they're jarred with the bovedas they shouldn't lose more humidity, but keep burping occassionally. Good luck!

Excellent. I’ll add one pack per jar as soon as I get home.

 

[nivek]

My 2bits. Not sayin no concern for rh readings

Am saying dry the buds just enuf that they dont stick together. Pull them apart and dry

I find that to be about a perfect 59 or so %.

And keep burping daily. Allows you to chek for mold as well

Karma sent friend

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Hello all, I harvested 1 of 3 plants about a month ago. I wet trimmed it tight and hung to dry in my cellar. Temps were a steady 58-60F with 57-62% RH.
After 10 days they seemed dry enough to begin the cure. I placed them in Grove Bags and waited. My hygrometers read 62% the entire time.

Mmm big question of drying temperature, humidity & length of time !

That is far from ideal...

Mould mildew commonly referred to as Botrytis blight or grey mould disease. Double bag the contaminated buds and take it off your property to properly dispose. Clean every area this was kept in with a pine sol cleaner and sterilize any scissors or equipment used with a dishwasher or boiling water.

I have frequently seen large quantity's of brown paper sack cured destroyed cannabis buds infected with mould which have to be destroyed and area entirely cleaned to avoid reinfections. Moist and low air flow are perfect fungus incubating environments. That crumpled brown bag approach does not keep fruit or vegetables well either from rotting.

If you are not careful you might just get this problem

 

[KingJohnC]

Fuzzy Duck is a well known long term consistent cannabis grower with many consistent high quality harvests.

 

[Makeminefullgrown]

Mmm big question of drying temperature, humidity & length of time !

That is far from ideal...



If you are not careful you might just get this problem

I apologize if I misunderstood, but 60F and 60% RH is far from ideal? If that’s the case I’ve been doing it all wrong.
My cellar stays around 60F year round…..and I can dial in whatever RH that’s needed.
What are the ideal conditions??

 

[Sunasun]

I apologize if I misunderstood, but 60F and 60% RH is far from ideal? If that’s the case I’ve been doing it all wrong.
My cellar stays around 60F year round…..and I can dial in whatever RH that’s needed.
What are the ideal conditions??

I think he's speaking fourth dimensionally.

 

[Porky82]

I apologize if I misunderstood, but 60F and 60% RH is far from ideal? If that’s the case I’ve been doing it all wrong.
My cellar stays around 60F year round…..and I can dial in whatever RH that’s needed.
What are the ideal conditions??

50% 16c to 18c not sure what that is in your strange US measurements.

 

[cbdhemp808]

Makeminefullgrown did you inspect the buds at harvest time?

I just wonder if they already had mold starting in them, because the very first signs of mold on buds doesn't look like full-on bud rot. When I'm worried about mold at harvest, I will take a good look with my microscope, and throw out any buds that show any signs of mold. I use a Carson MicroBrite hand-held microscope w/ light.

For anyone who is not aware, mold looks like fine filaments that don't belong in the picture with trichomes and dead stigmas... fuzzy grey stuff. Mold likes to get started on dead stigmas.

My pic:

Pic from Analytical360.com:

 

[Makeminefullgrown]

Makeminefullgrown did you inspect the buds at harvest time?

I just wonder if they already had mold starting in them, because the very first signs of mold on buds doesn't look like full-on bud rot. When I'm worried about mold at harvest, I will take a good look with my microscope, and throw out any buds that show any signs of mold. I use a Carson MicroBrite hand-held microscope w/ light.

For anyone who is not aware, mold looks like fine filaments that don't belong in the picture with trichomes and dead stigmas... fuzzy grey stuff. Mold likes to get started on dead stigmas.

My pic:

Pic from Analytical360.com:

Damn it all makes sense now….I had a bunch of stigmas that were fuzzy as hell…I knew they didn’t look right but I didn’t see any other signs while the buds were growing.
It wasn’t because of the humidity though….I kept the RH down in the 30s during most of flower.
As luck would have it I harvested one plant 2 weeks earlier than the other 2…..I thought I may have mites on the remaining 2 so I washed them. I did not wash the first plant and it’s the one that most definitely has mold.
My friend looked at a few buds last week and didn’t see mold but since then the evidence is becoming much clearer.
I’m not seeing any on the plants I washed….so I’m guessing the washing really helped.

 

[cbdhemp808]

@Makeminefullgrown here's my recent post on mold and treatment.

First timer, random bag seed now in flower, nutes?

You are welcome! Yes, later in flower with reduced nitrogen the plant begins taking stored nitrogen from lower fan leaves for new growth. The leaves visible in the photographs have a good nitrogen rich appearance. Perhaps telephone or email the Home Garden Contact Us - For Product Enquiries &...

www.420magazine.com

 

[KingJohnC]

Damn it all makes sense now….I had a bunch of stigmas that were fuzzy as hell…I knew they didn’t look right but I didn’t see any other signs while the buds were growing.
It wasn’t because of the humidity though….I kept the RH down in the 30s during most of flower.
As luck would have it I harvested one plant 2 weeks earlier than the other 2…..I thought I may have mites on the remaining 2 so I washed them. I did not wash the first plant and it’s the one that most definitely has mold.
My friend looked at a few buds last week and didn’t see mold but since then the evidence is becoming much clearer.
I’m not seeing any on the plants I washed….so I’m guessing the washing really helped.

Do not be too disheartened, I understand it is a disappointment after a long grow that mould contamination will ruin the harvested cannabis buds. This does occur frequently with newer cannabis growers unsure of when to make the decision to begin drying and aging the buds for curing. The critical point of action is when the internal moisture content withing the buds is reduced to the point the buds can first be snapped from the stems and branches by hand. The signal that the internal moisture content is at the threshold level is when the buds on the entire branch buds are breakable from the stem by finger strength. If only a few buds are internally dried and freely snap from the stems additional drying time is still required before sealing in individual containers. This stage can not be completed sooner or rushed. A similar comparison applied with fruits are when grape bunches are drying and the grape stems become woody or tomato sold on the vine where the vine hardens and can easily be removed by hand from the individual tomato.