growing outdoors and the evil fungus

[Redbuddz]

High All


I live in the Northeast of the United States. I have been growing outdoors for many years and it seems every year I wind up losing a good portion of my crop due to fungus. It's always the same brownish fungus that starts at the center of the larger buds and by the time you notice on the outside of the buds it's too late and I have to remove most of the buds to keep it from spreading. Does anyone know why this persistently keeps happening and what I can do to prevent it in the future? Many years I grow in pots and I move them under an awning when it rains and sometimes when the air is very humid I will plug in a fan to move the air but it seems they only offer minimal help. Is there anything I can add to my nute mix to help the plant fight off the fungus? any info on this ugly matter would be most useful.


Keep on Growing Ya'll


Redbuddz

 

[nkatadelgormo]

Botrytis is the culprit.Budrot due to high humidity. Start looking into early finishing strains. Very few strains are able to withstand the high humidity. Look for something that will finish in september. Also look into autoflower strains. There is nothing you can put in your nutes to stop this.

 

[neongreen]

Botrytis is the culprit.Budrot due to high humidity. Start looking into early finishing strains. Very few strains are able to withstand the high humidity. Look for something that will finish in september. Also look into autoflower strains. There is nothing you can put in your nutes to stop this.

Good advice, however there are things you can do that will help, such as adding crushed oyster shells (calcium) and horsetails (silica) to your soil which will strengthen your plant's cell walls and help fight off fungal attack.

There is also a product called Greencure (basically Potassium bicarbonate) that can be sprayed on your plants in early/late flower to stop the buds rotting - see the following thread: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=80568

 

[mr bub]

I just had to chop today, 40 deg N on the east coast. A few small buds were brown, and a few were white. I guess bud rot and powdery mildew (or bird shit). I didn't lose much, as I caught it early enough, but I was forced into cutting about a week early. It was a power kush, which indoors is an early finishing strain about 55-60 days. Just finished trim, and now its hanging to dry. Peeps with long flowering strains must be having a hard time.

 

[hawaiibudz]

We are growing in a rainforest with 100% humidity and all the time and 190 inches of rain a year. we found compost teas have been the most effective in eliminating fungus/mold.

 

[Noonin NorCal]

It sure is a bitch im in Nor Cal but still got bud rot, specially on the prized big dense nugs/branches. instead of taking off fan leafs to dry trim we get to break everything down by hand and dry on racks. probly lost a good quarter or more of the harvest on each plant. Im lucky though i only had 5

 

[Redbuddz]

Hey guys, thanks for the input. I'd say I'm losing about 1/4 of my yield. Hawaii, what is it about the tea that helps eliminate fungus/mold?

 

[Team Microbe]

Good advice, however there are things you can do that will help, such as adding crushed oyster shells (calcium) and horsetails (silica) to your soil which will strengthen your plant's cell walls and help fight off fungal attack.

There is also a product called Greencure (basically Potassium bicarbonate) that can be sprayed on your plants in early/late flower to stop the buds rotting - see the following thread: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=80568

^great response

I live up here as well, I've lost 50% of my crop one year to that crap. It's a bigger challenge for us up in the NE to grow outside than people think... we have late-season rains and humidity galore. Strain selection, and a healthy organic soil are the key factors to avoiding this stuff. Trust me. I went 100% organic and sprayed with neem oil before flower this year, and my mold % went from 30% to merely 10%. Can you picture my face when I couldn't find any mold on my blue widows and church plants last week? I was in disbelief... but it actually worked! Also, trimming up inside branches and leaves is key to prevent moisture from settling in. I pull all my branches out and tie them down before flowering hits, and do a big trim job on each plant. Like 30% of them actually, mostly bottom and inside branches.


Go with a balanced organic soil mix, and mulch next year with whatever you have at hand in your area (leaves, grass, wood chips).

Spray with Neem oil throughout veg as often as you can (once a week is ideal) and during the first few weeks of flower. Stop at week 2 and don't use the Neem again. Neem oil is superior to any other natural pest spray.



Next is strain selection...

Strains that finish early and are resistant to mold and mildew around here are:

- Church by Greenhouse seeds
- Blue widow by Dinafem
- Blueberry Headband
- Timewreck

The Church (massive yielder, 0 mold this year)

Church

Blue Widow

Blue Widow (larger internode spaces, but danker smoke than the Church. 5-10% mold this year. Great for anti-anxiety and has an insane terp profile)






For some reason a lot of the strains in the Blue family are really good at resisting mold. This list has been tried and true by either myself or another guerrilla I talk to in our area. He grew the B.H. and the Timewreck, I grow the Church and the Blue Widow. All 4 are five star guerrilla strains. I've heard Pineapple Chunk was up there with these as well, but I have yet to grow it and find out.



Best of luck next year man, and always keep an eye on that weather come late September. The second they're ready and a rain storm is in the forecast you need to get out there and chop. I swear it's always that last rain storm that does the most damage...

 

[Redbuddz]

Great info Team Microbe. Those Church plants sure do look nice. good Luck with your harvest. I've got some good replies here already and it's great to know that there are things that can be done to combat the Evil Fungus