Bud mold is also referred to as bud rot. It is an undesirable thing that can develop during curing, drying, and even the buds are still on the marijuana plant waiting to be harvested. To prevent this from happening, you have to inspect the buds closely.
Even though you collected healthy buds, drying and curing are other challenges that you have to take when maintaining the qualities of your buds. Mold formation is something you should watch out for. But if it can’t be avoided, curing it is available.
About Bud Mold
Don’t be confused that bud mold can be called in different names. The other term is Botrytis cinerea as it is a necrotrophic fungus that also lives in some fruits and vegetables. It finds shelter in a warm, humid climate. It likes feeding on dead matters while attacking the living cells of plants.
This fungus can grow on the stem of the Cannabis plant or the collected flowers. It spreads outwards so that’s why you won’t notice if you don’t closely inspect your buds. If it’s too late for you to spot its existence, you will end up discovering wet, slimy, and smelly buds. It feels like it’s doomsday as you need to throw your stash.
When the bud mold is still in the process of dominating all the flowers, appearance varies depending on their life phase. It can look white and fluffy, sometimes brown or dark gray, and dark speckled dust can cover the whole flowers.
You may sometimes see a few yellow leaves that surround some of the biggest colas. If they just appear overnight, better check for molds. It will make you feel better to know that there are ways on how to cure this problem.
Step By Step Guide on How to Cure Bud Mold
1. Take off all the affected parts right away once you’ve discovered the mold. Prevent the healthy parts to get contact with the ones with the molds. You have to stop the mold from spreading. It’s still inadequate if you don’t set up the right environment.
2. You have to focus first on humidity and the ideal amount should be 50%. It’s a way of preventing the growth of bud mold as well as getting rid of present existence. Even though you have removed the molds off your plants but the humidity is not in the ideal range, there’s a possibility that they will be grown on the flowers again.
Good air circulation is essential too. Enough amount of air should surround both leaves and buds. Make sure that you place your plants in an area with access to fresh, cool air.
3. There’s a lot of things you have to focus on to have the right environment to completely cure your plants of bud mold. You can control the temperature and make some swings. Maintain 24 degrees Celsius and never allow that your plants will feel hot or cold.
4. Another that you need to do is blocking the wetness to damage your plants. It can happen when the environment is overly humid and damp. If you’re growing marijuana outdoors, too much rain is not good. You have to shake it off your plants as well as the dew.
You can get a tarp to cover your plants. Install the covering above them. Don’t put it directly as it may ruin your plants.
5. Aside from affected areas, you have to remove extra leaves or it’s called defoliation. You have to understand that when leaves touch each other, there will be wet spots in between. Get rid of those leaves that create layers and those who are covering the bud sites.
Your plants won’t mind it as you would only do it in leafy areas. By doing this step, you will be able to prevent the collection of moisture which creates a damp spot. Air circulation will also be improved.
6. You can try using a homemade solution to minimize the existing mold. In a gallon of water, you can add one tablespoon of baking soda and three to five drops of soap dish which should be organic. Spraying of this solution can be done once a week. But it can’t get rid of molds 100%. The ultimate cure for the molds on your Cannabis is setting the ideal environment.
7. Since no fungicide can exterminate bud mold, you can harvest the flowers. You can do it if they’re mature enough so you can avoid fixing the ideal environment.
8. If the buds survive the struggle from mold infestation during its growth, you shouldn’t be totally at ease. Bud mold can exist during storage. So look at the buds closely before smoking if it’s good to smoke or not. The indication of mold presence is the smell of mildew.
It can cause sneezing and coughing to a person who is exposed to bud mold. Worse cases can occur when you smoke it like infection, sensitization to microorganisms, and immunologic lung disorder. So watch out for organisms that may live in your weed.
9. Since you now have an idea of what might happen when you consume buds with molds, you should be extra careful. You should be conscious not only with your actions but in analyzing what you hear or read from some sources.
Some websites would tell you that you get rid of molds on your buds and smoke them. They will instruct you to bake buds with molds in an oven with a temperature of 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Weed combusts from 329 degrees to 374 degrees Fahrenheit and its vaporization starts at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Therefore, controlling the temperature alone doesn’t guarantee you that it’s safe to consume. Bud mold should be dealt with like what you do with food with molds. The destination of these things is trash.
Conclusion
It’s better to be cautious and to apply preventive measures of bud mold development than finding a cure for it. Moisture and dampness are the things that molds love. So you have to make sure it’s not something that can affect your plants. If it does, you only allow the development of molds.
