My grow season was going well until I discovered the beginning of bud rot, which I removed, hoping they will still grow. They did, but since we expecting a big rainy storm, I chose to pull them before I had further problems.
So I hung them as usual, but noticed all 5 plants (the buds) were infested with these tiny liquid filled brown bugs. Two days later a huge worm came out of one the buds. I am not sure what to do. The buds were looking really big and dense compared to last years grow. I had also used Neem oil periodically to control bugs early on.
I am so frustrated with growing outdoors, I may just move into a small grow room.
First welcome to the community sometimes outside grows can be frustrating. Outside you always have to plant enough for the deer the rabbits an thieves and you get what’s left. Inside grow great idea. Good luck
odds are the worm/catapiller is what caused some/most of your bud rot, check your buds carefully, as worms/catapillars cause rot from the inside out, so you often can not see it until it is to late. A sure sign is little black/brown specs on the leaves/buds, which is usually droppings from the bugs…
I have never fought these problems, as I am a tent grower, so unsure of what you should do now…
I broke apart the buds I removed (carefully) and in almost all of them I saw little white specks that could’ve been eggs…it was kinda like sawdust. Maybe it was excrement.
In addition I still have large amounts of those small bugs in clusters on the back of bud leaves and some are working there way up/down the stems. They can be crushed easily with anything, and are filled with liquid.
Given all of this, I am seriously thinking of using the butane method to extract the oil. I understand it eliminates all the ‘bad stuff’, has some risk, but ultimately could be a good solution rather than smoking the flowers this time around.
Super critical BHO process filters out the mold spores, bugs, droppings, and just about everything that’s not oil base. I wouldn’t hesitate to shatter it.
I know this doesn’t help you, but in my research the active bacteria strain bacillus amyloliquefaciens we use in hydro for root protection is also used as a preventative treatment spray for mold in grape crops.
I don’t know, but if you use hydroguard as a foliar spray on the buds before rain it very much ‘could’ prevent bud rot.
Ideas? id love someone to try it, when I grow outside im not really at risk of bud rot, because its predicted to rain where we live, never.
Well, id try the hydroguard in recommended dilution then sprayed over the whole plant. 1-2 times a season. especially on the buds, so the bacteria sets up home and protects it.
replace serenade with hydroguard.
Quote"
As a result, and the fact they are trending to more organic style production, for the last vintage they decided to apply the new biological foliar fungicide, Serenade® Opti, from bunch closure.
Serenade Opti, from Bayer, contains the unique properties of the pure QST713 strain of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (also known as Bacillus subtilis ) bacteria and is a formulated combination of spores and fungicidally active compounds produced by the spores. It acts as a fungicide by preventing spore germination and germ tube elongation and penetration, and as a bactericide by direct contact activity and through activation of plant resistance.
In addition to its use in grapevines, Serenade Opti also controls botrytis in strawberries and suppresses bacterial spot in tomatoes, capsicums and chillies."
then id post some results.
it should work well…
cant hurt and your already cleaning with peroxide…
Myccorrizae is often a component in sprays to kill wpm/mold. I have used it on outdoor plants next to a field infected with wpm, and the weed never got infected.
Try a rot resistant strain along with the preventive measures aforementioned. With your climate being as bad as it is, you need every possible advantage. Bleach or peroxide must be saturated deep into the bud in order to destroy the mold, any inner surfaces on the stem not properly saturated with solution become blighted and the mold consumes the core without you being aware until it’s too late. I moved my plants indoors during inclement weather, humidity is the determining factor, the barometer determines how much effort it takes to keep them sterilized. Mold spores are everywhere just waiting for conditions to ripen, countermeasures must be planned taken accordingly, otherwise all your efforts are a waste of time. I’ve brought doomed plants through some pretty hard times and found some strains are much more resistant than others even when they’re side by side under the exact same oppression. Overall health of the plant also determines its resistance.
Outdoor grows are no different than farming, take your eye off the prize and you loose everything! Nature is in control of the weather and there’s too much to do in taking countermeasures for anyone that’s lacking the will.
I can not imagine that serenade would be a good thing to spray on buds one wants to consume. It really really stinks.
As an early preventative pre flowering perhaps. Certainly not late flowering, (which is when botrytis seems to take hold).