Newbie here, having one hell of a time getting my Girl Scout Cookie Autoflowers to the end zone. Last week I had to cut out some bud rot. I’ve cut as many leaves as I think I can but I’m likely a week or two from being done. I plan on periodically spraying with a hydrogen peroxide solution but we are on the third day of what looks to be a five day rainy period where there has been 100% humidity. I have the autoflowers in a box garden that I can cover the top of so they are not getting soaked with water, and I plan on doing the peroxide dunk at harvest time, but there is very little I can do beyond that. What I’m wondering about is this.
How hard is it to detect mold at the end of the cycle? The leaf mildew and bud rot was easy to see once I knew what I was looking for but I’m wondering if I get the buds all the way to the point of curing without any additional visible mold, will I be able to tell if the cured flower is safe by looking at it through a magnifier? If so is there a specific magnifier that is best for this?
Thank you - this forum has been wonderful for a new grower.
You can generally see it without magnification, though it might help detect it more early. I wouldn’t worry about it too much of you are using peroxide as a prophylaxis. Peroxide is very effective unless the rot is internal to the bud. Internal rot is usually a result of unwanted critters like caterpillars burrowing into your buds, but critters are unlikely among cured flower.
Bud rot will present as dark brown spots among the green calyxes.
If theres a small amout of bud rot insidecyou wont see until the final trim, and you could discard it then.
The peroxide should prevent any further growth during the dry.
Unfortunately, just learned this first hand, and i did not use peroxide.
A thorough bud wash at harvesting will kill mold spores and then don’t bag or jar your herb until you reach a low enough humidity (a lot aim for 11%) and you will get through the cure without further issue.
Some do more stages but I simply use a quart of peroxide mixed in a 5 gal bucket. Dunk for a few minutes and swish to penetrate the buds then rinse off with plain water. Hang until sufficiently dry. Cure from there.
