Gray Mold

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Gray Mold

Welcome to Hi in Hawaii - We are Hi on Life, Hi on the Mountain and Hi on Cannabis.  This podcast is meant to be a form of entertainment and escape, while at the same time being informative about cannabis products and methods of consumption.  If you are new, welcome, kick back with your choice of strain and enjoy the stories and the tunes. 

• -  Botrytis – Gray mold
• -  Wise Words
• -  PFC Songs 
• -  Learning As I Grow!

This episode brought to you under the influence of my grow - Mega Jackpot Strain.  This is the harvest from the last few weeks. Normally my dry time would be 10 times longer, but I have developed a new method.  More on that coming up. 

 On Monday of this week, I went to an appointment to get some new glasses.  Keep in mind that last year I went and did the process and never got my script filled because of shutdown.  One day when I was trying to get the VA to fill the script to get new glasses, and they told me I had to start all over.  Another Veteran who was standing there with me, said “Bro, it’s easy…I went a few weeks ago and it went great.  I went back and got my glasses in just a few weeks”.  So, 3 months later, I got the new appointment at Eye Care Hawaii.  Wearing glasses is pretty new to me.  I have only been wearing glasses for a few years.  Cataracts were detected in my first visit, so I started taking it serious from the start.  I can’t read without them, unless it’s Super Big Font.  So, here I go to my appointment.  I fill out the paperwork and wait for my turn.  Savana was the Technician that helped me through the process.  I was very impressed with this place…Eye Care Hawaii.  The equipment was so High Tech it was like being in a video game.  Dr. Ian Kawamoto was very informative and helpful.  It was a great experience, no problems.  Thanks to everyone at Eye Care Hawaii for your help.  Now they will send the VA the new prescription and I continue to wait for new glasses.  Scratches and broken frames are only for a little longer…I hope.

420 Time

Toke time – Let’s fire it up!  You got yurin and I gotts minz so let’s get lifted!!! 

 New videos posted this week to YouTube Dehydration Closet

 Botrytis cinerea  Gray Mold 

Bud rot (also known as gray mold or botrytis) is one of the most devastating fungal diseases to hit marijuana crops.  It thrives in cool temperate climates where a high level of humidity is present. It is so harmful to your plants that it could destroy your whole garden of marijuana plants in less than one week! It will kill anything in its path, including seeds that are sitting in the soil and very young plants that have only just popped up. 

It’s a marijuana grower’s absolute worst nightmare. You, therefore, need to do everything in your power to keep gray mold from infesting your precious plants.

What Is Bud Rot?

Gray mold, or bud rot, is a fungal disease that lives best in cool, humid, temperate climates. It is not location-specific and it attacks marijuana plants in all stages of life.

Gray mold comes from a fungus called Botrytis cinerea. This fungus can rot your buds from the inside out – thus gray mold’s nickname, “bud rot.” Botrytis can ruin other plants besides marijuana. Wine grapes, strawberries, and others can also be devastated from a gray mold infestation.

Gray mold can reach your plants any time through its dusty gray spores that are often transported through blowing in the wind as well as water. Plants need to have actual contact with gray mold spores in order to get bud rot – otherwise it is impossible. These spores are extremely easy to transport, unfortunately.

Once they have reached your site, they get inside your actual plants by entering through a “wound” or tear in the external plant tissue. If you train your plants, their stems might have cracks that mold could travel through. Any damage caused by caterpillars, snails, worms, mildew, or other pests can also create a “tunnel” of sorts for gray mold to get inside your plant.  I have recently heard of a pest problem down closer to the ocean, some sort of boring beetle or a worm.  Anyway…

One of the most important ways of keeping Gray Mold from finding its way to your plants is good ventilation. The moving air should go through every bit of every plant. Don’t be afraid of working hard during this tricky planning process.

You can also be more active in the prevention of gray mold. Try spraying bacillus subtilis or an oil spray with neem oil or sesame oil onto your plants to prevent it or form a barrier that doesn’t let mold germinate. You can also look into using Potassium Bicarbonate (KHCO3) to keep from molds and fungi from starting to grow. This is an organic product that comes from humans, animals, and plants – it is a sort of pre-existing self-defense system.

If gray mold has found its way to your plants despite taking all these precautions, all is not lost – at least not yet. If you spot a plant that is clearly diseased or dead from gray mold, remove it completely and destroy it. Do this to every plant you see that has the infestation. Obviously don’t add the destroyed plants to your compost pile since it would cause even more problems. Simply put the whole plant into a sealable plastic bag and throw it away tightly sealed.

If you are absolutely dedicated to keeping your plants where they are instead of discarding them immediately, you can instead prune the affected leaves and buds. Once you have used pruners to remove the affected parts, clean them thoroughly with rubbing alcohol or peroxide.

Another method commonly used is the application of a mixture of copper sulfate and slaked lime. This is what most vineyard owners use to keep gray mold under control. Copper soap or spray is another option that can actually be used all the way until your plant’s day of harvest. This works best when it is sprayed onto your plants each week for ten days.

The best way of preventing it from getting out of control is by being aware and keeping a close eye of your plants. Inspect them regularly for signs of gray mold or any other potentially harmful conditions. Take note of any changes, especially when your plant is in the later stages of its flowering phase.

Keep an eye on the weather. It could tell you a lot about when to be the most suspicious of gray mold, such as just after cooler temperatures and rainy days. 

It is never a good idea to use fungicides while your plant is flowering. You also shouldn’t spray the buds that have been affected with Neem oil or burn sulfur when your plants are in their flowering phase. It won’t provide an effective means of combating gray mold, and it will ruin the taste and smell (and appearance) of your buds, thus making all your hard work pointless anyway! Fungicides are only okay to use during your plant’s vegetative phase of life.

As a good rule of thumb, you should know once you have a gray mold problem, the environment your plants are growing in is too cool and too humid with not enough airflow. If you are growing indoors, once you have removed the original gray mold this is something you should change immediately to avoid future infestations.

If you are absolutely unable to change your environment (if growing outdoors), you need to be realistic with yourself. The climate isn’t going to change, and your plants have already been infected once. Do you really think that this will stop being a problem as soon as you discard the plants that have visible signs of bud rot? Probably not.

Instead of attempting to make it work somehow, it’s better to simply start an early harvest of all your unaffected buds. Having buds that were harvested early and therefore never reached their full size and potency potential is still far better than losing most of your buds to gray mold.

If you do harvest them early, you need to be especially careful during the drying process when mold can become an issue. Generally, you would want to dry your buds through a slow-drying process, in this case, you should dry them as fast as realistically possible with lots of consistent air movement.

Remember that plants with strong genetics have less chance of getting sick and are less vulnerable to pests and diseases. 

Sometimes the research is conflicting.  For example.  I have a Plant Wash product that I use up until harvest.  But while I was doing this research, I stopped because I thought maybe I was doing the wrong thing.  More on that and a few other new things in the Grow House coming up in Learning As I Grow! 

This is a song that brings back some memories.  I can tell you that I 100% know people who live this song…hell some of them could have been kin folk.

PFC Song - “Choctaw Bingo” – James McMurtry

 Wise Words – “Life is a waste of time.  Time is a waste of life.  Get wasted all the time and you’ll have the time of your life.” - unknown

 Learning As I Grow! –  Mega Jackpot strain is almost finished growing.  The last 4 girls are in the final weeks of flowering.  All the other plants have been harvested, dried, and jarred.  These 4 girls were the plants that I did the Topping and Fimming video.  All have been healthy, and I have seen the improvement of light penetration.  I will be topping from now on (as was predicted).  Along the way I have tried a few new things and had to adjust to overcome some challenges.  

One of those challenges has been getting the buds dried properly.  Because of the high RH here on the mountain, I had to adjust the drying process.  On the YouTube you can see the new Dehydration Closet.  I have added a small Dehumidifier to the mix to help remove the moisture.  This has been an incredible advantage. 

Another challenge, what is the humidity?  Mistakenly, I said a Hydrometer was needed.  After a quick web search, a Hygrometer is the accurate measuring tool for determining how much Relative Humidity exist.  A 12 pack was less than 20 bucks.  They are Mini Hygrometer and Thermometer combined.  So I put a few in the closet, 1 at the top and 1 at the bottom.  I can put one in each jar.  I have one by the window.  I have one on the desk.  They are easy to use.  So far it has been helpful.

Earlier we talked about Gray Mold, Botrytis, and what I use as a Plant Wash.  I have been using this for a few years.  Lost Coast Plant Therapy may be used until the day of harvest.  It tells you clearly on the label how to use and that it is safe for you up until the day of harvest, contrary to the research that I had read.  This product is not just a Neem Oil.  It has Soybean Oil, Peppermint Oil, Citric Acid, water, soap, isopropyl alcohol, sodium citrate.  Organic and Non-GMO.  Picture on the vodcast.   

A few other things I have been experimenting with to increase trichome production are:

-         Feeding molasses to the plants in the flowering stage

-         Hydrogen peroxide added to water

-         Ice water flushing

-         48 hours of darkness before harvest   

One of the best blues songs ever… in my opinion.  The last album that John Lee put out was Chill Out.  It featured several artists on different songs.  This is cut 4.

PFC Song – “Syndicator” John Lee Hooker ft. Van Morrison, Roy Rogers & Booker T. Jones - Chill Out

Talking Saves Lives:

I have a Dr. appointment in a few days, and I have a few things on my list to discuss with her.  

I fell yesterday.  Not a big deal to most people, but for me, with my foot issues, it is a big deal.  The pain associated with the fall is not my problem.  I’m used to the pain, it’s the picking myself up again.  Laying on the ground, feeling pathetic.  I hear the voices in my head “Get Up, Dust yourself off and keep on, keepin’ on!”.  For me, I have to be tactful, careful on how I get up.  The hardware in my back is my first concern.  The shot to the ribs and my left arm as I hit the concrete, not as big of a deal.  A lot of things go through my mind as I’m laying there contemplating my next move.  Everyone has challenges.  Everyone falls.  Getting old is the human experience from the day we are born.   

I read yesterday that 3 Veterans had committed suicide.  To be precise – They said 1 confirmed suicide of a Veteran who was in Kabul the last week of Afghanistan.  3 Veterans suicides in one week from one base.  

I wish I could have told them, to wait.  Wait – this too shall pass.  You can get through this!

I also read in an email, that the Dept of Defense reported in the past 5 years the Suicide rate of Active-Duty Service Members Rose 41%.  Up 9% in 2020.

One thing that I have learned in the last few months is, if you develop your own ways of adapting to events and situations, you may gain a stronger sense of being able to deal with challenges, a greater sense of meaning or purpose, and an ability to mentor and support others in similar situations. 

Remember that your thoughts are just thoughts.  You can change your thoughts.

Talking can save lives.

22 Veterans Take their own life each day!
 I don’t want to be a statistic, and I don't want you to be one either.

aka...National Suicide Prevention Line:
 800-273-8255
 Veterans press 1
 Veteranscrisisline.net or text them 838255   
Even if they are not registered with VA or enrolled in VA health care -
Available to all Veterans and their families and friends.
VA responders standing by 24/7/365.
 

kndmisty.mtn@gmail.com
 
 

www.hiinhi.com     

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Thank You for listening - Aloha!