| (HerbDotCom is looking for contributors, email drstrangebud@herb.com If you have any experience in pests or cultivation please contact us) PLEASE VISIT OUR DISEASE/PEST FORUM BLIGHT, ROT AND MILDEW IN CANNABIS relationships between humidity, air flow and temperature Dr StrangeBud (prefers to remain anonymous) injected a quote one night many years ago in a Mendocino soiree where the discussion dwelled on indoor growing; "Grow Rooms are the best environment for predators". His observation fine-tuned my focus on the very narrow and fragile plateau that cannabis thrives in but at best, may be less than hospitable to spores and mites. I believe it is less of a plateau and a somewhat spike shaped slippery slope that we all pursue like lemmings. Balance is a word that come to mind. Certainly preparation of a room is the only foundation to draw upon. After that, after the plastic, the tape, the mylar and control units one has only presistence of observation and tenacity. If you let up on your due diligence your plants will remind you in the most hideous of ways. Fall asleep at the wheel and your Train Wreck will wither on the vine like a day old popsicle. AWARENESS... ....is GOLDEN. You cannot buy it outside of an IP camera and you cannot fake it. Your plants need what God didn't give them "eyeballs". A program of checks, a schedule, is what will make your life easier and your plants safer. And, if you find yourself looking at healthy plants and start wondering "why am I wasting all this time looking at my plants?" you need to understand that spores and spider mites never take a break. PROPER PLANNING PREVENTS PISS POOR PERFORMANCE You say you wanted to paint your cement floor before you started but didn't have time? You say you're plants are too crowded? So where were you when the plans were drawn up? You say you had no plans and now have no plants? Well Bubby...join the ranks of moldy, sweaty, mite-infested "grow" rooms. You're plants aren't doing well but the mildew and/or mites are flourishing. Once again (I'll repeat it) indoor grows are not for everyone and are not for every space. My friend's parents (unbeknownst to him) converted his room after he left for the military. The result was mold, mildew, rotted wallboard and nearly one hellatious fire. One year later after they had cleaned up and stripped the room down to the studs I got a call from them asking me for help. This is an often-repeated scenario and one that prompts many seasoned growers to just say "no" when asked for advice. The evening I went over to take a look at the stripped down room I was amazed to find that the first thing they had done after salvaging the room was to begin a journey of self-education that included visiting two grow rooms that were operating nearby. I go to great lengths to tell you this because #1 these people were growing for themselves (wife diagnosed with cancer) and #2 they were intelligent, capable people who had spent their lives in and out of gardening vegetables and flowering plants but had never grown indoors. They told me that they had reasoned (as many people do) that growing indoors would eliminate the threats of insects and mildews. This is a widespread notion that is totally ignorant of the quote by Dr StrangeBud above. And it's true, the grow room is an incredibly inviting environment for molds and mildews and it is in the preparation of the grow room even before it is started that makes a lot of difference between success and failure. The farther you go into the grow room's progress the harder it is to track back and change something. What we are attempting to do here with this set of articles is to cover the known vectors of intrusion and make it easier to: #1 prevent #2 detect #3 treat the main predators of indoor grows. We will break the 4 stages of treatment into seedling, pre-veg/main-veg, preflower and main flowering. Mites and gnats will also be commented on as many of the aspects we discuss also deter these predators. PLEASE VISIT OUR DISEASE/PEST FORUM Bud Rot (Botyris) |