When buds are fully formed....for me in about 4-6 weeks.....is rain a concern? .....if the sun dries the buds I guess its okay, but what about a big fall rain?
thanx..I'm a rookie Iris
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When buds are fully formed....for me in about 4-6 weeks.....is rain a concern? .....if the sun dries the buds I guess its okay, but what about a big fall rain?
thanx..I'm a rookie Iris
Hi, Iris -
Congratulations on what sounds like your first grow! Whatever you do, do NOT let those buds get wet at this stage of the game! That is simply ASKING for them to turn to mold, which can happen easily anyway in humid weather. The rain will also wash away the trichomes, so even if your pot survives, it won't be anywhere near as potent as if it had undergone a "dry" flowering.
Try to construct some sort of cover or awning that will completely protect the plants from the rain water hitting them directly. If you must, bring them into a brightly lit area in your house/apt. until the storm clears. Artificial lighting might be of help, but it's a little dicey when the girls are used to natural sunlight and are suddenly subjected to the different spectrum of indoor lighting.
Luckily, I have an screen-enclosed back porch with an awning, so if it looks like we're due for some precipitation, I make sure that's where the plants are. If you have an area like that available to you, I would definitely use it.
ill take that in mind as here in he north west of england the weather is unpredictable, its been sunny/rain all week and begin of this week, mostly sunny days here, bad rain last night tho.
Are you sure about that? If yes, then fuck! My plant has been rained on a lot. I better move it into the dry. I'd be glad if someone could confirm tho, that it is actually bad for the plants!
I think Lady D here is being a little over-cautious.
1. Many strains are mold-resistant. Quite a few are susceptible to mold. Find out about your strain.
2. Gray mould is the biggest problem but you will need a couple of days of rain and then a humid atmosphere to allow the spores to take hold. If it pours and then brightens up such that the plants dry out, then there is little chance of mold.
3. You need to be very careful in the last 2-3 weeks of flowering, especially if there is cola formation and the buds are tight. If heavy rain is forecast then find some large see-thru plastic sacks (like large garbage sacks) and put them over the plants. Even if they don't protect the plants fully you will avoid getting the main colas wet. DO NOT cover wet plants ! As soon as the rain passes, remove sacks ASAP !
4. Trichomes washing off ? Its not a problem. You would need a week of heavy rain, and then there would be other problems with your plants. Yes, rain will dislodge some trichomes but its not significant.
All the above assumes you are growing outside in soil. If yer plants are in pots or bags and you can move them to a protected area in case of storms, then do it !
Finally, IF the weather is bad and you are near harvest, watch your plants carefully. Most times you will see mold starting (but sometimes it starts inside a bud :( ). Now get your knife/scissors and go to work on the infected bud. Chop all gunk away and then some. Try to do this with a plastic bag surrounding the cola/branch. Why ? Because you drive spores into the air, and onto to other unaffected growth. Be a good surgeon !
If mold affects several sites simultaneously AND you are near harvest, chop your babies down, remove mold and get those babies dry fast ! When they are dry, hang them for drying out the buds etc.
Finally, finally, DO NOT SMOKE mold !!! It will f%#k up your lungs and is very bad for your health. I've seen mold sometimes in dried bud. The bud just crumbles between yer fingers...you'll know its not right yourself. Rotten bud.
Good Luck.
thanks everyone for your advice.....I have 3 girls in pots and a nice covered deck so I think I'd rather be safe than sorry and bring them in if rain is forecasted.....I also have a large piece of plexiglass that I could McGyver over them in the garden, but thought that might make them burn with magnified sun....I'll try and post some pics (and put them in a smaller size to make everyone happy)...I'm so proud of them, they're quite a project and every morning I go and have a coffee with them!.....haha thanx...Iris
ive had plants go thru a week of straight heavy rain without a break outside. all you need is one decent break in the rain to dry your shit up. its not an issue. the only time ive ever seen any problems (in my 30+ years of growing) with outside sruff getting mold its when the plants were COVERED WET WITH A CLEAR PLASTIC BAG and the sun came out and screwed them up. every moldy bud ive seen on the plant like that on grows is generally because the grower left his plants to dense and didnt do any trimming on the kolas, and the leaves were to dense.
although ive never had an issue with my plants mlding, if they get a little dont sweat it, that is unless you get bud rot. your going to have mold spores regardless of what anyone tells you, and smoking buds that have mold on them wont kill you, or eve make you sick. firstly, do the research. you breath mold spores in every single breath you take your entire life, be it outside, in your home,ect. secondly, when you smoke, be it a joint, pipe or bong, the mold spores that are on the vegetable matter are burned up right along with the week, and are not in any way toxic. i know this for a fact as i have a bud (no pun intended) I went to school with thats been a friend of mine for years who is a microbiologist . we discussed this in length last summer when he was up fishing. i asked him about smoking pot wth mold o it. he laughed and said that as soon as the flames put to it, its dead and turns to carbon, and will NOT hurt you. he said youd be more likely to get sick from pesticides on the weed that mol, even if it were completely covered. he said all th mold hype has nothing to do with white powdery mildew, the big mold thing has to do with the black powdery mold you can get in your home. BIG difference
SOOO......believe me or not, i dont care really, makes me no difference.
the rain does not wash away trichomes!!!!!....thats just stupid....the rain will cause bud rot depending on the strain.the only thing you need to do is after it rains go out to your plants and shake them off.dont shake the crap out of them just enought to get water off.do it every rain fall and if its gonna rain for few days straight go out there everyday and shake them off....if the rain is coming and you have ways to put a tarp over them do that so the rain doesnt get to the plants..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lady D
My apologies for stating this...but it's bullshit. Resin is an oil, it repels H20.
A strong, driving rain (like what seems to happen in norcal every october) can and will knock some trichomes off the buds. It depends on wind, amount of rain and how long it lasts. If the weather clears up soon after(like 3 days is usually about it if you're close to harvest) and has a nice breeze to dry things out and you shake the water off them immediately after the rain stops, then you should be fine. This is the primetime when mold will take a foothold. Light rain for a couple hours followed by clear, dry and breezy will not be a problem. The rain does worry me though. All strains react differently to rain and some are much more suseptable to mold than others.
Hail is always bad news.
BTW I know THC is not water soluable. The force of the rain hitting the trichomes will likely cause some of them to fall off. It probably won't make much of a difference with potency. Mold is the big issue with rain.
Hi,Quote:
Originally Posted by stormin94
I'm in the Midwest US, a mold problem might actually be a blessing here after spending 3 hours today hauling water. We don't have mold issues here.
:rasta:
Climate is different in northern California. It stops raining usually around may and doesn't start again until around October. The Midwest probably has a different kinds or levels of spores in the air than here. A plant might develop more tolerance to mold if it's exposed to moisture more often.Quote:
Originally Posted by sunbiz1
I just know it's a pain in the ass when the first storm blows in off the coast and the plants aren't quite ready. Nothing good comes from that.
Now I understand, was unaware of your general location. Last Fall we had a few posters here with the same issue, only worse b/c they were much further north in Canada. Plants don't really care for cold rain and temps in the 40's!. Last year we had an unusually heavy rainfall, as in over a foot within 24 hours. I had a few plants in the ground on a small hillside which was flooded by a temporary stream. The plants survived, and actually got huge but the stress of that flood ruined the maturation cycle somehow. They never produced anything but pollen.Quote:
Originally Posted by stormin94
Rain can ruin a crop. It can create mold problems and the weight of the water can break branches. I would also watch out for wind too. I like to put cages around my plants. When the plants start to flower then it is a good idea to support the bigger branches with bamboo sticks. I have about 10 sticks per plant. I will probably pick up some more soon.
Maybe make a plastic tipi for the plants if your really worried about a big storm. I don't know if it would be worth the effort to make one for each plant though. I have no idea if rain can wash off the trichomes either. I hope not because after spraying my plants with neem oil. I like to come back later and rinse them down with the hose. Sometimes I spray the plants with the hose during the veg cycle. I like to think it helps make the plant stronger. During the flower/bud cycle I try to keep the colas as dry as possible.