Seamaiden, is it generally agreed that it's ok to smoke pm that's been OxiDated? I tried my white widow and green crack ( both with pm that I tried everything on to keep it more or less in check) Oxidated at harvest then dried. The ww smokes and looks fine. Gc looks great but is really a harsh smoke; so I was happy to hear it was not from a residue. When I trimmed the gc it was really pungent/spicy made me sneeze. Hopping that's genetics not pm ?
I would have to say the consensus is if the bud's got PM, don't smoke it. I guess it's a question of whether or not spores are present.
Sea...I've been pondering your stance on PM for a few weeks..lol..and I need to share. First if ya grow outdoors and it happens to be a hot spot..it is the never ending battle and poisons meant for hardy plants i.e. roses might be the best option..giving it is used responsibly and backed up with organic methods and pruning and washing. Personally I would give up in a bad spot and build a greenhouse and try and filter the air.
Easier said than done, though. For instance, we own our property and home. Not only would it be difficult in the first place to sell (and, I'm sorry, but selling property because of powdery mildew seems an incredibly silly thought to me) but then what? I grew up with a man who always thought the grass was greener elsewhere.
To the poisons... perhaps, if that's a route one feels comfortable with. I don't, to the point that I hand-pull weeds, including poison oak. The more I read about how many of these products work and what ends up becoming a huge IN-efficacy rate, I find that for me, in my scenario, it's just not worth the risk.
In any event, I haven't experienced any problems outside of the girls taking FOREVER to sex (finally put the last one in-ground yesterday). Outdoors, under the Good Sun and breathing Fine Mountain Air, receiving their organic nutrition from the soil food web, my plants are quite happy and are disease-free.
But! If I go back indoors...? I will probably be re-examining cleanliness and how to maintain it, because otherwise the balance is tipped too much in favor of pathogens pests. HEPA filtration would be a
beginning, agreed? Beyond that, taking true quarantine procedures and putting them to practice would be a must. What else can you think of, besides the filtration, that would help prevent disease or pests from getting a foothold and decimating a grower's rooms?
Now my thoughts on indoor PM problems, of which I've had my very own...
The pros will insist it's an environment problem and that is correct, but the emphasis belongs on stifling the source...any air source needs to be HEPA filtered. My rooms feel sterile...I feel guilty opening the door to the harsh outside world.haha
Final thought...I have seen healthy organically grown plants shake off a few patches of PM...A few squirts of GreenCure and into a sterile flower room and they clear right up.
Double-door entryway (with an airlock kind of area)? I've seen Soya'nara do the same thing, plus it makes their leaves shiny. Damn I wish I could find more of that stuff!
My own thinking goes beyond environment towards a "total conditions" thing. And that's because of my fish experience. Fish and invertebrates will do best if optimal conditions are provided
along with optimal nutrition. Not just clean water of excellent parameters (optimal pH, temperature, specific gravity @1.024, 0ppm NH3/4, 0ppmNO2, 0ppmNO3, 0ppm P, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera), but the best nutrition that can be provided. For fish, generally speaking (let's leave out the specialists here), that means many sources and types of food that's as fresh as it can possibly be.
What would that be for plants? In my line of thinking, it's leaning toward organic feeds (after having gone through the microbe) and away from chemical salt feeds.