Adjust my humidity/ventilation due to Powdery White Mold

[RichmondReap]

I have a grow in progress week 3 of flowering, buds forming, this is the second instance of White Powdery Mold, apparently my first application a week ago did not work.
I wiped down all leaves with water disposing of the paper towel between leaves, then sprayed the plants with a mix/concoction I found online.
4 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp hydrogen Peroxide
1 tsp Neem Oil
1/2 tsp Vegetable Oil
1 drop dish soap

I am now gong through the 3 plants again, applying the concoction to the towels this time since spraying afterwards could effect the now forming buds.
Afterwards I will run a cloth with bleach and water on the tent walls and base of my acrylic cover across the flood table.
Anyways, this is more about how to keep the WPM from returning due to the original humidity/ventilation issue.

My grow room is a (secret jardin orca tent), 120x120x200 cm, with this duct fan 6-duct-fan-160-cfm (which pulls in outside air) connected to a carbon filter.
My exhaust fan runs from the other carbon filter to the fan, out the light tunnel to the outside via ducting. All 4 fans runs 24/7.

Right now, my two room fans, one is right side base of plant level, other fan is left under the intake filter blowing towards back wall.

One observation I have is that during operation and when the tent is all zipped up, which it is always unless I'm working in there, the tent walls puff up like they have air pressure inside that is not equalized? Maybe I need a timer on my intake fan as it is not adjustable like my exhaust fan, and maybe run it on / off at certain intervals?

I shouldn't have to add a dehumidifier, what am I doing wrong?

TIA
Richmond Reaper

 

[DrGreenThumbs]

Defoliate the lowers, get a bigger oscillating fan...can you pull air from the bottom and exhaust out the top? How high are your humidity levels?

 

[Aqua Man]

Proper pruning if needed, good airflow and a lower humidity in the dark period. Big issue is usually a very high spike just after lights out as the tenps drop but plants are still transpiring.

 

[RichmondReap]

Defoliate the lowers, get a bigger oscillating fan...can you pull air from the bottom and exhaust out the top? How high are your humidity levels?

not sure as i only looked while the tent was open. ill be sure took faster next time i open it up. I'm defoliating now, before i wipe the leaves with the mix.
so, y'all don't think theres too much fresh air coming in to the amount of air removed by the exhaust fan?

RR

 

[DrGreenThumbs]

see

not sure as i only looked while the tent was open. ill be sure took faster next time i open it up. I'm defoliating now, before i wipe the leaves with the mix.
so, y'all don't think theres too much fresh air coming in to the amount of air removed by the exhaust fan?

RR

If the tent is "poofing" ...you are obviously getting positive pressure. If you are trying to mask a smell...you might want to change that somehow.

 

[RichmondReap]

see

If the tent is "poofing" ...you are obviously getting positive pressure. If you are trying to mask a smell...you might want to change that somehow.

Not really trying to mask smells in the house but that's why I exhaust to outside through a carbon filter because my neighbor throws his trash away near my vent. If the only way to equalize the tent pressure is to unzip the tent, I can do that, but won't that lower the humidity in the tent I know while the tent is open my humidity gauge reads 23%.
I still thought the poofing was caused by too much positive airflow inside or not enough exhaust pull to relieve it. In either case couldn't I "intake new air like 4 times a day?"

RR

 

[Madmax]

Can you turn your inline fan down and have your extraction fan up to get neg pressure.ideally when purchasing your extraction fans bigger..fan speed controllers the way to go..really you dont need an inline and just run a passive as that will give you negative pressure.

 

[RichmondReap]

Can you turn your inline fan down and have your extraction fan up to get neg pressure.ideally when purchasing your extraction fans bigger..fan speed controllers the way to go..really you dont need an inline and just run a passive as that will give you negative pressure.

I did use a fan I could turn up on the exhaust fan, its full speed. So if I remove or turn off the inline fan (which does not have speed control), is it now passive or are you speaking about a specific type of fan?

RR

 

[Madmax]

Yes it will b passive once you remove the inline and will have negative pressure.my fans 6 inch 230 cfm for 87cmx150cm veg room..you need to pick a fan 30-40% over the required cfm for your room.going bigger is better as you can have it on a low setting on fan controller.i have an 8 inch in flower room 1.5x1.5mtrs 710cfm rated.i reckon you need a bigger rated 6 fan so its not going full speed.

 

[GNick55]

I have a grow in progress week 3 of flowering, buds forming, this is the second instance of White Powdery Mold, apparently my first application a week ago did not work.
I wiped down all leaves with water disposing of the paper towel between leaves, then sprayed the plants with a mix/concoction I found online.
4 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp hydrogen Peroxide
1 tsp Neem Oil
1/2 tsp Vegetable Oil
1 drop dish soap

I am now gong through the 3 plants again, applying the concoction to the towels this time since spraying afterwards could effect the now forming buds.
Afterwards I will run a cloth with bleach and water on the tent walls and base of my acrylic cover across the flood table.
Anyways, this is more about how to keep the WPM from returning due to the original humidity/ventilation issue.

My grow room is a (secret jardin orca tent), 120x120x200 cm, with this duct fan 6-duct-fan-160-cfm (which pulls in outside air) connected to a carbon filter.
My exhaust fan runs from the other carbon filter to the fan, out the light tunnel to the outside via ducting. All 4 fans runs 24/7.

View attachment 1081480

Right now, my two room fans, one is right side base of plant level, other fan is left under the intake filter blowing towards back wall.

One observation I have is that during operation and when the tent is all zipped up, which it is always unless I'm working in there, the tent walls puff up like they have air pressure inside that is not equalized? Maybe I need a timer on my intake fan as it is not adjustable like my exhaust fan, and maybe run it on / off at certain intervals?

I shouldn't have to add a dehumidifier, what am I doing wrong?

View attachment 1081483

TIA
Richmond Reaper

white powdery mildew can survive a very long time in any conditions and can survive over winter on a speck of dead plant material, so get cleaning and change the mixture up don’t always use same exact mix., wpm is evil!!

 

[RichmondReap]

Damn, I'm getting old, a lot of work for three plants... labor of love!
I first defoliated the lower parts of the plants, I then gave once over wipe down of leaves with the neem oil concoction. I then wiped down the table top and tent walls with bleach and water mix.

Then I accidentally tore a large lower branch off that was tied across the table (never work on the plants too stoned! lesson learned) I trimmed the tear spot at an angle, soaked a small rock wool cube in my nutrient mix, dipped in rooter gel, stuck in the cube and popped it into a hole through the flood table cover. If the branch lives, cool, if not, oh well.

I turned off the intake fan and noticed the humidity gauge went up to 41%, 63 degrees in the dark.

This week when I get my buddy over here, we will re-locate the intake to a lower area as the exhaust is as high as it can go.

Thanks for your help,
DrGreenThumbs
Aqua Man
Madmax
& GNick55


- Richmond Reaper

 

[RichmondReap]

Apparently, since I just saw some white powdery mold appearing again I did another google search and found out that once you have white powdery mold you always have it and you can only manage it.
According to one weed forum: 3% peroxide to 97% h2o is a mixture to spray and manage.
And I quote:
"The hyphae, or roots of the mold, extend well into the center of the plant matter. What you see on the surface is the product of a much deeper problem. As others have said, theres really no way to kill it, only to control it. The only absolute way to kill mold is to cut your losses, do a complete tear down and cleaning of the growroom. "

So, sprayed the plants with a hydrogen peroxide water solution and crossing my fingers. Should I scrap it all and clean up get a hepa filter and start again OR should I continue the last month "managing" this WPM and hoping it doesn't ruin/eat the buds?!

Humidity is a steady 40% temp is 65 F lights off/ 81 lights on, passive air intake now.

:-( RR

 

[Newber]

look up a spray called plant therapy... just essential oils, but I use for prevention and control....says eliminate powdery mildew right on front

 

[RichmondReap]

look up a spray called plant therapy... just essential oils, but I use for prevention and control....says eliminate powdery mildew right on front

Ordered... we'll see...

 

[GNick55]

apparently science has discovered that wpm that affects marijuana in europe is a different strain than the wpm that affects marijuana in north america..
they still don’t understand wpm fully yet. how internal is the question, the spore will dig a claw? into the tissue as a base than start to web?
i’d try to finish them because it’s there anyways but just clean up the best you can, manage the plants the best you can, make sure to keep clean yourself... look at it as a learning, it friggin sucks, you may find something that works at least to get you to the finish, than do your major clean after..
now you know what to watch for and will be able to get at it quicker.. especially if it shows up on your next grow.,
i believe it can be rid of from a plant, though i use full strength milk, but it’ll only work in the hot sun or very powerful lights like a 1000 watt metal halide..
i have two plants which had wpm 2 months ago and i look everyday and haven’t seen a speck yet.. though i think one plant is slightly suffering because of the infection earlier on, the other one is beautiful.. i still have a month to go.,
i cleaned my whole grow area and more with very strong hydrogen peroxide and isopropyl (separately)!
3 times and another major clean up is coming right after those two are done..
no matter how good or professional someone is at growing or anything, problems will arise, the difference between us is how you react to them, meaning do you try to learn or just say fuck it...

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

apparently science has discovered that wpm that affects marijuana in europe is a different strain than the wpm that affects marijuana in north america..
they still don’t understand wpm fully yet. how internal is the question, the spore will dig a claw? into the tissue as a base than start to web?
i’d try to finish them because it’s there anyways but just clean up the best you can, manage the plants the best you can, make sure to keep clean yourself... look at it as a learning, it friggin sucks, you may find something that works at least to get you to the finish, than do your major clean after..
now you know what to watch for and will be able to get at it quicker.. especially if it shows up on your next grow.,
i believe it can be rid of from a plant, though i use full strength milk, but it’ll only work in the hot sun or very powerful lights like a 1000 watt metal halide..
i have two plants which had wpm 2 months ago and i look everyday and haven’t seen a speck yet.. though i think one plant is slightly suffering because of the infection earlier on, the other one is beautiful.. i still have a month to go.,
i cleaned my whole grow area and more with very strong hydrogen peroxide and isopropyl (separately)!
3 times and another major clean up is coming right after those two are done..
no matter how good or professional someone is at growing or anything, problems will arise, the difference between us is how you react to them, meaning do you try to learn or just say fuck it...

Powdery Mildew forms spores so the clean-up must thorough and include all equipment right down to the fan blades that circulate the air. So don't overlook anything in your grow area. Diluted household bleach will also kill the spores and any active mildew if it comes in contact with it. It's cheap and works well for in between grow clean-ups. (please note that bleach isn't for cleaning live plants) The bottom line is once it shows up, only due diligence in addressing the problem will make it go away. Otherwise, it could become a persistent problem in your grows going forward.

Outside growers: Some plants such as pumpkins and cucumbers are well known carriers of WPM so keeps those crops well away from your outside garden.

 

[GNick55]

Powdery Mildew forms spores so the clean-up must thorough and include all equipment right down to the fan blades that circulate the air. So don't overlook anything in your grow area. Diluted household bleach will also kill the spores and any active mildew if it comes in contact with it. It's cheap and works well for in between grow clean-ups. (please note that bleach isn't for cleaning live plants) The bottom line is once it shows up, only due diligence in addressing the problem will make it go away. Otherwise, it could become a persistent problem in your grows going forward.

Outside growers: Some plants such as pumpkins and cucumbers are well known carriers of WPM so keeps those crops well away from your outside garden.

dead on brother!
i took apart everything, i mean took it apart, i have this one tower fan and holy crap the amount of pieces and screws.. lucky i got it back together! haha..

 

[Newber]

I also have a sweet lithium battery backpack sprayer for my weekly treatments, shoots probable 16 feet in jet form, or can mist as light as needed, 90 minutes spray time... I know it sounds lazy, but my God was it worth it! this is the specific one I bought, but they do have others I belive arent as pricey, I also use it to fertilize yard with my hydro solution so double use! lol let us know how it goes

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

I also have a sweet lithium battery backpack sprayer for my weekly treatments, shoots probable 16 feet in jet form, or can mist as light as needed, 90 minutes spray time... I know it sounds lazy, but my God was it worth it! this is the specific one I bought, but they do have others I belive arent as pricey, I also use it to fertilize yard with my hydro solution so double use! lol let us know how it goes

They can be found cheaper at Harbor Freight if you're in an area that has one. I haven't bought one yet but I've thought about it. I think it would have it's uses for sure, especially in my greenhouse.

 

[Newber]

you will not regret it!