Socal Harvest Advice? Bud Rot Scare + Rain's Coming

[zendog13]

Be gentle, I'm a noob with my first grow.

I've got a beautiful 8' Blue Dream gal in a 150-gallon raised bed (filled with Super Soil) here in LA LA Land. I've been scoping the trichomes daily for the past week.

Yesterday, I came across a patch of growth on one bud that was darker brown than normal. Last night I did a crash course on bud rot. Today, I donned rubber gloves and climbed the ladder and went through the plant branch by branch. In total, I only found 4 buds that pulled off from rot. I chopped as much as needed (about an ounce, wet - fed to the worms) and said a prayer to the weed gods.

The rest of the plant looked pretty strong and healthy. So, I'm on pins and needles waiting, and hoping that no more rot appears. I've got my drying room all blacked out and ready to go. I figure I've got somewhere between 1 - 3 weeks before the sweet spot, somewhere in October.

Some of the bud rot advice I read suggests early harvest to (hopefully) avoid further contamination, so I've been considering that, thinking that I'd keep a diligent watchful eye out for rot as well as trichome maturation.

Now, there's light rain (days of it) forecast for next week! Argh!

I can probably rig a tarp to cover the plant (and bed), but I'm wondering whether I wanna take the chance of exposing it to higher humidity and moisture.

Quite the trade-off/gamble for those amber trichs, huh?

With my luck, I'm sure I'd make the wrong choice. So, I wanted to turn to the place that has guided me thus far. What say ye, hive mind? Chop or wait?

 

[Perception]

Sounds like you are doing everything right. I rigged a tent up for my plants this year, because I had a week of rain last year that led to some bud rot. If possible, just try to make the tent like an unbrella. Ie: not touching the ground... more like a roof. That way you get airflow. That’s what I did this year, although my plant is only 5’ tall, so easy to do.

Hopefully your rain will only last a night or day, so that you don’t need to keep covered for more than 12 hours or so.

I’m not an expert on handling bud rot, but have encountered it a couple times. Just keep a close eye on things for now like you already are

 

[Rcubed]

Be gentle, I'm a noob with my first grow.

I've got a beautiful 8' Blue Dream gal in a 150-gallon raised bed (filled with Super Soil) here in LA LA Land. I've been scoping the trichomes daily for the past week.

Yesterday, I came across a patch of growth on one bud that was darker brown than normal. Last night I did a crash course on bud rot. Today, I donned rubber gloves and climbed the ladder and went through the plant branch by branch. In total, I only found 4 buds that pulled off from rot. I chopped as much as needed (about an ounce, wet - fed to the worms) and said a prayer to the weed gods.

The rest of the plant looked pretty strong and healthy. So, I'm on pins and needles waiting, and hoping that no more rot appears. I've got my drying room all blacked out and ready to go. I figure I've got somewhere between 1 - 3 weeks before the sweet spot, somewhere in October.

Some of the bud rot advice I read suggests early harvest to (hopefully) avoid further contamination, so I've been considering that, thinking that I'd keep a diligent watchful eye out for rot as well as trichome maturation.

Now, there's light rain (days of it) forecast for next week! Argh!

I can probably rig a tarp to cover the plant (and bed), but I'm wondering whether I wanna take the chance of exposing it to higher humidity and moisture.

Quite the trade-off/gamble for those amber trichs, huh?

With my luck, I'm sure I'd make the wrong choice. So, I wanted to turn to the place that has guided me thus far. What say ye, hive mind? Chop or wait?

Did you go through that bud really well? More often than not that rot comes from caterpillars that burrow into the buds. They blend in real well so if you're not looking closely you can miss them. I'm in So Cal too and I haven't had much problem with bud rot other than the rot caused by the caterpillars. I probably lose 10 to 15% of my fall crop to cats and bud rot. I just cut the bad bud out and crush the caterpillars if they're still inside the bud.

 

[DTG]

I agree with R3 on this one . . . Those damn Pillars are so small & soooo hungry. Cut open the buds you took off & look for the little bastards, kill them if you find them . . . Damn Pillars. . .

Don.

 

[zendog13]

Did you go through that bud really well? More often than not that rot comes from caterpillars that burrow into the buds. They blend in real well so if you're not looking closely you can miss them. I'm in So Cal too and I haven't had much problem with bud rot other than the rot caused by the caterpillars.

A-HA!

I did see two small caterpillars on the plant (though not near the damage), but it makes sense. The damaged buds weren't entirely rotten, just brown pieces of it.

Woo-Hoo! Thanks y'all. Much appreciated. I knew that the hive mind would come through.

Looks like I'm building a tent for next week.

 

[DTG]

If you are concerned about humidity & moisture in your tent, throw a fan in the tent if you can . . .


Don.

 

[Perception]

In order to make more of a roof/tent, I found that if you size a small tarp correctly, you can then hang bricks from the eyelets with bungee cords and it works really well. This way you get a roof, but also have air flow.

You're problem is going to be getting stakes in the ground at 8feet+ to support the tent without smooshing your plant!!!

 

[zendog13]

In order to make more of a roof/tent, I found that if you size a small tarp correctly, you can then hang bricks from the eyelets with bungee cords and it works really well. This way you get a roof, but also have air flow.

You're problem is going to be getting stakes in the ground at 8feet+ to support the tent without smooshing your plant!!!

Nice work.

Re: my situation, fortunately, the box that it's in has a four-foot trellis around it already. And I've got a bamboo patch right next to it that I can harvest a few poles to create extensions.

Now that I know it's not bud rot, I don't mind the extra work.

 

[DTG]

Let us know how it turns out for you . . .

Pic of the harvest would be great . . .


Don.

 

[Mr.jiujitsu]

Just harvest early. I did. After years of experience, pull early when the weather is like this

 

[zendog13]

Just harvest early. I did. After years of experience, pull early when the weather is like this

I'm planning on doing an "early" harvest, but nearly all of the trichomes are still clear. I'd like to get a mix of milky in there as well.

The forecast has calmed down for our area. Less than 50% chance of rain for 2 days. Thinking of doing a frame out of PVC (tons on hand) and then throwing a tarp over.

The headache that I've got now is caterpillars. Feel like it's too close to harvest to spray. Have been going over the plant morning and night pinching them off. Grrr.