What did I do wrong?

[HomesteadHealers]

I am a new medical cannabis grower in Maine. Have grown outdoors for 5 years for personal use, this is my first try at indoor growing. I studied intensely, grew in coco w/ drain to waste system, combo LED/HPS lighting. Running a dehumidifier constantly in my grow space to keep RH in check. I am growing in my basement, everything looked ok with the ILGM purple haze I grew at harvest time 1 week ago. I saw no sign of mold when I harvested, trimming of fan leaves and excess greenery.

I am drying in a dedicated drying tent with with AC infinity exhaust fan, temps running 55-65 deg, RH 50-60%. 8 days into drying I started a little trimming last night, found some tiny mold spots confirmed under handheld microscope. I felt some asthma symptoms and normally do not get this with cannabis. I’m a RN, it’s just allergic airway reactivity, not worried about my health, but can anyone offer advice on what I could do to improve my drying technique?

 

[FarmerGreene]

I'm a relatively new grower and luckily have not had that issue yet. I keep my drying space at 60° and 45%-%50 RH. I honestly believe it dries a little too fast but after the cure its still very pleasant. That is my two cents for what its worth. This seems to be a good site with friendly growers, I'm sure you'll get it solved. Cheers!

 

[HomesteadHealers]

I bet you are right--if I lowered the RH setting the fan would run all the time, circulating more air, along with lowering RH. Is it pretty common for others to be drying in a tent? I do it mainly to keep the buds really clean, I cut out the center of the grow tent window covers with the velcro border and add MERV 16 filter fabric, creating a filtered air intake window.

 

[Billymgb]

you want to have a fan blowing under your hanging branches. Not at them but just blowing at the wall or any object in the tent. Just on med. You have to keep air flowing around and you will be ok.

 

[tobh]

@Billymgb hit the nail on the head. you need air movement in your dry space. mold will only start if the spores can sit somewhere stagnant long enough to germinate. a 12" desk fan will provide more than enough circulation to ensure this doesn't happen again. like you want the leaves dancing a little when growing, you want the buds moving a little while they're hanging to dry. otherwise you've done well.

 

[HomesteadHealers]

@Billymgb hit the nail on the head. you need air movement in your dry space. mold will only start if the spores can sit somewhere stagnant long enough to germinate. a 12" desk fan will provide more than enough circulation to ensure this doesn't happen again. like you want the leaves dancing a little when growing, you want the buds moving a little while they're hanging to dry. otherwise you've done well.

Awesome! Thank you both so much for the advice! Now my next harvest of White Widow in 1 week won't go to compost like this one did. Thanks again!

 

[FarmerGreene]

I think most folks have a dedicated drying space, tent, closet etc... Like these guys mentioned and I forgot to say is air movement. It is key. Just a small fan moving air, not blowing on your buds but rather under them or against an opposing wall. That along with a RH "in the zone" and you will be money.