Help! Small brown spots only in the stem during drying (Rot?)

S

Stocazzed024

Member
Hi guys, I cut about three days ago and right now the girls are in the room drying at 62 degrees and 58/60% humidity. Inspecting in the middle of the flowers I noticed that in the center of a few flowers ,precisely in the stem, there are marks that tend on the brownish. Nothing like that on the flower, it looks healthy.
I inspected everything and there is absolutely no mold and it does not seem to be getting worse, I noticed that they are very small patches that look almost like bruises.
Can anyone clarify this for me? The plants were a bit tossed around during cutting since they were in the netting and I wanted to opt to dry the whole plant and they bent as I handled them... but I'm just making assumptions

(I had made a thread yesterday in the harvesting and curing section but maybe it was the wrong section for this issue)
 
Southernontariogrower

Southernontariogrower

Well-Known Member
Stocazzed024 said:
Hi guys, I cut about three days ago and right now the girls are in the room drying at 62 degrees and 58/60% humidity. Inspecting in the middle of the flowers I noticed that in the center of a few flowers ,precisely in the stem, there are marks that tend on the brownish. Nothing like that on the flower, it looks healthy.
I inspected everything and there is absolutely no mold and it does not seem to be getting worse, I noticed that they are very small patches that look almost like bruises.
Can anyone clarify this for me? The plants were a bit tossed around during cutting since they were in the netting and I wanted to opt to dry the whole plant and they bent as I handled them... but I'm just making assumptions

(I had made a thread yesterday in the harvesting and curing section but maybe it was the wrong section for this issue)
Click to expand...
It's called rot! You guys and 60% humidity. Hang it where it gets airflow, buds are microclimates or it was like that before chop. Scope it, bet its furry yum.
 
S

Stocazzed024

Member
Southernontariogrower said:
It's called rot! You guys and 60% humidity. Hang it where it gets airflow, buds are microclimates or it was like that before chop. Scope it, bet its furry yum.
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The plants are with a fan at the bottom moving air and the extraction fan is oprative 24/7 inside a grow box and even before I put the plants in I used ozonator. I opened all the plant tops (ruining them) and no they are not hairy or gummy, it is like a speck (like a hematoma) on the stem. I had rot many cycles ago and more or less know what to look for but I swear it doesn't look like it.
I've been looking at them for two days and the spots are there, neither gone nor has it continued to spread.
I am not talking about whole stems or flowers but three spots along the stem one of them with no flowers around it, like a circle around the stem and the other spots are only on one side.
Anyway both after several too fast drying I opted to follow what everyone recommends which is 60°/60rh during drying. is that wrong?
 
S

Stocazzed024

Member
Boatguy said:
Sounds like the right conditions. I wouldnt worry about what the stems look like.
Keep on with the slow dry
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So you say there is no need to worry? I was getting scared because reading around I've read that anything that isn't green on the inside is not a good sign. this is the first time I've been able to achieve the ideal conditions for slow drying and I admit I'm a little intimidated given the fear I have about mold and especially I don't want to imagine what happens if I start the tanning and don't notice in time.
Has it ever happened to you to see similar marks in the stems?
 
S

Stocazzed024

Member
Boatguy said:
I did not realize you were talking about inside the bud when you said stem. That could be a bad thing.
All you can do is keep on drying and see what you get.
Speeding up your dry would help keep it to a minimum. That is why dispensary stuff is dried quick
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Thanks for the advice, I lowered the humidity to 57/58 maximum and the temperature to 63°. I hope I don't end up with a product on my hands that has lost its smell and taste
 
S

Stocazzed024

Member
Southernontariogrower said:
I see it, maybe you bruised it opening up the buds, not mold then should be fine. But I'd keep an eye on it. Just to be safe.
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Yes in fact my idea was just that, unfortunately I am so scared that many times during cutting I ruin and open any top. What I was wondering is, if indeed it is the beginning of the rot can it just be that it was developing and didn't have a chance to expand? And most importantly. When botrytis shows up do I see the rot or mold first? I have read many articles regarding bud rot and they all say that you see white mold first and then rot.
Anyway, I cut those tops off from the rest of the plant about an inch from these "bruises" and I'm drying them separately. I just hope I don't make it worse during the curing process.
 
S

Stocazzed024

Member
MissinThe90’sStrains said:
Personally, I’d try to cut any spots like that out with a clean razor, and try to dry faster to play it safer.
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Yes, I opted for this option last night.... I cut the suspect tops off about an inch from these "bruises" and am drying them separately. What a pain in the ass... I just wish I didn't have all these problems and leave my plants to dry slowly to get a nice aroma as well as good looks. All this ruins my plans for proper curing.
 
John Rollwan

John Rollwan

Well-Known Member
Stocazzed024 said:
Yes, I opted for this option last night.... I cut the suspect tops off about an inch from these "bruises" and am drying them separately. What a pain in the ass... I just wish I didn't have all these problems and leave my plants to dry slowly to get a nice aroma as well as good looks. All this ruins my plans for proper curing.
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CVault stainless steel auto cure containers will solver your problem immediately and infinitely. I bought them a couple years back, hold about 250g each, larger sizes as well. I’ll attach pics. 62% RH terpene shields work well as inserts every time.
 

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John Rollwan

John Rollwan

Well-Known Member
Unless of course your issue occurred during growth. From the pic though it looks good. Low chance of mold, but if you razored that out that’s the best you can do.
 
S

Stocazzed024

Member
John Rollwan said:
CVault stainless steel auto cure containers will solver your problem immediately and infinitely. I bought them a couple years back, hold about 250g each, larger sizes as well. I’ll attach pics. 62% RH terpene shields work well as inserts every time.
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I thank you for the advice but I am not a big fan of Boveda or at any rate I have always preferred to use them only after the curing process for jars that I keep for months. I once tried using them for the curing process and I must say that I felt as if the smell was partly gone.
 
Rurumo

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
It takes practice to spot botrytis in buds while you are trimming. It's easy to see the big patches, but most people don't realize that small spots can develop while drying and then more or less stop once the bud is dry enough and those can be hard to spot until you get a lung full of mold. I was over at a friend's house the other day helping him trim his Sweet Tooth plant (which looked really good) and I ended up finding 5 small patches of botrytis, which he could not see for the life of him. I had to show him under my scope-then he was horrified. Really observe it under a scope next time you find a patch-it looks totally unlike any normal cannabis bud structures-compare the threads/fuzz of botrytis to (and the signature grey color) a normal bud. Once you get used to looking at it, then trimming becomes a game of "Where's Waldo." Either trim under a bright light, or inspect EVERY SINGLE BUD under a bright light once you're done-those awesome nerdy desk magnifier lights on the adjustable arms/with a clamp work perfectly for this. After helping various people trim over many years, I know that botrytis is way more common than most growers think. I would hazard to guess that 3/4 of all grows have at least a small patch of Botrytis growing by the time trimming is done.
 
weedstoner420

weedstoner420

Well-Known Member
Rurumo said:
It takes practice to spot botrytis in buds while you are trimming. It's easy to see the big patches, but most people don't realize that small spots can develop while drying and then more or less stop once the bud is dry enough and those can be hard to spot until you get a lung full of mold. I was over at a friend's house the other day helping him trim his Sweet Tooth plant (which looked really good) and I ended up finding 5 small patches of botrytis, which he could not see for the life of him. I had to show him under my scope-then he was horrified. Really observe it under a scope next time you find a patch-it looks totally unlike any normal cannabis bud structures-compare the threads/fuzz of botrytis to (and the signature grey color) a normal bud. Once you get used to looking at it, then trimming becomes a game of "Where's Waldo." Either trim under a bright light, or inspect EVERY SINGLE BUD under a bright light once you're done-those awesome nerdy desk magnifier lights on the adjustable arms/with a clamp work perfectly for this. After helping various people trim over many years, I know that botrytis is way more common than most growers think. I would hazard to guess that 3/4 of all grows have at least a small patch of Botrytis growing by the time trimming is done.
Click to expand...
This is a good point. I've spotted mold of some kind (botrytis or some kind of aspergillus) while trimming more times than I'd like to admit. Most of the time it's just a tiny spot here and there, nothing obvious like the webbing-filled colas or total meltdowns you see when you google "bud rot"... The lighted magnifier is a good suggestion. I always keep the scope handy when I'm breaking the buds down to jar, it's definitely obvious if you can catch it under the scope. If it's just a couple spots then I'll cut around it or remove the affected bud-lets, but I'm not above throwing out a whole cola if it's widespread or too much of a pain to trim around.

Now every time I see a pic of a big fat cola with a couple brown crispy leaves sticking out of it, my first thought is that there's patches of mold where they connect to the stem, even though the buds look great on the outside.
 
S

Stocazzed024

Member
Rurumo said:
It takes practice to spot botrytis in buds while you are trimming. It's easy to see the big patches, but most people don't realize that small spots can develop while drying and then more or less stop once the bud is dry enough and those can be hard to spot until you get a lung full of mold. I was over at a friend's house the other day helping him trim his Sweet Tooth plant (which looked really good) and I ended up finding 5 small patches of botrytis, which he could not see for the life of him. I had to show him under my scope-then he was horrified. Really observe it under a scope next time you find a patch-it looks totally unlike any normal cannabis bud structures-compare the threads/fuzz of botrytis to (and the signature grey color) a normal bud. Once you get used to looking at it, then trimming becomes a game of "Where's Waldo." Either trim under a bright light, or inspect EVERY SINGLE BUD under a bright light once you're done-those awesome nerdy desk magnifier lights on the adjustable arms/with a clamp work perfectly for this. After helping various people trim over many years, I know that botrytis is way more common than most growers think. I would hazard to guess that 3/4 of all grows have at least a small patch of Botrytis growing by the time trimming is done.
Click to expand...
Good evening, thank you for coming to my aid! Anyway, I cut on Saturday and my anxiety was due to the fact that I wanted to dry everything slowly and didn't want it to get out of hand. I ting you again for the advice, to tell you the truth every time I get to harvest time I maniacally look for any strange signs and to help me in my search I bought one of those usb microscopes so I could see the suspicious spots up close but this time they were just dark spots.
I have two things to ask you.... Aren't you afraid to come in contact with botrytis? I mean of bringing it home with you?
I'm probably too paranoid but whenever I know that some friend of mine is growing I try to have as little contact with it as possible so I don't bring parasites or spores into my home.
And the second thing, if you noticed these spots how would you act during the drying and curing process? Would you dry faster while also avoiding the curing process? I wouldn't want to have to give it up completely just for a few tops
 
S

Stocazzed024

Member
weedstoner420 said:
This is a good point. I've spotted mold of some kind (botrytis or some kind of aspergillus) while trimming more times than I'd like to admit. Most of the time it's just a tiny spot here and there, nothing obvious like the webbing-filled colas or total meltdowns you see when you google "bud rot"... The lighted magnifier is a good suggestion. I always keep the scope handy when I'm breaking the buds down to jar, it's definitely obvious if you can catch it under the scope. If it's just a couple spots then I'll cut around it or remove the affected bud-lets, but I'm not above throwing out a whole cola if it's widespread or too much of a pain to trim around.

Now every time I see a pic of a big fat cola with a couple brown crispy leaves sticking out of it, my first thought is that there's patches of mold where they connect to the stem, even though the buds look great on the outside.
Click to expand...
And when you find these little spots of rot, what do you do? I'm confused about what to do about the curing...I'm afraid that the whole curing process will lead to me developing mold that hadn't developed in the suspect tops. Basically...in your opinion is it better to dry them out properly by going below 54% in the jar? skipping all the rehydration and polymerization process
 
Rurumo

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
Stocazzed024 said:
Good evening, thank you for coming to my aid! Anyway, I cut on Saturday and my anxiety was due to the fact that I wanted to dry everything slowly and didn't want it to get out of hand. I ting you again for the advice, to tell you the truth every time I get to harvest time I maniacally look for any strange signs and to help me in my search I bought one of those usb microscopes so I could see the suspicious spots up close but this time they were just dark spots.
I have two things to ask you.... Aren't you afraid to come in contact with botrytis? I mean of bringing it home with you?
I'm probably too paranoid but whenever I know that some friend of mine is growing I try to have as little contact with it as possible so I don't bring parasites or spores into my home.
And the second thing, if you noticed these spots how would you act during the drying and curing process? Would you dry faster while also avoiding the curing process? I wouldn't want to have to give it up completely just for a few tops
Click to expand...
I inspect my primary colas for budrot throughout flower, all the way through to trimming, and I just cut it out when I see it. When I see it in flower, I make sure I cut out enough, and I'm sure I waste good bud in the process. When I see it while drying/curing, I usually just toss that bud and move on, I don't alter anything else. Since I'm always looking for it, I end up not losing much of my yield overall. I do regular IPM through veg, and I keep a hepa filter running in my lung room-I think those are the best prevention for the average grower. The reactive oxygen generators work very well for commercial growers, but you don't want one in your bedroom!
 
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