GroErr
Well-Known Member
PM or Powdery Mildew is classified as a fungus. It is a pain in the ass because unlike most fungi/moulds it doesn't need obvious conditions like wet/humid/dark places, it thrives in light, cold and even what you'd consider dry conditions. It's travels fast when airborne so once it hits, your fans transfer it to your whole grow. I've seen it many times, including outdoors which is where I'd grown for many years before going indoor last year.
If you catch it early and stay on top of it, it's relatively easy to manage and keep it from spreading. If left alone, it can take over your grow in a matter of days and spread to your buds, making them useless (unless you like smoking or ingesting mould).
There are all kinds of sprays, many commercial products are sulphur-based, problem is it contaminates your buds and I don't like the idea of smoking sulphur
Once it starts, it's pretty well impossible to kill while your grow is going. Anything that kills it will kill or destroy your crop. So the only thing you can do is try to catch it early, stop it from spreading, and manage it until harvest. After that, indoor, you need to thoroughly clean (I'll be using diluted bleach) your room, instruments, anything that may have come in contact with it.
If you haven't seen it, it can initially look like something minor like spots from over-spray when watering, but it quickly spreads and turns into a whitish/grayish cover on your leaves. It's a bitch and can be easily overlooked until it's too late. If your buds get it, about the only thing you can do to be safe (e.g not smoke it) is turn it into extracts (oil, hash).
For whatever reason, plain old MILK has something in it that will manage it (as long as it hadn't gotten out of control), spraying the plants down, adding a bit of dish soap in the mix (helps it stick), about once/week will control it and keep it from spreading further. It's unknown why it works, not a lot of scientific studies on it. But it has been used by many for years and considered an effective and safe way to deal with it.
I use about 15% mix of Skim (0% fat) milk, a teaspoon of soap and filtered water. Seems to work well, as long as you do it about once/week until harvest. Reason I use skim is there's no benefit in the fat, and fattier milk seems to smell when it dries. The skim milk has no smell to speak of. I spray the plants down on some garbage bags to catch the drips, let them soak for about 10 minutes, shake off any pooling and stick them back in.
If you catch it early and stay on top of it, it's relatively easy to manage and keep it from spreading. If left alone, it can take over your grow in a matter of days and spread to your buds, making them useless (unless you like smoking or ingesting mould).
There are all kinds of sprays, many commercial products are sulphur-based, problem is it contaminates your buds and I don't like the idea of smoking sulphur
Once it starts, it's pretty well impossible to kill while your grow is going. Anything that kills it will kill or destroy your crop. So the only thing you can do is try to catch it early, stop it from spreading, and manage it until harvest. After that, indoor, you need to thoroughly clean (I'll be using diluted bleach) your room, instruments, anything that may have come in contact with it.
If you haven't seen it, it can initially look like something minor like spots from over-spray when watering, but it quickly spreads and turns into a whitish/grayish cover on your leaves. It's a bitch and can be easily overlooked until it's too late. If your buds get it, about the only thing you can do to be safe (e.g not smoke it) is turn it into extracts (oil, hash).
For whatever reason, plain old MILK has something in it that will manage it (as long as it hadn't gotten out of control), spraying the plants down, adding a bit of dish soap in the mix (helps it stick), about once/week will control it and keep it from spreading further. It's unknown why it works, not a lot of scientific studies on it. But it has been used by many for years and considered an effective and safe way to deal with it.
I use about 15% mix of Skim (0% fat) milk, a teaspoon of soap and filtered water. Seems to work well, as long as you do it about once/week until harvest. Reason I use skim is there's no benefit in the fat, and fattier milk seems to smell when it dries. The skim milk has no smell to speak of. I spray the plants down on some garbage bags to catch the drips, let them soak for about 10 minutes, shake off any pooling and stick them back in.