Possible Mold!

[JewishLumberjack]

Hey everyone, I've got a Shishkaberry 2 weeks from harvest which I think might have some mold on it. I would post a picture, but I can't get a picture that you can clearly see the spots in question. Even up close, it's very faint (if mold, it's not been there long).

Doing my daily check on the girls, I noticed a faint white frost that seems to cover small areas. When I dug in to investigate, I encountered some offcolor, underdeveloped and furry seedpods. I can only see 2 small spots (and 2 seed pods), but am afraid there is much more lurking deeper within the bud. I've never had a plant herm, so I'm not sure what to expect!

Once I get a picture up:
1) Is it mold, or from the seeds forming?
2) Assuming it is mold, should I harvest her now and begin drying (maybe stopping the progression)?
3) Is there any saving the bud? (after stopping the progression, cut afflicted areas out?)
3b) All of the questionable spots have been in the massive (4 inch circumference, massive for my history!) top nug. Would the lower branches still be viable for harvest?

Additional information which may or may not be useful:
I have 3 osculating fans, the biggest of which is closest to this plant and even aimed at the height of where the spots are located.
All the other plants show no signs of possible mold.
I recently had a attack of Caterpillar (long stick looking bastards, about 20 of em mostly found on a different plant).

 

[Smokedawg12]

What is your humidity at? Put some pics up so we can see the problem I'm sure one of the more advanced growers know some techniques.

 

[JewishLumberjack]

What is your humidity at? Put some pics up so we can see the problem I'm sure one of the more advanced growers know some techniques.

Humidity is currently at 74, but has been as high as 85. There is unfortunately little I do can about this due to where I live. I had hoped with the 3 fans (each at a different height osculating) and my inline blower would be enough to prevent mold.

Unfortunately, my camera is not of high enough quality to give anything close enough without blurring. Backing out far enough for it to focus, it's indistinguishable from the crystals on the bud.

 

[JewishLumberjack]

I dug into the cola to try to figure out what I'm working with. It looks like very small portions around the bud have bud rot, and the mold it forming on the rotting tissue. I chopped the top cola off and ripped apart the bud to find the infected spots. The bud rot does not seem to be very far, but there are a lot of blackish hairs and very slightly discolored tissue.

My new questions are:
1) How to tell how far the bud rot has spread?
The hairs on a lot of areas are very dark almost black, but the bud is mostly green. I can see on some pieces half of the bud the hair is a normal amber color, where the other half is the darker black hairs, but the bud remains a consistent color. Should I just discard any bud sections + a little extra where the hair is not amber?

2) Can I wash the mold off? The mold is VERY underdeveloped across the whole bud, with just faint wispy webs around the heavily rotted areas. It was my hope to gently run it through some free standing water to wash the mold off (after removing the rotted tissue).

3) Would cooking be a better solution? I really don't want to smoke even slightly tainted bud. After some of the steps above, could I cook the buds into butter without risk?

 

[slob]

if its mold be sure to throw away affected bud, its understandable that you dont wanna throw out weed but have you ever smoked moldy weed? not likely or would have thrown it away and never started this thread.
you can get sick (sometimes VERY sick, ie: projectile vomiting and/or severe stomach cramps) and at best it will leave a horrid taste in your mouth that will take a day to get rid of. The taste alone makes wolverine piss taste like champagne
count your losses and get rid of it
a dehumidifier is a good idea, 85% humidity is just asking for trouble

 

[hrpufnstuf76]

No... no washing this will cause more mold-cut it away completly-Sounds like mold-you need to get rid of them or they will spread-have you been spraying /misting you plants at night??

 

[JewishLumberjack]

No I have not been spraying my plants at night due to the already high humidity. As previously stated, I cut away the infected top cola, and dug out the areas that were covered with mold and tossed it. Now I am left with green bud.

The remaining green bud is about 50% normal hair, and 50% with the dark black hairs. Are the buds with normal looking hair salvageable?

 

[JewishLumberjack]

Slob,

It doesn't seem like the mold had a chance to spread very far, I caught it pretty quick. The entire nug was 6inch by 4in(widest). I removed two 3/4 inch zones which were infected. About half of the remaining bud has black hairs with green bud, and the other half normal amber hairs. Are you sure the entire bud is no longer viable? Hate to waste all of what would have been my fattest nug.

 

[slob]

ok if only a small area is affected then cut it off and flush it down the toilet. Unaffected areas of the bud will be fine to smoke but be careful and double check that there is not any mold on it. You will know if its moldy as soon as the smoke hits your throat when you inhale. Its nauseating.
moisture and lower temps are perfect environments for mold.
dry out your bud really good and break it up a bit to make sure there is no remaining mold. I think you will be fine partner! Good luck

 

[JewishLumberjack]

Alright thanks everyone for the feedback. I've cut away everything that is even remotely questionable, plus another half inch into what appears to be completely normal bud. Looking over what I have left, I think I should be safe.

Thanks again for all the help.