I have been advised to use neem oil as a mold preventative; however I’m getting conflicting information. I have been told I can use neem oil up to seven days before harvest. On the other hand, I have been told not to use anything on the buds as this can actually contribute to botrytis. If that is the case is rain likely to cause bud rot? I’m open to second, third and fourth opinions. please help.
When I grow outside I anticipate some of the buds will need to be snipped as a cost of doing business outside. It doesn’t always happen. I don’t like the idea of smoking any pesticides so I hand pluck my caterpillars instead of spraying them while in flower. There are growers who use Captain Jacks Dead Bug as a preventative measure.
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I’m not worried about insects as much as botrytis. I have almost an infestation of lady bugs in my back yard. I have seen a few praying mantis. I would hate to lose my high dollar investment (I call it high dollar cause I’m po) to bud rot. Thanks for all your advice Fieldofdreams. I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me a lot.
I’m not a fan of putting anything on the buds. Good air flow is going to be a plant best friend against mold.
Good luck 
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Caterpillar poop is a leading cause of bud rot so stay vigilant. They hide within the flower structure and come out to eat the fan leaves. Their waste gets rained on and mold starts from within.
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I thought lady bugs was what you want to have an infestation of. I thought they are all the unwanted pest .
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Ladybugs eat the things that eat your plant.
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That’s what I thought to, kinda like releasing predator mites like warehouse and dispensary growers do
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I didn’t mean to suggest ladybugs are a bad thing. I just have hundreds of them in my yard and home. I have seen praying mantis also.
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So do praying mantis, I read,
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Sierra naturals is another good product to help with fighting mold. It is considered safe to use in flowering, but as always recommended, wash your flowers at harvest.
As other have mentioned, growing outside you can anticipate to lose some regardless. Some growers get lucky some years and don’t have any mold to fight with. Other times it gets decimated.
Wet weather when combined with cooler weather, evaporation doesn’t happen as fast as it does in the midday sun. This increases the chances for mold and rot. Good air flow, and if possible keeping the plant dry during the rainy periods will reduce the chances of mold.
I’ve seen growers build temporary tents to keep them dry, until they’re ready to harvest, or they chop a little early to save what they can once mold is discovered.
Know the difference
Pick mold resistant strains. Outdoor must if you don’t live in the drought bowls. It is the by far the largest trait I pick for. I have found most indica leaning stuff gets too dense for its own good. Great for cold resistance to frost, bad for mold resistance. I can’t tell you how many times I have grown a fat beautiful indica bud, only to have it become a fuzzy brown stick of botrytis Labor Day weekend. Bubba kush, granddaddypurple I am talking to you. This always happens as soon as the humidity bumps up due to cooler nights. Start of the morning dew season.
Stick to hybrids and sativas. An overly ripened Sativa will give you the same couch lock as an indica in my humble opinion. Thinner better spaced nugs for moisture (rh) and rain. Also, actual spacers help. Stick cut up popsicle sticks as shims (or old dry woody cannastem pieces) to splay out the buds as they get fatter. Think LST splaying them out.
Anyway, I have had repeated success with:
Durban poison (good old dependable)
Blue berry
Jillybean
Cherry soda (old TGA strain) hybrids (cherry strains)
Dutch treat
Train wreck
Sour diesel (most say it molds) I have found it to be
lovely in the rain
Strawberry cough (takes the rain, but is slow to finish. Doesn’t strawberry up till the last few weeks).
Skip landrace sativas. They take way too long. Done those too. Did some slow as F*** Grinspoon during my Sativa landrace kick. Also, the only indica that did well for me outdoor was SanFernando valley og. It was one big bud and took the rain like a champ. That was a one off win though. Mostly indica failure horror stories in the rain.
Best mold resistance I have ever seen, in a class of its own, was the dj short blueberry. Here it is budding in 3 weeks straight of seattle rain. Unreal mold resistance.
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I want one, where did you get those old genetics? I will trade you an Ace of Spades for a DSB. ;o) Beautiful plant growmie.
You can find his seeds at seedsherenow. They ship out of Eugene Oregon. It’s my other favorite seed site besides ILGM.
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Neem seems to work it’s way inside the buds as such many have switched to products that are oil based most use soybean oil rosemary oil etc. I’ve tried two new products, one was invented by the university of Washington called Instant Mite Killer and the other is called Green Cleaner both worked great on powdery mildew and mold.
The main problem with Neem oil is people use it during the heat of summer in daylight hours and it burns the leaves up.
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Are Asian beetles a bad thing?
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Yes they are. They eat plants and they bite.
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Sounds allot like me 
I eat plants and I bite to. 
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