How to Remove Powdery Mildew from Buds after Harvest

When you have powdery mildew on your plants it’s much easier to remove it during the vegetative stage. 

You can easily remove the infected leaves. 

Separate the infected plants and try to fix the cause before you switch to flower stage.

Once you hit the flower stage. It becomes very difficult to remove powdery mildew spores from the infected buds.

Removing the powdery mildew from buds after harvest may be your only choice.

In this post we will briefly go over prevention. Then we will cover how to remove powdery mildew from buds after harvest.

There is a method of bud washing that can remove powdery mildew from infected plants.

How to prevent powdery mildew on cannabis plants

It’s hard to control powdery mildew. Because it is a fungal disease and spreads quickly from touch or with air movement.

You may be able to prevent powdery mildew on marijuna plants by doing the following:

1. Avoid High humidity in grow room or outdoors (if possible)
2. Have enough air movement for marijuana plants
3. Have enough space between plants
4. Remove fan leaves or other infected leaves as soon as you notice white powder
5. Source clones or younger plants from reliable source

How to stop powdery mildew

There are ways to stop powdery mildew before it gets to the infected buds.

It’s best to stop the spores early on in the vegatative cycle.

You can check out the post for more details on how to get rid of powdery mildew on cannabis plants.

Some ways before harvest time are:

• Apple cider vinegar
• Baking soda
• Neem Oil 
• Banish
• Green Cure Fungicide

How to remove powdery mildew from buds after harvest

The best time to remove powdery mildew from buds is at harvest time. 

You can do a bud washing to remove the white powdery mildew on harvest day with wet trim.

It feels a little strange to write about this but I have seen it done by the legendary Jorge Cervantes. 

So I will say you may be able to remove some of the fungal disease off the buds before drying.

This can be beneficial if you notice you have powdery mildew on your cannabis buds in the late flower stage. 

What about all of the trichomes ? Supposedly they remain.

Here’s how it’s done:

It’s really easy and all you need is, 

• Tap Water or R.O. water
• H2O2  ( hydrogen peroxide 3% solution) 
• 2 Bins, Container or buckets for water at least 5 gallon size
• Drying Rack of some kind 
• Fan

Ratio for a H2O2 ( hydrogen peroxide 3% solution)  bath for powdery mildew is about 1.2-1.6 oz. per gallon. 

You put 6-8 oz of hydrogen peroxide in the bucket and then put in 5 gallons of water roughly.

Mix it around.

Next, fill your other bucket with water.

Then place your newly harvested weed branches with white powdery mildew into the first bucket. 

Let them sit in the hydrogen peroxide bath for 3 to 5 minutes.

You will see the powdery mildew spores move to the top of the water, then skim the top of the water to take the scum out.

You could use a sponge or cloth.

Take the washed buds out of the hydrogen peroxide water GENTLY . 

Then simply dunk them into the second bucket for a clean water bath.

Jorge uses a hose. I would just use only a water bath.

Next Hang the cleaned branches of washed buds on a rack.

Place a fan in front and let it air dry.

Make sure the wet trim is dry before hanging to dry in your designated dry room or tent.

Check out the video to see how Jorge does it,

Final Thoughts on bud washing

Powdery mildew is the worst fungal diseases that can affect cannabis plants.

It’s better to prevent powdery mildew from happening. 

Then dealing with the fungal pathogens as the disease spreads. 

If cannabis growers can remove the infected leaves or infected plant before harvest time. Or treat the fungal infection with various sprays and fungicides.

You will not have to resort to washing marijuana buds.

If you do it is relatively easy to do a bud washing as your harvesting process on the affected plants.