Fungi and Disease Prevention

Marijuana Horticulture

by Jorge Cervantes

Prevention is the first step and the true key to fungi control. Cover the carpet with white Visqueen plastic. If mold should surface on the walls, spray with fungicide. Wash walls with a five percent bleach solution or Pinesol (made from natural pine oil) and apply paint that contains a fungus-inhibiting agent.

Specially designed paints for damp conditions contain a fungicide and are attracted by moisture. When applied to a damp, cracked basement wall, the paint is drawn into the moist crack. Remove all mold from the walls by washing it with fungus-resistant paint. Cleanliness and climate control are the keys t preventing fungi. Few clean, well ventilated grow rooms have problems with fungi. In contrast, every dingy, dank, ill-kept indoor garden I have seen had fungal problems and yielded a substandard harvest.

Install a vent fan large enough to remove moist air quickly and keep humidity at 50 percent or less. A vent fan is the easiest and least expensive humidity control device available. CO2 generators produce humidity increasing water vapor as a by-product. Dehumidifiers draw extra electricity, and the condensed water must be removed daily. Wood, coal, and electric heat all dry and dehumidify the air. Most air conditioners can be set to a specific humidity level. if the grow rooms have a central heating / air conditioning vent, the vent can be opened to control temperature and lower humidity.