Bagseed flower bud.... fingers smell like ammonia after touching it. Normal?

I read that, when cured, ammonia smell is sign of mold... Could I have moldy buds? and ifso.. is it unsalvageable.. I'm still about 2 weeks from harvest.

And heres a pic fer' the curious

http://www.picwizz.c...d/8265-1309.JPG

Strange, those plants look beautiful.

Quite Beautiful plants, Do you happen to have a Magnifying glass? If so, cut a bud off and use the magnifying glass to Search for any signs of mold. If not, go check Radio Shack for this:

Illuminated Microscope - RadioShack.com

It's a really helpful 60-100x magnifier with LED, It's really helpful and could find any bad things on your buds.

your Bud could be saved if you trim out small affected areas either bud/plant, If you happen to have alot of mold on your buds, throw away the moldy ones and search the buds on the plant and try to cut out the affected areas because mold can spread like a wild fire. But i would recommend throwing it away if it has mold,it's really toxic to inhale and can cause problems.

Edited by Sweet69, 15 May 2012 - 05:03 AM.

I read that, when cured, ammonia smell is sign of mold... Could I have moldy buds? and ifso.. is it unsalvageable.. I'm still about 2 weeks from harvest.

Strange, those look very healthy. Look INSIDE the bud - if you see a whitish mass, kind of like dust or a tight mass of webs, it's mold. But usually, the bud shows deterioration, hairs shriveling, etc.
I have read of one strain that smell like cat piss, nobody liked it for that reason, but can't remember what the strain was.
When you are curing, that ammonia smell is a sure sign you haven't dried enough before curing. This can be reversed; open it up, air it out, then go back to curing when the smell dissipates.
But you say you're two weeks from harvest... do all the buds smell that way? Little popcorn buds on the bottom as well?

do all the buds smell that way? Little popcorn buds on the bottom as well?

Yus, But only from touching it. The smell is only ever noticeable after squeezing a bud & smelling the stickyness. Its not like this smell is wafting off the plants.



@Sweet69

I recently purchased that same pocket microscope.

Not mold, not if you're squeezing buds... you'd notice the affected areas. Ventilation and circulation on 24/0 in late flower goes a long way towards preventing mold.

I agree with Not Sure. You're probably just experiencing a different strain - something with a lemon or pine aroma can fool you while it's green. Read up on drying and curing & my money says you'll be just fine.
I think I got a thread we did on drying and curing too, will see if I can find it.

Well, that was easy, check this out for a head start on drying and curing. Covers the quick basics, which should help you absorb more as you continue your reading:

http://forum.grassci...ml#post14399598