Musty Smell From Buds

Hi,

This question comes up in other threads but I'm curious to see if anyone has any more info to share!

I am on my third grow now, having been unsuccessful with my first two grows. My first two grows, I threw out the plants near the end of their flowering stage because I noticed a musty smell coming from them (and less frequently, from the tent itself).

Now that I'm on my third grow, at least one of my plants has the musty smell again. I'm wondering if I'm being paranoid because it's my first time(s) growing, so I don't know what growing buds smell like! I'm wondering if I threw away my first two grows unnecessarily

So here's some more info:

-I keep the RH between 40-45%, although in early flower it was in between 45-60% (because I didn't know much about humidity levels then, may have been too high?)
-Growing mostly-Indicas
-Temperatures sometimes creep too high (27 degrees Celsius) but I've been keeping them lower now (23-26 C)
-have an AC Infinity S6 for exhaust but kept on low setting (2/8 due to noise levels)
-AC Infinity T6 for intake but kept on low setting (2/8 due to noise levels)
-Two fans: One oscillating, one not, each one on for 12 hours a day so one fan is always on, day or night
-Soil does not smell musty, only some of the buds
-Have not seen any signs of mildew or mold that I know of (no powdery-looking stuff on plants or soil)
-I looked inside a few buds to see near the stalk. No signs of mold that I know of.

So what do you all think? Does weed when it's growing just smell musty? Or am I getting hit with mildew or mold repeatedly?

Thank you!

EDIT:

A bit more info:


I'm growing autoflowers exclusively, at the moment I've got Lemon Pie CBD, Peachy CBD, and NL #5. The Peachy CBD is the one with the musty smell.
-Pots are one-gallon fabric pots
-I think I've been careful with the watering (only watering when first few inches of soil are completely dry, and soil further down is quite dry as well.

First question - have you ever grown anything before? Are you experienced with plants indoors or outdoors?

I do have houseplants and have gardened in the past!

My first cannabis crops were definitely a lesson in proper watering: I definitely overwatered my first plants, and maybe the second set of plants. I've been very careful this time around with watering though.

GKM420 said:

I do have houseplants and have gardened in the past!

My first cannabis crops were definitely a lesson in proper watering: I definitely overwatered my first plants, and maybe the second set of plants. I've been very careful this time around with watering though.

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When you say musty are you sure it’s not just plant life and medium you’re smelling?

He's got a good point, do you know what flowering cannabis plants should smell like? They can have a range of funky odors, but they shouldn't smell like straight up mold. I can see how someone might make that mistake though.

Stop throwing out plants and finish a few harvest
If you aren't familiar pre 98 Bubba has a musty smell and taste somewhat coffee like
But it smells musty
So not sure you're making progress stopping a grow
Also I hope you aren't doing what I saw someone else do and growing other plants alongside your weed

My first thought is inadequate ventilation/air movement

Thanks, this is exactly what I'm wondering-Is this what weed just smells like? I wish you all could smell it over the Internet somehow.

Herb & Suds said:

Stop throwing out plants and finish a few harvest
If you aren't familiar pre 98 Bubba has a musty smell and taste somewhat coffee like
But it smells musty
So not sure you're making progress stopping a grow
Also I hope you aren't doing what I saw someone else do and growing other plants alongside your weed

My first thought is inadequate ventilation/air movement

Click to expand...

I think my air ventilation/air movement is decent...I don't know for sure though because I'm a newbie.

You're right in that I should stop throwing plants away and just see what happens. I'm a bit paranoid because I grow in my house with my family around and don't want to risk their health. Maybe there's nothing wrong at all though.

EDIT:

No, there's no other plants in the tent, just cannabis plants.

GKM420 said:

I think my air ventilation/air movement is decent...I don't know for sure though because I'm a newbie.

You're right in that I should stop throwing plants away and just see what happens. I'm a bit paranoid because I grow in my house with my family around and don't want to risk their health. Maybe there's nothing wrong at all though.

EDIT:

No, there's no other plants in the tent, just cannabis plants.

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Your family is safe
Same as your other garden

Thanks! Assuming it's not mold, will the musty smell eventually go away?

Assuming I see no signs of bud rot, mildew, etc. I guess I should assume all is well? I will let my girls finish as long as no obvious signs of mold appear. Don't want to waste anymore seeds/work.

GKM420 said:

Thanks! Assuming it's not mold, will the musty smell eventually go away?

Assuming I see no signs of bud rot, mildew, etc. I guess I should assume all is well? I will let my girls finish as long as no obvious signs of mold appear. Don't want to waste anymore seeds/work.

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Everything changes after harvest
Like someone mentioned you might be smelling your soil or need more air holes in your pots...

Edit: not sure if I mentioned it but Welcome to RIU

Herb & Suds said:

Everything changes after harvest
Like someone mentioned you might be smelling your soil or need more air holes in your pots...

Edit: not sure if I mentioned it but Welcome to RIU

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As far as I can tell, the soil smells totally fine...the pots are fabric, so I probably shouldn't poke any holes in them, unless that might help.

Thanks! I've posted here a few times and everyone has been super-helpful so far. Definitely appreciated

GKM420 said:

I do have houseplants and have gardened in the past!

My first cannabis crops were definitely a lesson in proper watering: I definitely overwatered my first plants, and maybe the second set of plants. I've been very careful this time around with watering though.

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How did you over water if you dont mind my asking?

Yeah they can smell like a skunk mixed with some strong cheese, dirty laundry and baby shit. It's lovely. You probably threw away perfectly good weed 2 times.

TeeRogers said:

How did you over water if you dont mind my asking?

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Well, I think my main problem was watering too frequently. I wouldn't pick up the pot and compare it to (my memory of) a dry pot of soil, for example. I think I was too worried about the lights being hot and drying out the plants.

In retrospect, based off what people are saying here, they maybe weren't moldy at all and I just wasn't used to the smell of growing cannabis. I realized they were being overwatered based on the typical signs (leaves drooping, that sort of thing).

Skuxx said:

Yeah they can smell like a skunk mixed with some strong cheese, dirty laundry and baby shit. It's lovely. You probably threw away perfectly good weed 2 times.

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Argh, it hurts to hear that but at least I know now to run them till the end! Guess I just didn't know that cannabis plants smell funky while growing, at least some of them. One thing that worried me is they were different strains but the buds had that musty, funky smell I was mentioning. Kind of assumed they would all smell really different.

GKM420 said:

Argh, it hurts to hear that but at least I know now to run them till the end! Guess I just didn't know that cannabis plants smell funky while growing, at least some of them. One thing that worried me is they were different strains but the buds had that musty, funky smell I was mentioning. Kind of assumed they would all smell really different.

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When I really want to pick up the distinct smells, I squeeze the trichomes on a sugar leaf and then smell my finger.... It felt weird typing "smell my finger" but anyway, it works.

Ha ha, yeah I know what you mean!

Good idea, I'll try your method and see what my nose can pick up.

Skuxx said:

When I really want to pick up the distinct smells, I squeeze the trichomes on a sugar leaf and then smell my finger.... It felt weird typing "smell my finger" but anyway, it works.

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Yeah, so I tried rubbing the sugar leaves (gently) and wow, what a powerful but nice smell! Good call; it didn't smell musty at all-just smelled like strong weed!

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to follow-up and let you know the plants turned out great! I kept the air moving with a few fans and the AC Infinity inline fan. Got 3 ounces from a 3-gallon and 2 x 1-gallon buckets. Not impressive for many here but for my first successful grow I was more than happy! Thanks for all the advice!