Inspect your Live Plants!
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When transplanting a rooted plant into your BLOOM, be sure to inspect it thoroughly for unwanted mold, mildew or pests. It is very important to spot and eliminate potential threats to your young plant otherwise they can compromise the whole growth cycle. If there is a pre-developed issue that is allowed to flourish unseen, it will be difficult to combat and in the long run, very challenging to clean the system of the now established organism.
What to look for and where:
When a rooted plant that is ready to be transplanted into your BLOOM, inspect it from top to bottom.
Starting with the leaves to stem:
Make sure there is no white powdery looking mildew, webs or larva on top and UNDER the leaves. Pay careful attention to the bottom side of the leaves near the veins. Dormant pests may have laid their eggs there waiting for the proper environment to hatch and colonize. These eggs are surprisingly small and hard to see. Look for any spider-like webbing or mildew on the tops of the leaves and in between the leaves and stem.Roots:
Transplanting hydroponically grown plants is beneficial to reduce the amount of vegetation time between flower cycles. Make sure the roots look healthy, strong, and white in color. Beware of root rot, which will look brown and slimy.If you find any of these do not put the plant in the BLOOM. Quarantine it with IPM (integrated pest management) strategies or start over if it is obviously infested.
Photo of spider mites on tomato plant, just so you know what you're up against!
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From personal experience, I have gotten cuttings (clones) from friends without either parties knowledge of powdery mildew. Some strains are more receptive to the fungi then others. That being said it can thrive in the right environments laying dormant. Beware of any leaves that look like this ^
Spores become airborne when disturbed so be careful not to allow them in the Bloom environment.
An organic remedy is a sulfur foliar spray which coats the leaves and effects the ph making it inhabitable for the fungi to live.
If you have a clean clone, the BLOOM will provide the perfect temperature, humidity and air flow to deter spore colonization.