Just ordered some which arrived. They seem to have some sort of mold on them. I'm new to this, is it normal?

Are you sure it's mould, not just weird fuzz...?? If they were dried properly, I don't see how they'd be moldy. If it actually is a bit of mould, scrap it off, then empty the seeds out. If there's mould, and mould spores inside, you could have problems. If not, make sure it's all rinsed off and hopefully the boiling water you use in tea should destroy the spores.

I can't see this being as potentially dangerous as smoking mould.... get rid of as much as you can, grind them up and then make tea with the pods. perhaps boil for a few minutes before you just let them simmer, just so the heat kills off any shit?

Thanks. I'm not certain its mold. I havent looked at any on the inside yet, but the outsides of all of them seem to have like a whiteish film, for lack of a better description. This film washes off. Are you saying the film is normal? I've been reading about mold on pods and it seems pretty dangerous. I dont want to take any chances. If someone could post photos of normal vs. abnormal pods (inside and outside) that would be very helpful.

With the price of pods I would just wash em off and make some tea,

I'd normally agree. But then I read this.

http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=225526

Moldy pods scare me. :(

Film on the outside is normal just wipe it off. The mold issue is black mold on the inside of the pod, that will make u sick. And while you can kill a spore with boiling water the endotoxin from the spore is still there.

This man knows the score.

Thanks guys. Are there any indication a pod might be bad by looking at the outside? It does seem to be the "coffee ground" effect on the inside that scares people the most. Some of my pods are just rather ugly - with splotches and whatnot. What about little black dots surrounding the base?

why hasnt anyone said "pics?" yet?
it would help out alot in this situation

You can think of opium like it's the poppy's blood and those dark spots as bruises. It's a good thing. Occasionally the pod will get nicked when it's still alive and opium will come out in small amounts, and by the time you get it it looks like little black sticky dots on the outside. I've never had a white film on the outside of my pods and honestly I'd be really worried if I got a batch like that. Pictures would be helpful.

Yeah, I have a buddy coming over tonight that has a camera. I'll get him to take some photos. Thanks guys.

The mold will be on the inside, SWIM has eaten many a pod with off color exterior. If it is dusty and black/brown on the inside, toss it out. I've heard/read that the mold takes over after the pods have been harvested, not that that is important information or anything.

If most of the pods are really moldy just e-mail your supply and let them know that your batch was quite inadequate for your floral arrangements.

Here's some pics. I dont know if you can see the "film" im speaking of. I basically just want to know if these look normal.



http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/79/img0516121qh3.jpg

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/5955/img0517221aj0.jpg

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2257/img0518321tj5.jpg

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/1593/img0519421ii7.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6255/img0520521bm5.jpg

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/9107/img0521621po2.jpg

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/4575/img0522721hq1.jpg

Poppies grow best in a sandy environment, and really that just looks like white sandy dust. If it rinses off I'd go ahead and use them. The inside looks absolutely fine, when it gets moldy on the inside it gets this disgusting black fuzz all over it. Sometimes the poppy will get punctured or otherwise damaged when its still alive and the inner chamber will get coated with opium, which will be black and look kind of fuzzy since its covered with seeds. Opium smells delicious. Mold will make you want to puke. As long as your nose works properly, it's really easy to tell the difference.

I just made some tea myself, and my pods have the same crap on them. I never even noticed before, lol.

Thanks to everyone. I appreciate the input. (Especially You ^^). Cheers.