Things to do before harvest

[HighonaMountain]

hey everybody. i just wanted to see if i could get a little coversation about techniques that help before harvesting. i have read about stopping nutes a week before and just using plain phd water, also i have read about a dark period before chopping down but i don't know anything about that, how long or whatever. Any experiences with these techniques or any others are what we need to discuss....Let me know what u guys think:thumbsup:

[Italiano715]

hey everybody. i just wanted to see if i could get a little coversation about techniques that help before harvesting. i have read about stopping nutes a week before and just using plain phd water, also i have read about a dark period before chopping down but i don't know anything about that, how long or whatever. Any experiences with these techniques or any others are what we need to discuss....Let me know what u guys think:thumbsup:

I stopped feeding my ladies nutes at three weeks before harvest, as I only gave it ph corrected water and molasses for 2 weeks then I didn't water at all the last week before harvest to pre-dry the bud to speed up the drying process...Dried them pretty well in about 4-5 days.

Also, I have heard of putting your plants in a dark period before flowering, but never before harvest! I don't think it would do anything before harvest, but then again I could be wrong!

[Rusty Trichome]

I generally use the "I need room, so you're outta here" method of chosing when to harvest, but other than a mini-flush a day or two prior to harvest...I do nothing special.

Keep in mind, as you pick-n-choose harvest techniques...that there are shitloads of 'old wives tales' that are generally benign. They won't really damage your ladies, but they don't help, either. Folklore was, in the old days, a farmers' replacement for knowledge.

Stuff like 3 days of darkness before harvest...Restricting all of the plants energy (the light) is thought-of as a way to increase trichomes. Really? Trichomes produce the compounds that are the active ingredient in cannabis smoke. They (trichomes) grow in response to light, as a defense against the light. (especially UVB) If you cut the light, you cut the production of trichomes, and by extention, the thc and cbn. Why the fuck would you quit just before the finish line? Look at your skin. See all the pores? What this technique is trying to say is...that darkness will increase the numbers of pores per square inch, in your skin. Does this sound legit...? It shouldn't...because it's not. The strain's genetics told that leaf how many pores per square inch to produce, and restricting light for a couple of days is not going to change this.

Flushing the nutrients out of the plant is another. You can flush from now till mid-term elections, and not be able to flush the nutes out of a plant. I believe the idea started-out as flushing the soil, (a normal and proper technique) and digressed into a biologically stupid technique. Keep in mind, you can restrict nutrient uptake, but trying to flush them from the plant is unlikely at best, harmful and damaging at worst.

And my favorite...waiting till Scorpio leaves Saturn before harvest. Planet-allignment theology is a man-made phenomenon that plants are unaffected by. (nobody has let them in on the joke) And I don't remember ever talking to one, but I'm positive that the etherial gods couldn't care less when you planted or when you harvest. They care more about how and where you planted, feeding and light schedules, and other proper gardening techniques.

Finally...coffee is ready. HAGD :thumbsup:

[HighonaMountain]

hey thanks a lot for the posts guys. yeah i always thought that the dark period before harvest sounded like BS. i probably will stop nutes just a week before or something just to conserve nutes. hey rusty i used the soil syrup bout a week ago and the ladies seem to really love it, thanks for the tip! so if anyone can think of any other pre-harvest techniques post em here!!!

[Rusty Trichome]

Hanging upside-down after harvest is another 'technique' that's misunderstood by some. Hanging upside down draws the moisture twords the buds, and some folks (me included) used to think that this would increase (trap) the plants resins, resulting in a stronger product. (1970's) All it does, though...is to slow the dryout process. (a precursor to curing)

[HighonaMountain]

so when i hang the buds on string in the dark closet i should try and tie the branches right side up?

[Italiano715]

I usually hang them upside down for the sole purpose that it is a convenient way to dry the bud. You could put them on a steel rack and let them dry that way if you don't want to hang them. I mean it's really what is more convenient for yourself!

[HighonaMountain]

yeah italiano thats what i've seen. we'll see i still have a few weeks to decide

[Rusty Trichome]

I usually hang them upside down for the sole purpose that it is a convenient way to dry the bud. You could put them on a steel rack and let them dry that way if you don't want to hang them. I mean it's really what is more convenient for yourself!

Like in the oven, or the microwave... (emergencies only, lol)

I hang em for a couple of days, disect them from the branches, into a loosely-closed brown un-waxed grocery bag till dry enough for glass jars. I remove them from the jars once a day for a few minutes, to prevent mold. Smoke as needed.

[HighonaMountain]

yeah i read that paper bag method in an old cannabis culture magazine. when u say a couple of days do u mean like 2 because from most of what i read hanging should last about a week.

[JD1stTimer]

I don't think the orientation when drying changes how fast they dry. Gravity doesn't pull the water out of the plant. The water first transpires rom the leaves while the plant is living, and then it just evaporates naturally. Unrestricted airflow, air movement, low humidity, and heat are the only things that will make it dry faster.

[HighonaMountain]

so is there a straight answer on this hanging issue? anyone out there know of any good reading on the subject?

[Dutch Pimp]

:)...http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-faqs/60954-drying-curing-your-buds.html

[fluid69]

check out the curing bud link in my signature. they discuss the myth about hanging your buds upside down.

[Italiano715]

I don't think the orientation when drying changes how fast they dry. Gravity doesn't pull the water out of the plant. The water first transpires rom the leaves while the plant is living, and then it just evaporates naturally. Unrestricted airflow, air movement, low humidity, and heat are the only things that will make it dry faster.

To add to that, make sure you have a fan circulating in the room, but make sure the fan is not blowing directly on the drying buds as you will dry the outside of the bud too fast.

[frostymcfailure]

rusty trich hit that nail on the head. Driving nails through the stalk 2 weeks before harvest IS NOT a good idea!

[HighonaMountain]

thanks for all the great posts guys and i look forward to reading that curing article. Yo frosty what do u mean by this:
Driving nails through the stalk 2 weeks before harvest IS NOT a good idea!

[HighonaMountain]

Anyone over here, check out my flowering ladies:thumbsup:

[HighonaMountain]

okay i was doing some reading and i had a few questions for anyone out there still following. So drying in a relative humidity of 50-60%, i have a problem because the humidity in my drying room is about 30%, should i really get a humidifier or do i not have to worry about it? Also i read that just cutting the plant down and hanging it up was the best way, not cutting any of the fan leaves or larger leaves on the buds until they are dry. Is this best or what do u guys have to say about when to trim during drying and how to hang best? Lets have some opinions:rastasmoke:

[Dutch Pimp]

I think you are better off drying in 30% humidity...IMO. Indirect air flow on the plants.

I just cut and hang in a dark, cool room...until the stem breaks with a SNAP sound...about 5-10 days.

[HighonaMountain]

yeah thats probably what i'm gonna do anyway because i don't want to fuck with a humidifier in my small closet, thanks DP

[Italiano715]

yeah thats probably what i'm gonna do anyway because i don't want to fuck with a humidifier in my small closet, thanks DP

plus why waste money on one when you don't need it....that's what I did was to just simply hang it in a dark cool place. I don't ever think about the humidity as it shouldn't be a problem inside. Well not my problem anywho.

[HighonaMountain]

well the way i have my closet set up now with a standing fan intake and a bathroom exhaust fan out take, the air circulation is exellent and with the light out of there it will be perfect i think. thanks for the input from one italian to the other:jointsmile:

[frostymcfailure]

but other than a mini-flush a day or two prior to harvest...I do nothing special. I was always given the 2week figure of prior flush-ing til harvest, was this wrong? I understand i think if they are organic but a 2day flush on the commerical ferts like fox farm high octane tri pack? Generally speaking if one wouldnt smoke it themselves its not worthy to pass onto the community.

[HighonaMountain]

hey frosty a week or two of straight ph'd water is a good idea for any harvest.

[stinkybudz]

oh so many things to do before harvest-

buy papers
clean pipe
get the jars ready :hippy:

[the image reaper]

flush, flush, flush ...

[HighonaMountain]

flush, flush, flush ...

word on the streets is flush, lol:jointsmile:

[KingKGB]

I read somewhere in these posts about removing the fan leaves during the last week of bloom...will this shock the plants at all and reduce the harvest? Also if you don't mind...I've noticed that after I have harvested the plants and began breaking them apart to dry, none of the hairs on the inside are brown...my question is...should I harvest in sections and leave the inner buds to grow longer? Thanks in advance guys ^_^...btw here are my babies...about 1 month left till harvest...goooo green ^_^

[Mainely Growing Weed]

I don't think the orientation when drying changes how fast they dry. Gravity doesn't pull the water out of the plant. ...

So True, Water is heavier than air so the water goes up! Otherwise we would have no clouds etc.

[Bloomin Idiot]

Originally Posted by JD1stTimer
I don't think the orientation when drying changes how fast they dry. Gravity doesn't pull the water out of the plant. ...



So True, Water is heavier than air so the water goes up! Otherwise we would have no clouds etc.
.

MGW, Really? Let me let you in on a secret we have kept from you,,,, moisture rises from heat and falls as rain from cooling as it gathers.

And I love the way you guys always pull up 4-5 year old threads,lol

[Mainely Growing Weed]

Thanks Bloomi, I miss spoke before (note to self ...Proofread!) H2O is lighter than O2. Hydrogen has an atomic weight of 1, Oxygen has an atomic weight of 8 therefore O2 is heavier than H2O

[Trickster]

hey everybody. i just wanted to see if i could get a little coversation about techniques that help before harvesting. i have read about stopping nutes a week before and just using plain phd water, also i have read about a dark period before chopping down but i don't know anything about that, how long or whatever. Any experiences with these techniques or any others are what we need to discuss....Let me know what u guys think:thumbsup:

During the last 48 hours I also added ice cubes to the top of soil (indoor grown) plants to swell buds and the ice to add purples or colors to bud by lowering the temp.

[Shovelhandle]

get the fuck out of town! I add ice to my margaritas but not my martinis. Ice to the pot plants?

I do a harvest dance before I cut them down. :wtf:

[Weezard]

Fo' real, Shov.
We try ebberyt'ing 'roun' heah.

I once put some seed in cups of dry coco and put two cloudy ice cubes on top. (cloudy, means dissolved air)
Nature's way, yah?
A slower release than dumping it on 'em in one splash.

Put 'em inna sun and walked away.
The cubes melted, the surface warmed, and the seeds popped with a smile.

Was looking for away to start a go-rilla grow.
No got gorillas, but ice is cheap.

And almost as heavy as water. :(
Should have thought that bit all the way through, yah?

Meh, at least I found out that nature's way was a-ok.

Aloha,
Weeze

[tlranger]

Funny how she knows

[Esteban1]

Right at harvest time I watch good porn, masturbate & gizz all over myself THEN & only then I dance.

:wtf:

[lipps]

okay i was doing some reading and i had a few questions for anyone out there still following. So drying in a relative humidity of 50-60%, i have a problem because the humidity in my drying room is about 30%, should i really get a humidifier or do i not have to worry about it? Also i read that just cutting the plant down and hanging it up was the best way, not cutting any of the fan leaves or larger leaves on the buds until they are dry. Is this best or what do u guys have to say about when to trim during drying and how to hang best? Lets have some opinions:rastasmoke:

The buds are not dried they are cured and they cure during the 5-7 days it takes for the moisture to leave the bud, if the humidity is to low the moisture will leave to quickly and the buds will not cure properly. 30% is too low, you can control the humidity by limiting the amount of air leaving the closet just keep the humidity above 50% and 70' F, get a meter so you can tell because it's crucial tom get a killer cure. The buds will get to a point where the outside just starts to crisp up but the inside is still slightly moist the stem will be flexible, at this stage put the buds in a large paper grocery bag fill about i/3 full and close the top and lay it on it's side so the buds are spread out not piled up let it set overnight then check the moisture by bending the it should be flexible and the outer leaves will have rehydrate now leave the bag open until the outer leaves crisp up again then close and repeat until the stem end snaps when bent if it is flexible it's still to moist. This whole process can take up to 2 weeks so don't get in a hurry and smell it ever time you open the bag it should never have an ammonia smell that means it's molding, it will start to have a floral sent not the fresh green smell it had when first cut . The longer you flush the less nitrates you will have in the bud and the smother the smoke. The skippy on the extended dark period before harvest is that the plant produces trichromes at night and extending the dark period is suppose to make it more potent because the plant reacts to dark not light , try it with one and see. Take the buds off the plant leave enough stem to hang it up with, remove all the big leaves, hang em on a string and go for it. Good curing..........

[lipps]

This post didn't edit the way I thought it would so here's another try......
The buds are not dried they are cured and they cure during the 7-14 days it takes for the moisture to leave the buds, if the humidity is to low the moisture will leave to quickly and the buds will not cure properly. 30% is too low, you can control the humidity by limiting the amount of air leaving the closet just keep the humidity above 50% and 70' F, in a small space a wet cloth can raise the humidity, get a meter so you can tell because it's crucial to get a killer cure. The buds will get to a point where the outside just starts to crisp up but the inside is still moist the stem will be flexible, at this stage put the buds in a large paper grocery bag fill about 1/3 full lay it on it's side so the buds are spread out not piled up and close the top let it set overnight then check the moisture by bending the stem it should be flexible and the outer leaves will have rehydrate now leave the bag open until the outer leaves crisp up again then close and repeat if they are drying to fast you can put the bag into a plastic bag to slow it down. When the stem end snaps when bent put the buds in glass jars and check in a day to see if they are stable if they are now wait for them to mellow. This whole process can take up to 2 weeks so don't get in a hurry and smell it ever time you open the bag it should never have an ammonia smell that means it's molding, it will start to have a floral sent not the fresh green smell it had when first cut . The longer you flush the less nitrates you will have in the bud and the smother the smoke. The skippy on the extended dark period before harvest is that the plant produces trichromes at night and extending the dark period is suppose to make it more potent because the plant reacts to dark not light , try it with one and see. Take the buds off the plant leave enough stem to hang it up with, remove all the big leaves, hang em on a string and go for it. Good curing..........Hope that makes more sense........