RastaCourage
Well-Known Member
i believe, for harvest, there is a 5-7 day window
HARVEST THEM ALREADY!!!!!!!! lol
HARVEST THEM ALREADY!!!!!!!! lol
Red Leaves / Purple Leaves
- Thread starter muffin
- Start date
muffin
Well-Known Member
I was waiting/hoping for 50% amber & 50% Cloudy trics before I harvested.
I would say that they are now 70% Cloudy, 20% Clear & 10% Amber & about 60% of the hairs are amber.
The buds look great & look as if they could go longer just to get that little bit bigger but the leaves are seriously messed up :~(
I would say that they are now 70% Cloudy, 20% Clear & 10% Amber & about 60% of the hairs are amber.
The buds look great & look as if they could go longer just to get that little bit bigger but the leaves are seriously messed up :~(
rolla8
Well-Known Member
Now don't go getting all anxious and impatient, because the next step is, for a lot of people, the most difficult. Next is the drying and curing process. It is absolutely CRITICAL that you take your time with this part of the process, and not lose patience. This is the part of the operation that will determine if you have end up with serious stanky-danky ganja, or average ho-hum weed. If you rush this part and don't handle it properly, you'll never forgive yourself.
To correctly harvest the plant, chop the whole thing down where the stem meets the soil. Hold the plant upside down by the stem with one hand, and use the other hand to gently pluck off all the large fan leaves. Next, take your scissors and snip the branches off the main stem where the two meet. You should be more or less left with several sticks covered with buds. One at time, hold each of these bud-sticks with one hand, and carefully manicure and trim the remaining foliage leaving you with beautiful, picture-perfect buds. Using clothes pins or twine, string up your nice, manicured bud on a line, like you're hanging your clothes out to dry. Keep the bud strung up in a cool, dark room with a fan blowing a gentle, oscillating breeze. After about a week, the buds will have dried out to the point where they are dry and somewhat crispy on the outside, but you'll be able to tell that they still have quite a bit of moisture on the inside. At this point, take the buds down from the line and place them inside large mason jars with a resealable lid. Put these jars in a cool, dark place (dresser drawer, under the sink, etc.) About 5-6 times a day, lightly shake the jars and open them up and set them out to allow the bud to "breathe" for about 15-20min. Close the jars back up and return them to their hiding place until it's time to do it again. You're going to do this for a period of about two weeks. You can do it for longer and, in fact, the longer you do it the better your bud will be. But two weeks is the minimum amount of time you should continue this process. This is known as the "curing process" and is a critical step in producing exceptional marijuana. What you are doing is sweating out the moisture very slowly, allowing the non-psychoactive THCA molecules to fully decarboxylate and transform into the magical psychoactive compound, THC. When you do this correctly, the result is a delicious and smooth smoke containing the maximum amount of THC. If the curing process is not done correctly or is skipped altogether, you end up with harsh smoke that tastes "green" and unpleasant - not to mention the drastically reduced THC content. So, make sure you take care these final weeks and force yourself to have the patience to carry out this final and most important stage.
To correctly harvest the plant, chop the whole thing down where the stem meets the soil. Hold the plant upside down by the stem with one hand, and use the other hand to gently pluck off all the large fan leaves. Next, take your scissors and snip the branches off the main stem where the two meet. You should be more or less left with several sticks covered with buds. One at time, hold each of these bud-sticks with one hand, and carefully manicure and trim the remaining foliage leaving you with beautiful, picture-perfect buds. Using clothes pins or twine, string up your nice, manicured bud on a line, like you're hanging your clothes out to dry. Keep the bud strung up in a cool, dark room with a fan blowing a gentle, oscillating breeze. After about a week, the buds will have dried out to the point where they are dry and somewhat crispy on the outside, but you'll be able to tell that they still have quite a bit of moisture on the inside. At this point, take the buds down from the line and place them inside large mason jars with a resealable lid. Put these jars in a cool, dark place (dresser drawer, under the sink, etc.) About 5-6 times a day, lightly shake the jars and open them up and set them out to allow the bud to "breathe" for about 15-20min. Close the jars back up and return them to their hiding place until it's time to do it again. You're going to do this for a period of about two weeks. You can do it for longer and, in fact, the longer you do it the better your bud will be. But two weeks is the minimum amount of time you should continue this process. This is known as the "curing process" and is a critical step in producing exceptional marijuana. What you are doing is sweating out the moisture very slowly, allowing the non-psychoactive THCA molecules to fully decarboxylate and transform into the magical psychoactive compound, THC. When you do this correctly, the result is a delicious and smooth smoke containing the maximum amount of THC. If the curing process is not done correctly or is skipped altogether, you end up with harsh smoke that tastes "green" and unpleasant - not to mention the drastically reduced THC content. So, make sure you take care these final weeks and force yourself to have the patience to carry out this final and most important stage.
RastaCourage
Well-Known Member
i don't know about the shaking the jar... seriously
rough handling (shaking the jar) can cause for the trichs to fall off
well, i mean, if you mean shake, i don't know how hard, your talking
but, i know, rough handling WILL make you lose a lot of THC
& if you wish to dry your buds quickly, here are a couple ways, to do so
just follow the trimming & manicuring, as rolla explained
QUICK DRY1: place your trimmed buds on a cookie sheet spread out evenly
set your oven to 125-140 degrees Fahrenheit (no hotter!)
leave for 10 minutes, remove for 5 minutes & turn buds, & repeat once more
QUICK DRY2: rig a flat piece of 10" foil to be held under a 100 watt light bulb (no more!) within 2-4 inches
turn your buds every 1-2 minutes & they should be smoke-able within about 10-15 minutes time
QUICK DRY3: take your buds and flatly wrap them in paper or use a paper envelope
& place them over your water heater, radiator, or the back of your TV
& your pot should be dry in a few hours or overnight
QUICK DRY4: place buds flat on a plate & use your microwave on 50% power or less (important not to burn)
set for only 10-12 seconds at a time, remove & turn, repeat as necessary. it's done quickly (BE CAREFUL & CAUTIOUS)
NOTE: if your buds get too dry (crispy) you can put them in a ziploc bag or glass jar, with a piece of orange peel
trust, it will smoke much nicer, by morning
EDIT: i say, out of the 4 QUICK DRY OPTIONS choose 1 & do it with half an OZ or OZ
& let the rest of the buds get dried, the way rolla was explaing
just so that, while you are waiting for the longer process, you have buds to smoke up
good luck, with whatever form of drying, you wish to do
rough handling (shaking the jar) can cause for the trichs to fall off
well, i mean, if you mean shake, i don't know how hard, your talking
but, i know, rough handling WILL make you lose a lot of THC
& if you wish to dry your buds quickly, here are a couple ways, to do so
just follow the trimming & manicuring, as rolla explained
QUICK DRY1: place your trimmed buds on a cookie sheet spread out evenly
set your oven to 125-140 degrees Fahrenheit (no hotter!)
leave for 10 minutes, remove for 5 minutes & turn buds, & repeat once more
QUICK DRY2: rig a flat piece of 10" foil to be held under a 100 watt light bulb (no more!) within 2-4 inches
turn your buds every 1-2 minutes & they should be smoke-able within about 10-15 minutes time
QUICK DRY3: take your buds and flatly wrap them in paper or use a paper envelope
& place them over your water heater, radiator, or the back of your TV
& your pot should be dry in a few hours or overnight
QUICK DRY4: place buds flat on a plate & use your microwave on 50% power or less (important not to burn)
set for only 10-12 seconds at a time, remove & turn, repeat as necessary. it's done quickly (BE CAREFUL & CAUTIOUS)
NOTE: if your buds get too dry (crispy) you can put them in a ziploc bag or glass jar, with a piece of orange peel
trust, it will smoke much nicer, by morning
EDIT: i say, out of the 4 QUICK DRY OPTIONS choose 1 & do it with half an OZ or OZ
& let the rest of the buds get dried, the way rolla was explaing
just so that, while you are waiting for the longer process, you have buds to smoke up
good luck, with whatever form of drying, you wish to do
rolla8
Well-Known Member
Shaking the buds in the jar is standard operation procedure for the curing process... look it up. I'm not saying to violently shake it, resulting in the lose of all your trichs. You give it a gentle shake to move the buds from the bottom of the jar up to the top, and you then leave the lid on the jar open for about 15-20min to allow the surface moisture to evaporate. That's what the curing process is all about... SLOWLY sweating all the internal moisture out to the surface, then allowing it to evaporate. The slower you sweat and evaporate the moisture out of the buds, the smoother and more psychoactive the smoke will be. Those other drying methods you mentioned will work fine for small smoking samples to have while you are waiting for the curing process to finish but they are in no way a suitable alternative, and in using them you WILL lose THC that you would have otherwise had access to had you taken the time to properly cure the buds. The bottom line here is, the slower you cure the buds and the more time you put into, the better the smoke will be and the more THC you will get out of your crop. Cutting corners to get it done quick and dirty will only serve to limit the crops potential and result in a sub-par product. There just isn't a way to rush through the curing process.
RastaCourage
Well-Known Member
^ i was thinking, shaking, shaking, lol
i would dry them, normally, hanging them dry
which is why, i edited my post, saying, to limit the amount to quick dry
just so, he would have something to smoke, while he waits
just trying to give out a hand, i wasn't disagreeing with you at all
i just overlooked the shaking of the jar, lol
i apologize, for the misunderstanding
rolla8
Well-Known Member
Don't apologize bro! There's no beef here We're all here to learn about growing and to share knowledge with each other; Not to compete about who knows what, or who's right and who's wrong. Just think, if we didn't ask these questions of each other, we'd all be a lot dumber! Don't worry about a thing man... I got nuttin' but love fo' ya!
We're all here to learn about growing and to share knowledge with each other; Not to compete about who knows what, or who's right and who's wrong. Just think, if we didn't ask these questions of each other, we'd all be a lot dumber! Don't worry about a thing man... I got nuttin' but love fo' ya!
muffin
Well-Known Member
Thanks RastaCourage & Rolla8,
I have the mason jars ready & waiting :~)
I snapped a stem about a week ago, so dried the buds & have now been curing them for 3-4 days, the smell gets better each day.
When they went into the jar they were smelling quite fresh & a little like hay, this is most than likely due to the fast drying method I used, but now they smell great.
Instead of drying the clothes line method, I have a fine mesh screen which I am planning to use, some people have also mentioned putting into brown paper bags after drying & before jaring?
I have the mason jars ready & waiting :~)
I snapped a stem about a week ago, so dried the buds & have now been curing them for 3-4 days, the smell gets better each day.
When they went into the jar they were smelling quite fresh & a little like hay, this is most than likely due to the fast drying method I used, but now they smell great.
Instead of drying the clothes line method, I have a fine mesh screen which I am planning to use, some people have also mentioned putting into brown paper bags after drying & before jaring?
RastaCourage
Well-Known Member
^ no problem man, just throwing ideas out
i don't know about the before drying & jaring
but, to keep the buds potent
instead of just putting them in mini/big zippies
you should cover them up with brown paper bags, then put them in zippies
& store the ones you wont be using in a cool/dark place, not the freezer (when it freezes, trichs fall off)
zip locks carry a lot of static, that causes your buds to lose potency
^ i understand that
lmao @ we'd all be a lot dumber, that's real
by the way, i have a question
my plant is already, giving off a bit of smell...
& it's still in the veg, only 4-5 inches tall...
the stem has a bunch of thick hairs
& the nodes, 4 points, are poking out even more
i don't get it..? is that NORMAL..?
i don't know about the before drying & jaring
but, to keep the buds potent
instead of just putting them in mini/big zippies
you should cover them up with brown paper bags, then put them in zippies
& store the ones you wont be using in a cool/dark place, not the freezer (when it freezes, trichs fall off)
zip locks carry a lot of static, that causes your buds to lose potency
Don't apologize bro! There's no beef here
^ i understand that
lmao @ we'd all be a lot dumber, that's real
by the way, i have a question
my plant is already, giving off a bit of smell...
& it's still in the veg, only 4-5 inches tall...
the stem has a bunch of thick hairs
& the nodes, 4 points, are poking out even more
i don't get it..? is that NORMAL..?
rolla8
Well-Known Member
Yeah it's normal. Any decent strain should begin producing a noticeable odor at about the 2nd or 3rd week of the veg. phase. You'll notice the smell even more of you gently rub one of the leaves between your thumb and forefinger, sorta like a Scratch-N-Sniff sticker
RastaCourage
Well-Known Member
^ wow, this plant, was from a bagseed
i don't know what strain, but, the bud was seeded
which kind of gave me the idea of even growing.. lol
LOL! @ like a scratch & sniff sticker, i remember those
damnit, now, i need to think about, how i'm going to lose the smell
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
i don't know what strain, but, the bud was seeded
which kind of gave me the idea of even growing.. lol
LOL! @ like a scratch & sniff sticker, i remember those
damnit, now, i need to think about, how i'm going to lose the smell
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
rolla8
Well-Known Member
The screen method you described is just as effective as the clothes line method. It's a matter of personal preference. Regarding the paper bag, that's actually the way I cure my buds. I usually have a fairly large crop to dry and cure, and if I had to use mason jars I'd need a shit-ton of them. So what I do is take a plastic grocery bag and use it to line the inside of a paper grocery bag. I put my bud inside the plastic bag and loosely close it up. Then I loosely roll the top of the paper bag shut and leave the bags on some shelves in a dark closet. About 5 times a day I gently shake the bag and open it up to let it air out for about 15 minutes. I then close it back up until it's time to do it again.
This method provides the same benefits and results as the mason jar technique, but for larger quantities. You do have to be careful about putting herb directly in the paper bag without first lining it with a plastic bag because it will attract mold, and also essential oils from the buds will soak into the paper.
rolla8
Well-Known Member
That would work. Just keep the room dark while you're drying your buds. You may only need to dry them out for a few days in that environment. As a general rule, you want to begin the mason jar stage once the buds are dry and slightly brittle and crispy on the outside. They'll still be wet and spongy in the middle when they first go into the mason jars, but that's what you want.
I hate watching as my plants finish...cant stand watching them eat themselfs but in the end its all worth it... they smoke smother in the end