So I'm edging ever closer to harvest... Since I have 2 plants from mystery strains (bag seed), they don't follow the same schedules. Essentially, one plant is super ripe while the other has about another week. I decided to put my mini-fridge fermenter on hold for now and I'm moving forward with a drowning dark period on the one plant that seems the ripest. I'd say 99% of my hairs are red and leaning towards whithered, but none have fully receded back into the flower. The trichs on it are mostly amber and the plant just looks ready... Since I have stealth concerns and a single cab to do everything in, I was forced to make what I'm calling a "nighty night drowning box". Essentially, I got a cardboard box (22x24x24) and sealed up all the corners and bottom well. I put some left over rigid pink insulation in the bottom to help protect it from the colder cellar floor. I cut 2 12" long rectangular slots about 1.5" high about 3 in. from the bottom, and taped some landscape fabric over the opening to help block light/pests/molds. Also, I put a 3"-4" PVC reducer into the top back of the box and installed a CPU fan (it's a circular fan that attaches to the heat sink) that fits into the 4" end of the reducer. Using the same material I used in my odor control box, I covered the interior part (3" end) of the reducer and secured it with a duct clamp. With the fan on the one end, the 3" section going through a hole in the box, and the duct clamp crimping down the filter material, the makeshift fan unit stays securely attached.
I plan on submerging the plant in a shallow bucket of water (high enough to cover the side drain holes, but not tall enough to spill over the top of the container) and let it sit in the ventilated, slightly cooler, darkness of the box for at least 48 and as much as 72 hours. I've been doing my reading, and there is a good bit of viable scientific proof that suggests a good drowning combined with a dark period can help with smoothness of smoke as well as possibly increase the amount of cannabinoids... But as a "make it rain" grower, this notion isn't as "revolutionary" or "crazy" as it may seem; This is kinda what "making it rain" is all about, at least the way I understand it. By reducing/ eliminating the presence of oxygen in the medium, we are reducing/ eliminating the oxidation that occurs and forcing the plant to use up as much stored resources as possible...
Anyway, that's my update. Sorry I didn't post any pics of the nighty night box construction, but I had 45 mins to get it done and hidden before the house filled with people again!
