3 harvesting questions + PICS

homer371 · Oct 8, 2010

my first ever harvest is coming up and i have a few questions...

1) i'm growing two plants in a closet. one (purple diesel) will be ready to chop in under a week (i think, see pics below). the other (sour diesel) has a couple more weeks to go. is it ok to dry the purple diesel in the same closet while the sour diesel keeps flowering? the moisture level in the closet is not too bad, but i don't really know for sure...

2) related question... do the drying colas need to be in darkness while drying? sorry, this is probably a noobie question, but i can't find an answer...
3) finally, do you agree that this purple diesel is almost ready to chop?

PICS:

thanks guys.

lawngnome420 · Oct 8, 2010

looks pretty good. although i would not chop yet. maybe in a week maybe little less. just my opinion and i would dry your buds in darkness the light being on will draw the buds to attempt to grow towards them extending the drying time. hope this helps a little

ghb · Oct 8, 2010

hang them in a cool dry place in the dark. if you dont do this it will smell and taste like hay.

city limit warrior · Oct 8, 2010

Looks yumy

tokeandrelax · Oct 8, 2010

shes still quite green all over.. judging by the plant i would say 1 week on nutes then a 1 week flush. you could harvest now and have great smoke but waiting it out a couple weeks will be worth the weight gain and overall thc production. wait till some of those leaves start yellowing out a bit too. there are many different things to judge the plant by

theexpress · Oct 8, 2010

homer371 said:
my first ever harvest is coming up and i have a few questions...

1) i'm growing two plants in a closet. one (purple diesel) will be ready to chop in under a week (i think, see pics below). the other (sour diesel) has a couple more weeks to go. is it ok to dry the purple diesel in the same closet while the sour diesel keeps flowering? the moisture level in the closet is not too bad, but i don't really know for sure...

2) related question... do the drying colas need to be in darkness while drying? sorry, this is probably a noobie question, but i can't find an answer...
3) finally, do you agree that this purple diesel is almost ready to chop?

PICS:
View attachment 1199919 View attachment 1199916
View attachment 1199917 View attachment 1199918

thanks guys.

lol ur purple diesel isnt sooo purple.... are those from next generation seed company??? yes its ok to dry multiple strains in the same room, and yes drying in the dark is better since light degrades thc...... and that diesel plant needs 7-10 more days then it will be ripe

hope you been flushing.. if not start now

bigv1976 · Oct 8, 2010

lawngnome420 said:
looks pretty good. although i would not chop yet. maybe in a week maybe little less. just my opinion and i would dry your buds in darkness the light being on will draw the buds to attempt to grow towards them extending the drying time. hope this helps a little

Isnt that what he said he was gonna do? Does anyone read the posts anymore or just the parts they wanna read?

homer371 · Oct 8, 2010

What a great way to wake up, thanks for all the replies peeps - REPs for all!

So, the consensus seems to be that she needs somewhere between 5 and 10 days. I started flushing about 3 days ago (no nutes). I have a couple more questions...

1) If I chop in, say, 10 days, how long should I continue watering? Is it good to let her dry up the last few days before chopping?

2) How dark does the drying place need to be? Can I just hang her in an open cardboard box in the closet, with the opening pointing away from the light?

And some replies to you guys...

To lawngnome420 and ghb: the problem is that I don't have a different closet I can use to dry her (smell, stealth, that type of thing). My other plant that's in there (sour diesel) definitely needs 2-3 more weeks (see pics below).

To city limit warrior : thanks dude!

To tokeandrelax: There's actually like 3-6 yellow/dying leaves that I trim off each morning. I just cleaned her up right before I took those pics

But yeah, she still does look pretty green overall, I'm going to wait 5-10 more days.

To theexpress: I got her as a little clone from a dispensary in Santa Cruz, they said she was a purple diesel, but I honestly have no idea. She is bushier and shorter than my sour diesel, which has more defined sativa characteristics (in my limited knowledge).

Here's a couple pics of my sour diesel, for your viewing pleasure:

homer371 · Oct 8, 2010

Bumpy bump bump... 2 more questions

1) Is it good to let the plant dry up the last few days before chopping?

2) How dark does the drying place need to be? Can I just hang her in an open cardboard box in the closet, with the opening pointing away from the light?

Thanks, reps to any answerers!

KlosetKing · Oct 8, 2010

1.) lots of people do this, and many claim its benefits. i did it, cuz in theory it sounds true. less water in the plant = less time drying no? maybe not but it sounds logical. im not sure if it effects the breakdown of chemicals during the dry process due to less time actually drying, i would think not since the roots haven't been pulling water up, it hadn't pulled fresh nutes of any kind up recently (even after a flush, at the minimum, trace nutes still exist).
2.) the darker the better as thc breaks down in light, but a little indirect light is not going to turn your crop into garbage.

homer371 · Oct 8, 2010

Thanks klosetking, much appreciated.

KlosetKing · Oct 8, 2010

homer371 said:
Thanks klosetking, much appreciated.

any time. If its not overstepping i may have a few other pointers you may or may not have known just yet. I went through my first harvest about 3 months ago, and my second started yesterday and will finish sometime in the next 3 weeks. Heres a few things i overlooked my first go through harvest and cure:

air circulation. this cant be stressed enough. it looks like your buds came out nice, and relatively dense. The denser it is, the more prone to mold it is. I had unbelievably dense nugs on my first go, and didn't set up a fan near the drying rack. well, come to find out having one side of its box completely open to fresh air wasn't quite enough, and the tiniest bits of mold started, so fan went in and i picked that shit out! i would highly recommend getting a small fan, something like a clip on book fan if you can get it that small, and pointing it directly in from about a foot or 2 away. if you cant get one that small, adjust distance and whatnot as necessary. you don't want it to be even moving the buds, no sway or anything, but that air needs to be moved in some minimal way.

keep an eye on your Humidity, 50% is a good number to sit around, lower than 40 and you may dry too fast, and above 60 is prone to mold. try to extend your drying time to at LEAST 5 days, but aim for 7-10 if you can. controlling humidity, temps, and circulation is key for this.

guess that's all my high mind has right now, just wanted to throw it your way. GL with your first harvest man, and if i had any last tip id say write stuff down! remember the conditions and things you are doing, and the results that come from them. they will be VERY useful next go!

-KlosetKing

homer371 · Oct 8, 2010

KlosetKing said:
any time. If its not overstepping i may have a few other pointers you may or may not have known just yet. I went through my first harvest about 3 months ago, and my second started yesterday and will finish sometime in the next 3 weeks. Heres a few things i overlooked my first go through harvest and cure:

air circulation. this cant be stressed enough. it looks like your buds came out nice, and relatively dense. The denser it is, the more prone to mold it is. I had unbelievably dense nugs on my first go, and didn't set up a fan near the drying rack. well, come to find out having one side of its box completely open to fresh air wasn't quite enough, and the tiniest bits of mold started, so fan went in and i picked that shit out! i would highly recommend getting a small fan, something like a clip on book fan if you can get it that small, and pointing it directly in from about a foot or 2 away. if you cant get one that small, adjust distance and whatnot as necessary. you don't want it to be even moving the buds, no sway or anything, but that air needs to be moved in some minimal way.

keep an eye on your Humidity, 50% is a good number to sit around, lower than 40 and you may dry too fast, and above 60 is prone to mold. try to extend your drying time to at LEAST 5 days, but aim for 7-10 if you can. controlling humidity, temps, and circulation is key for this.

guess that's all my high mind has right now, just wanted to throw it your way. GL with your first harvest man, and if i had any last tip id say write stuff down! remember the conditions and things you are doing, and the results that come from them. they will be VERY useful next go!

-KlosetKing

Hey man, no you're not overstepping at all! All your comments are appreciated. I wasn't sure about the fan situation, but it's useful to hear that a fan is a good idea. I just bought a nice little used one for $5, so I'll definitely be using it for drying. Also just bought some fine point shearers which will hopefully come in handy. I don't have a humidity meter right now, but I'll probably get one. Do you know how to lower the humidity if it gets to high? Also, what are the best temps for drying?

Anyway, thanks again. If you're willing to keep helping out, I'll post some pics in the next few days when I set up my "dry box w/fan" situation and let me know what you think.

Good luck with your 2nd harvest -- I'll go check out your grow.

KlosetKing · Oct 8, 2010

homer371 said:
Hey man, no you're not overstepping at all! All your comments are appreciated. I wasn't sure about the fan situation, but it's useful to hear that a fan is a good idea. I just bought a nice little used one for $5, so I'll definitely be using it for drying. Also just bought some fine point shearers which will hopefully come in handy. I don't have a humidity meter right now, but I'll probably get one. Do you know how to lower the humidity if it gets to high? Also, what are the best temps for drying?

Anyway, thanks again. If you're willing to keep helping out, I'll post some pics in the next few days when I set up my "dry box w/fan" situation and let me know what you think.

Good luck with your 2nd harvest -- I'll go check out your grow.

absolutely get those pics up! even if we both knew they were perfect, well, we all know that everyone on this site is pic whore =D

fine point shears are perfect. the way i do it is initially remove all big and easily reachable fan leaves as close to the main stem as possible. as you get into colas, more and more leaves will be harder to reach. any stem that i can see the base of at that point is cut, anything that i cant reach only gets trimmed up flush to the bud itself (when drying it will shrink into the bud a little and kind of hide itself).

As for humidity, a meter is relatively cheap at walmart, doesn't need to be insanely expensive or accurate, just close. if it reads within a degree or 2 of the rest of the meters on the shelf it should work fine. lowering it is a bit harder. dehumidifier is obviously the first choice. ac units work well for this, especially if your fighting high temps as well. just remember, no direct breeze on the buds themselves, just the air around them (no sway while hanging). this circulation will also slightly help your humidity. other than that i dont have much to help LOWER humid, only know how to raise it (humidity in my area stays where i need it almost year round).

Aim for temps of 68-75. 70-72 is gunna be your Goldilocks range i believe, to avoid hazards like mold and thc degradation, and should keep it from taking too long or too short of drying time (below 68 and your looking at weeks of drying, raising changes of mold exponentially). Keep us posted!
-KK

jollygreenleaf · Oct 8, 2010

Again, Klosetking is right on. Lots of peeps say no fan on your drying weed but if you have really dense buds with lots of moisture I have been having a hell of a time with mold. Ya the fan drys em out a little quickly but Id rather have that then mold.

KlosetKing · Oct 8, 2010

jollygreenleaf said:
Again, Klosetking is right on. Lots of peeps say no fan on your drying weed but if you have really dense buds with lots of moisture I have been having a hell of a time with mold. Ya the fan drys em out a little quickly but Id rather have that then mold.

yep exactly what i went through first run, these ones are just as dense too. partly why i say get the air moving, but not to the point of sway. that way it shouldn't dry em out as fast as direct air would, but its still cycling it out. i suppose a small extraction fan would probably be ideal, no actual pushing just pulling of air.

SACReDHeRB · Oct 8, 2010

can the buds be sprayed with pure water to prolong the drying process, cuz i have a/c and i think itll make the humidity too low and the buds will dry too quick, any ideas on raising humidity?

jollygreenleaf · Oct 9, 2010

SACReDHeRB said:
can the buds be spayed with pure water to prolong the drying process, cuz i have a/c and i think itll make the humidity too low and the buds will dry too quick, any ideas on raising humidity?

Dont Know. Don't think so. Beyond my readings.

homer371 · Oct 10, 2010

hey guys,

thanks again for all the comments and suggestions about drying, fanning, etc. i'm taking them all into account as i prepare for harvest.

i think i'm still another 3-5 days on the purple d, and at least 2 weeks on the sour d. in the meantime, here's a few pics of my girls, let me know if you have any thoughts on those anticipated harvest times... i'm going mostly by the "look" of the buds, the trichomes still look clear on my 60x scope.

purple d, 42 days from 12/12: