Hay guys
So basically as the tread title states my iso washes lately haven't been right, iv been doing this for ages now I know my routine very well, I freeze everything and what not use 100 percent iso, been hight temps lately with low RH, but for some reason my washes have been coming out very runny and sticky, like you pretty much need a dab tool with a little spoon to be able to do anything with it,
So any ideas people?
Has to not be crushed or broken up at all. Has to be shoved into a column as hard as possible, at room temperature, while moist enough to be flexible, meaning 60% RH or more. Then you gotta freeze it at lowest temperature of the freezer overnight, not just a couple hours. A packed column/pop bottle is kind of like insulation because of all the air pockets, so it takes a long time to freeze to the core. The worst thing you could do is to freeze the material and then put it in the column frozen because it will just crumble up, releasing the thin internal oil of the leaflets. You also gotta let it drip inside the freezer, not out at room temp, where moisture will condense on it.
Also, when you grow it you have to use lizard lights near the end of flowering, four 26w fluorescent bulbs per square meter/ 3'x3' area. Less than that had little effect in my experience. Obviously don't look in there with bare eyes. When you use the lizard bulbs, the resin turns out almost pure THCA. At least I think that's what did it. I used those lights last time and the extract came out very solid and almost white whereas before I wasn't using the lizard lights, or less lizard lights, and it came out less solid. Another important thing is to ripen it up long enough, meaning 14 weeks of flowering. Less than that and the resin won't be mature and will be thinner. At least it takes 14 with LED lighting, probably the same with other types. People don't realize how long it takes for proper ripening, 8-10 weeks is a joke, even 12. Buds will be nowhere near the thickness of 14 and the resin will be lower quality. This applies to every strain I tried. Yes, mold tends to grow on some buds by that time, the UV helps to kill it though. The lizard lights put out significant infrared, judging from the extra heat, so that probably helps prevent mold by keeping the buds drier. I thin out the leaves considerably too, most fan leaves gotta go to allow ventilation and prevent moisture buildup, at least if the space is packed like mine is.
One more tip, bottom lighting makes all the difference. I use several LED "light bulbs", 100w replacements, in sockets mounted between the pots. There are no fluff buds. Not using bottom light is a rookie mistake, all you get is a thin layer of good buds on the top and the whole bottom is utter shit and dead leaves falling off. You would need 12 or more per square meter. They're 14w power draw each, so that's close to 17w/sq ft. I'm trying to compromise between enough light and too much heat. On the top it's 30 bulbs for 3'x3', so you don't need as much on the bottom but you do need probably at least 15w sq ft. I don't cut the diffusers off the bottom ones, because leaves or water could drop in there on the LEDs. The top ones are cut off though. I get huge yields btw, at least 700g 3'x3' from reg BubbleGum.
