Advice To Get Better Flush/Cure/Texture

[SeriousSports]

Hi guys.

I've been growing now for 23 months. Still though, many of my plants end up not buring great and lacking the texture I see from very experienced growers.

Example, I harvested a plant about 3 weeks ago. You figure by now it's combustable as it every will be, but it's still hard to keep a joint lit unless your milking it. You don't hear anything cracking or popping even if you take a gorilla sized drag, but the damn black ash. This plant had a 2.5 week flushing period with straight water. (5 Gallons each time, three times) Another plant had less of a flush, 2 x 5 gallons over a week and a half and was only cut two weeks ago but that one seems to burn better.... and was a bigger plant.

I have a bottle of clearex I never used. Could this be the missing piece to my puzzle? I'm at the point where I might ditch using liquid nutrients all together because of this problem.

Any suggestions?

 

[LadyZandra]

Nope-- not the clearex...
#1-- what do you feed them? THAT determines they way you flush!!
#2-- do you manecure 1st then dry, or dry 1st?
#3-- do you hang them dry on the stems, or lay them on a rack?
#4-- how dry are they before you jar them up? Where are you drying them and how fast??

These things all matter- and if we know-- we can help!

 

[SeriousSports]

Nope-- not the clearex...
#1-- what do you feed them? THAT determines they way you flush!!
#2-- do you manecure 1st then dry, or dry 1st?
#3-- do you hang them dry on the stems, or lay them on a rack?
#4-- how dry are they before you jar them up? Where are you drying them and how fast??

These things all matter- and if we know-- we can help!

Yeah I was gonna add all that but I didn't for fear of being long winded. Haha.

Okay... I run fox farm nutrients. big bloom, grow big, tiger bloom, kanagroots, microbe brew and the three soluables. I'd say I under feed them nutrients but I do get a little generous with the boosters. I half manicure them after harvest and then I go back over them before jarring. I hang on lines, bud on stem - but I do cut the plant up. Conditions aren't the best... 70 degrees but 40-80% humidity. (My house is too big to control it... I'd need 3 more a/c's and I can't afford that shit. Sometimes they get a little too dry on me, but I have been trying to make it a habit to jar a day or so early.


Hope that info helps. Thanks

 

[Fenian Brotherhood]

What is your curing technique?


IMHO(And there is a wide selection of people who agree and hate the idea).... Flushing doesn't do shit but starve your plants and weaken your yield

 

[LadyZandra]

Ok-- you are using Fox Farms non-organics-- meaning you MUST do a full flush--
2 weeks before harvest: run multiple gallons of water thru the soil slowly until it is "free flowing" out the bottom, then add another gallon (this works best in a wash basin or tub/shower!)

Let it drain completely before going back into 12/12... do not give them ANYTHING except water & carbs until harvest!! (Sweet, Sucanat or un-sulfered molasses)

After harvest- trim as best you can... empty a linen closet or other small area to hang them in with an oscillating fan and a tub of "basement dry/Damp-out" etc... this lowers the humidity and keeps the air flowing around the plants-- but don't let the fan blow ON them....they'll dry too fast.

When the buds are so dry they feel almost crispy-- remove them from the stems and jar them in Glass jars with well-fitted lids. Only fill 1/2 way and be sure they are Airtight!

Let them sit over night-- the next day, they will be slightly soft again... open the jars and lay them on their sides- or dump it all into plastic bins/bowls etc. and let it dry a few hours again...when feels dry-- lid them up overnight again..

Keep doing this until "perfect"..
Sometimes they get too dry- so just add a small piece of lettuce to the jar when you lid it up...leave it for about 4-5 hours- remove the lettuce, mix the buds and let them dry again.

Once "perfect"... fill the jars loosley... and keep them lidded-up except to "let them breathe" once or twice a day for a few minutes. This is curing, and allows any remaining chlorophyll to deteriorate/evaporate and escape the jars.

They won't burn to grey ash if not grown with organics... even Fox Farms leaves behind traces that, while maybe not able to taste them, effect the burn.

 

[SeriousSports]

What is your curing technique?


IMHO(And there is a wide selection of people who agree and hate the idea).... Flushing doesn't do shit but starve your plants and weaken your yield

Hey Fen,

I hang dry like I said, and I try to catch the buds a day before they are crispy on the outside. Put them in jars and then if they're too wet in my opinion I will throw them on a rack for an hour. Do that once or twice if warranted and then just open the jar once or twice a day for few minutes after that. What urks me is I've smoked plenty of uncured flowers that burn perfect. I feel like I'm putting in tons of work and not enjoying my own stuff. On the other hand, if I don't like it - there is always patients in need that take it and literally beg for more. I just don't get it.

I'm truely considered going fully organic so at least I won't feel like I'm smoking bunk stuff. Yield doesn't really concern me because I can run 12 plants at a time and I have enough light and space. I just want a constant supply of AAA grade flower. To me that means not just potency (potentcy isn't my issue) but smell, taste, smootheness. Emphasis on the smootheness.

Thanks

 

[SeriousSports]

Ok-- you are using Fox Farms non-organics-- meaning you MUST do a full flush--
2 weeks before harvest: run multiple gallons of water thru the soil slowly until it is "free flowing" out the bottom, then add another gallon (this works best in a wash basin or tub/shower!)

Let it drain completely before going back into 12/12... do not give them ANYTHING except water & carbs until harvest!! (Sweet, Sucanat or un-sulfered molasses)

After harvest- trim as best you can... empty a linen closet or other small area to hang them in with an oscillating fan and a tub of "basement dry/Damp-out" etc... this lowers the humidity and keeps the air flowing around the plants-- but don't let the fan blow ON them....they'll dry too fast.

When the buds are so dry they feel almost crispy-- remove them from the stems and jar them in Glass jars with well-fitted lids. Only fill 1/2 way and be sure they are Airtight!

Let them sit over night-- the next day, they will be slightly soft again... open the jars and lay them on their sides- or dump it all into plastic bins/bowls etc. and let it dry a few hours again...when feels dry-- lid them up overnight again..

Keep doing this until "perfect"..
Sometimes they get too dry- so just add a small piece of lettuce to the jar when you lid it up...leave it for about 4-5 hours- remove the lettuce, mix the buds and let them dry again.

Once "perfect"... fill the jars loosley... and keep them lidded-up except to "let them breathe" once or twice a day for a few minutes. This is curing, and allows any remaining chlorophyll to deteriorate/evaporate and escape the jars.

They won't burn to grey ash if not grown with organics... even Fox Farms leaves behind traces that, while maybe not able to taste them, effect the burn.

This seems like very good advice. I will give it a whirl soon as I have some almost finished.

So if FF requires extra effort to get the shit out, I guess I will drop that. I'm really only concerned with having clean, well tasting bud.

Thanks Lady, I appreciate the help!

 

[Fenian Brotherhood]

Hey Fen,

I hang dry like I said, and I try to catch the buds a day before they are crispy on the outside. Put them in jars and then if they're too wet in my opinion I will throw them on a rack for an hour. Do that once or twice if warranted and then just open the jar once or twice a day for few minutes after that. What urks me is I've smoked plenty of uncured flowers that burn perfect. I feel like I'm putting in tons of work and not enjoying my own stuff. On the other hand, if I don't like it - there is always patients in need that take it and literally beg for more. I just don't get it.

I'm truely considered going fully organic so at least I won't feel like I'm smoking bunk stuff. Yield doesn't really concern me because I can run 12 plants at a time and I have enough light and space. I just want a constant supply of AAA grade flower. To me that means not just potency (potentcy isn't my issue) but smell, taste, smootheness. Emphasis on the smootheness.

Thanks

Okay buddy, :bongsmile: here's what ya gotta do...(what I would do)

Since you got 12 plants to work with I'm surprised you haven't taken any to the side and experimented.

1) I highly recommend fully organic when growing in soil(Is there any other way )
2) Don't flush a plant!! Just one. You said the one you flushed for less was a little better... Try not to flush.
3) Take some time to read about Curing. Even if you have to use the bathroom for a week. Bud should dry for no more and no less than 7 days.. If it did, something went wrong. You'd know when their ready to cure because the stem isn't flexible... It breaks!!


After it's done drying, Clip the shit, Cut it up, and Jar... Jar for another 7 days, open the jar for 10 minutes every 6 hours the first 3 days, 5 minutes every 8 hours through day 4-6, and only 30 seconds on the last day... Whenever time you want.


When I cure, I put a mini fan on the top of the jar, just to get rid of that Humidity and hay smell.


P.S. With Organics, I never have to Check P.h. And I feel like it's more mother nature then Man Made... Even though it's still inside... Which isn't an option for... I can't outside

 

[blindbaby]

i flush mine. not huge. but last few weeks, i run like three times the water....i know some dont like flushing. but i have had some preety nasty tasting stuff. reminded me of cigarettes. or gun powder......peoplel like my two sweeties. bcgod, and A.I.

 

[Fenian Brotherhood]

And what I mean by Organics/ I use Alaska Fertilizers... Which is basically Fish Shit nothing else....


They have a Veg-Bloom

Sometimes I'll give them some of my smoothies... But only when their not acting like Cunts

 

[blindbaby]

i think im mine, "smoothness" comes from later in cure......longer in the jar, the better. but just when, or how long, till they are "maxed'?

 

[LadyZandra]

I agree... organics is best- and no need to flush/starve them at the end.....

 

[Fenian Brotherhood]

Depends on strain... Some are A week.. Some two months...(I haven't met anyone who wasn't cash cropping wait that long) LOL

 

[SeriousSports]

Since I seemed to have attracted some good growers to this thread. Can you give me a break down of how YOU run your organics?

I just got my buddy to carry vermicrops soils. They haven't caught on in the east yet, but my friends out west seem to swear by it.


Thanks

 

[Fenian Brotherhood]

Sure Lad,


My Soil has been 'Jungle Growth' for about 8 months now.

It is Pure Organic. It has Lions and Tigers on the front, with some Peppers and Tomatoes as well hah.

Of course I plant my seed strait in the soil. Around week three is when I start feeding(Depending on strain the earliest i was shown signs of hungriness was 1.5 weeks)

With the Alaska Fertilizers-

When I start with Veg I take my Syringe, and pull 5ml of Veg Fertilizers 5-1-1 to a Gallon distilled water(Comes in the gallon at Safeway for 50 cents )

And I feeeed.... Feed feed intill the gallon is gone. Next gallon, I'll add 10ml of Veg To a Gallon of distilled water.. Once that's gone I move to Alaska Bloom 0-0-10

I start with 10ml of the bloom, once that's gone I keep upping by 2.5 every next gallon.. Usually I'll harvest at about 17.5ml to a gallon.

AUTOS GET HUNGRY! I do not grow photos so you have to keep that in mind please..

Once chopped and all the fruit is harvested, I take the soil out back and put it in a compost keeper, where I put basically anything that is bio degradable from the kitchen(I'm the cook in the house)

Whether that be, Banana peels, Strawberry cores, apple cores, orange peels, pepper scraps, egg shells, watermelon, corn on the cob EVERYTHING!!

And If it's too big I'll just blend it with some water to liquify... Add to compost, after two months, I'm reusing my soil, and Home Depot kiss my ass

 

[Fenian Brotherhood]

Almost forgot... I use Coffee Grounds as well, (Me Mom Got me into it) But she uses her compost for different reasons. So I'll tell ya this, it's not a bad thing, but we go through coffee like Modurfuckers, if I were to use all of it in my compost, I'd probably have a 1:10 ratio of compost:Coffee grounds.

Which would totally Rape my plants. So... Sometimes Too Much IS too much.. Not too little.

And my special way to say that I love cannabis(too much is what I hear) after I make my hash from my trim, I throw that in the compost... So I basically raise my plants as Cannibals.... Cannibal Cannabis

Ok I'm done...

 

[SeriousSports]

Thanks Fen, I appreciate your information. If I recall the Alaska brand isn't too expensive. I will probably go out and scoop the two your mentioned. I already have a bag of vermi-fire which is fully organic as well. A few more bags and I will be off to the races.

In other news, last night I sowed a pack each of RP's OG and Headband. Both of which I've run before and both I knocked out of the park. It's gonna be a sour fall.

I'm going to try to add both of you guys as friends so I can follow other topics you discuss.

Thanks.

 

[zubey91]

I used to think i over dried... But it wasnt the case, the center and stem ws still wet, but the outside was almost crispy... Turned out great.. My prob was trying to cure with it too wet.... It needs to be dry

 

[churchhaze]

Give the plant a 12 hour dark period before cutting. (in other words, cut right before the lights come on)

This will give it time to burn off the starch it accumulated in the leaves during the day.

Less total starch = better smoke

If you cut immediately when the lights turn out, it will have the maximum amount of starch stored in the leaves to make it through the night. Do the opposite. Cut right before the lights come on.

 

[Fenian Brotherhood]

Give the plant a 12 hour dark period before cutting. (in other words, cut right before the lights come on)

This will give it time to burn off the starch it accumulated in the leaves during the day.

Less total starch = better smoke

If you cut immediately when the lights turn out, it will have the maximum amount of starch stored in the leaves to make it through the night. Do the opposite. Cut right before the lights come on.

I belive this to be true.. With a few tweaks.

Old farts that I've talked to(who grow outside)Harvest At Night.. They use the moon for light.. Kinda the same concept when picking shrooms


Nice Post dude