is it Dying or is it Done??

keepinabeat said:

ya i agree but maybe 1200 is to strong and what is ur ph at that dramatic could be lockup

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I usually keep my ppm at around 1100-1400 during flower. Guys at the hydro store said going as high as 1800 would be ok as long as it wasnt for too long. What would be a better ppm? I am using PureBlend Pro with CalMag and Karma. If you follow the instructions on the bottle its double what I am running, so I figured running at around half concentration in my res would be safe.

Bump
anyone else have an opinion on whether or not they are done??? the light is due to come on in about 2 hours, unless I dont let it, and decide to harvest.
It's a hard decision, I'm all torn up inside.... Do I chop em down now, or wait a few more days and hopefully get "better" bud???

Chop em. What was ur cal-mag ratio to water ?

I was using 5ml/gal Calmag when changing and adding nutes. still seem to have mag deficiency to me. I have not used any calmag in the last 2 weeks or nutes for the last week and a half.

You said ur running hydro didnt u?

yep... sure are.......... what do you think are they ready do cut? light comes on soon

rule i go by is when they look done give them another week also 15 hours of dark isnt going to give u the effect you are going for if they already get 12 hours of night 15 hours isnt really going to shock them. the point of the dark period is to shock the plant causing it to create more reason i leave mine in the dark for 36 - 48 hours b4 chop. 15 is just 3 more than its used to really not much time to shock a plant looks good though gj

if u were going to throw them in a alonger dark period its supposed to be right befor chopdnt know why but juss what ive read

Alright so i let them go another day in the light..... I think I may let them go a few more..... I was told here on RIU that terpenoid production is at the peak towards the end of the plants life cycle, therefore I dont want to harvest too early, otherwise I will not have that pungent stinky sticky weed that we spend so much cash on when buying. I have so far not been able to grow anything like what I typically like to buy and I think its because I have been harvesting too early.

done like dinner

Delux83 said:

rule i go by is when they look done give them another week also 15 hours of dark isnt going to give u the effect you are going for if they already get 12 hours of night 15 hours isnt really going to shock them. the point of the dark period is to shock the plant causing it to create more reason i leave mine in the dark for 36 - 48 hours b4 chop. 15 is just 3 more than its used to really not much time to shock a plant looks good though gj

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This time I was not trying to shock the plants, but from what I have read you are suppose to harvest after the dark cycle or before the light cycle so that the raw nutes that give a harsh taste are out of the buds and in the roots. At least that is what I have read. Am I on the right track here? Should I try a long period of dark to shock it and get a better end product?

Motobomb62 said:

Bump
anyone else have an opinion on whether or not they are done??? the light is due to come on in about 2 hours, unless I dont let it, and decide to harvest.
It's a hard decision, I'm all torn up inside.... Do I chop em down now, or wait a few more days and hopefully get "better" bud???

Click to expand...

Okay... I like to go dark for 24 hours before harvest. Does it make them more potent? Some say it does, some say it doesn't. IMHO, I think it makes them a tad more potent. Maybe it's a placebo type effect, but one thing is for sure... 24-36 hours dark will definitely make them more resinous.

Now, are they ready for harvest? Well that depends on the high you prefer. You are just past my perfect high. More clear trichomes will give you an energetic and social high - - think swap meet, picking up some poontang at your local haunts, or spending Saturday afternoon on the beach strumming your six string. When the amber begins to dominate you will get a much heavier body high... think hanging out with your close friends around the pad with Zep on about 10 as you avoid undue socializing.

I prefer a mix... I am a medical marijuana patient so I need relief, but in different ways. Here is what I just did with a White Widow grow. The first one I harvested at about 60% clear/45% cloudy/5% amber -- this one gives me morning relief with plenty of energy so I can get stuff done.

The 2nd one I harvested close to where you are --- maybe 30% clear/50% cloudy/20% amber -- this gives me my favorite high with combination of high energy, but a solid body high to go with it.

The 3rd one I harvested at about 10% clear/30% cloudy/ 60% amber. This one I use when I need a solid body dominated high and max pain relief with a heavy narcotic affect. This mix is for spending time alone or with a couple of close friends. Turn up the jams and forget the small talk...

How about that? All of these possibilities from the same strain and batch of seeds. I have even staggered the harvest of one plant to get this type of variation. Of course, when I do that, the first 2 pickings don't go dark.. I just go dark before the last harvest with all the amber trics.

One last thing to keep in mind... When the trics go amber and start loosing their heads, guess what? That means they are dying. Don't go to long or you will have diminishing returns. For me, I would not go past about 70% amber for the ultimate body high.... The only other thing that sometimes forces my hand is if the plant has sucked all of the nutrients out of the fan leaves. If they are all yellow and dead then there's nothing left for the buds to feed on. They are under tremendous stress and are preparing to die. Watch those trics very closely if this is happening to your ladies because they will all go amber in a hurry if you are not careful.

Hope this helps....

Motobomb62 said:

This time I was not trying to shock the plants, but from what I have read you are suppose to harvest after the dark cycle or before the light cycle so that the raw nutes that give a harsh taste are out of the buds and in the roots. At least that is what I have read. Am I on the right track here? Should I try a long period of dark to shock it and get a better end product?

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Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation out there causing lot of confusion.

First of all, the reason that you want to harvest right after the lights come on is because the plant is at its peak THC level when the sun comes up in the morning. It has nothing to do with nutes. That said, is it going to make a huge difference if you harvest in the middle of the day? Probably not....

Secondly, it is unbelievable how often people blame nutes for the bad taste and smell of a harvest, but the vast majority of the time it is because of the drying and curing process. PATIENCE! PATIENCE! PATIENCE! Dry in total darkness, temps between 68-72 degrees, and the most important part -- humidity at about 50%. Get a cheap humidifier or dehumidifier, depending on which way you need to go, but nail your humidity. Otherwise, if you dry to fast from excessively low humidity then your smoke will be harsh and tasteless. Of course, I'd rather have that than to deal with mold from humidity that is way to high. If in doubt it is best to err with your humidity a little too low. At least you won't loose the whole crop to mold. Check your bud careful every day for mold and do not let your hanging buds touch each other. If you are going to err with humidity then go slightly low... I sometimes drop my humidity down to about 40% after being at 50 for a few days. It seems to make the drying process a little faster by a couple of days, but still keeps it smooth. Remember! Moldy bud goes in the trash... dry bud just makes you cough a little bit and is a bit harsh. In any case, drying should take anywhere from 5 to 10 days depending on your environment. Make sure to always weigh a medium size bud from your harvest as soon as you cut it... mark that one and when it is 25% of the original weight then you are dry. Got to the cure. Loosely put them in air tight jars in the fridge, but make sure to open them outside the fridge for 10 or 15 minutes 2 or 3 times a day. After about a week your crop will be perfectly dried and cured with the absolute best taste and burn possible.

Back to the flush... I simply don't believe in stressing my babies in the last 2 weeks of the most important time of their life in some ridiculous mission to get every last nute out. I use the entire Forest Fox suite of nutes all the way through. Rarely do even 10% of my leaves go yellow by harvest. When my trics are close to where I want them, I give them their next water with Grotek Final Flush (very cheap) and then two days later another good flush with straight water. I then wait a day, then go dark for 24 hours and start chopping. Important! NO WATER at all for a couple of days before harvest.

Again, just my 2cents.....

I'm growing in Hydro, if I go without water for even a few hours with the lights on they will be lying on the floor dead. But I am interested, why go without water? I have started my first soil grow that is in veg right now, so this would be important information for me in the future. Thanks for all the info CoastMan, I think I will be chopping tomorrow after giving them about 30 hrs of dark. This being my 4th grow I am attempting to not cut too early; seeing as thats what I have done with all my last crops.

Motobomb62 said:

I'm growing in Hydro, if I go without water for even a few hours with the lights on they will be lying on the floor dead. But I am interested, why go without water? I have started my first soil grow that is in veg right now, so this would be important information for me in the future. Thanks for all the info CoastMan, I think I will be chopping tomorrow after giving them about 30 hrs of dark. This being my 4th grow I am attempting to not cut too early; seeing as thats what I have done with all my last crops.

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That's right, you said earlier in the post you were hydro. Yea, LOL, you wouldn't want to hold out the water for a couple of days in that situation.

That said, the Grotek Final Flush is for hydro and soil. It just makes it easier to use that three or four days before harvest rather than trying to estimate 7-10 from harvest to stop the nutes. In your case, with the hydro grow just used distilled water and Final Flush for 3 or 4 days prior to harvest.

Ah, and the reason I do not water for a couple of days is purely because it speeds up drying time by a day or two. Some folks claim that if you harvest soaking wet that you will get a little greener taste, but I have never seen anything definitive on that nor experienced it myself. Now on your soil grow you absolutely don't want to dry them out to the point they wilt. At this stage of growth I normally water just over half a gallon every two days in 5 gal pots. When I see that I am really close to harvest I do a water and final flush with Grotek, then two days later a really good flush with just plain water, then I am dry for a day, then go to 24 hours dark and that brings me right to the point were I would normally do another watering so the plant is not stressed at all when I harvest on that day.

This might sound crazy, but I have a good friend that's been growing for ages and he claims that he can tell if his plants have been flushed enough by smelling and chewing on a leaf or two. I suppose if you really know your strains, and given enough grows, you might be able to pick up on it, but, hey, straight water with Final Flush for a couple of waterings before harvest seems to serve me quite well. Besides, the thought of chomping on a stray spider mite or worse doesn't do much for me...

So i left them in the dark for about 50 hours and chopped tonight. Pics are of all the buds laid out flat cut from 2 sensi star plants that vegged for about 3-4 weeks from clone and flowered for 9.5 weeks inside a 6 sqft. cab holding 3 plants total. The largest bud weighs 162 grams.

Right now my house is filled with the most amazing pungent smell that will hopefully return after a proper dry and cure.

They are hanging now in a 1100 sqft room at 65 degrees F and 45% RH, a fan is blowing in the room and a small humidifier is running in the corner.
What do you all think..... Am I doing this right?

I generally like to dry my buds at about 70 degrees F. The 5 degree difference probably doesn't matter a ton, might just add a day onto your drying time. As long as the room is dark and the buds aren't touching each other, everything should be great! Make sure you check them daily for any signs of mold, a small amount can turn into a big amount really quickly and be a definite buzzkill. Also, make sure the fan is not blowing directly on the buds. This will cause the outside to dry too fast, and make them crispy.

Thanks for the advise Coastman .... Marking post for future reading.

So here is the final cut buds. The largest cola dried today weighed 40.5 grams. exactly 25% of its original wet weight
Anyone know if I will be loosing much more weight in the jars with burping the moisture?
It has only been 3 days since I hung the buds but they were getting pretty crispy. The stems not quite snapping but almost and with the weight loss already I decided to jar them.