Advice On Harvest

[Agardens]

I'm going on the final week of flushing this my my first harvest and ive heard about leaving them in darkness the last 2 days?? Not sure what the ideal time is to leave them in full darkness.. What do I do in the last week before harvest I'd really appreciate some tips or suggestion as I am a new grower

 

[GT21]

I'm going on the final week of flushing this my my first harvest and ive heard about leaving them in darkness the last 2 days?? Not sure what the ideal time is to leave them in full darkness.. What do I do in the last week before harvest I'd really appreciate some tips or suggestion as I am a new grower

Some say it shocks the plant into putting out more trichs... some say it makes a smoother cure. I dont think anyone has proven results but i know uvb lighting and cold water feeds at the end help

 

[Agardens]

Cool yea I heard about the cold water feeding but not the uvb light... How maybe hours of darkness is ideal??

 

[Funkadelic]

Cool yea I heard about the cold water feeding but not the uvb light... How maybe hours of darkness is ideal??

I studied this and read a scientific backed explanation that 36 hours is ideal, before diminishing returns.

I believe goal is to get all terpenes, which migrate, into bud not leaf/stem. Once chopped, ensure absolute darkness and a slower cure.

You can trim leaves last 3 weeks and supposedly yield better. Super low humidity spikes THC too. You can lower hours of light also. Basically convince them winters coming.

Im convinced minimal 1st trim/takedown of leaves, then hanging upside down whole plant - stems on trunk, little cutting, gives smoothest cure with most flavor. Dark, dark, dark too.

My runs havent always had best colas, but always cures right and tastes excellent - thats what Im told. Fuck low tide hay schwag. Cure is EVERYTHING.
Good luck!

 

[G gnome]

I wudnt bother w leavin em in the dark. I can guarantee ur not gonna notice a difference. Just flush em for the last week and chop.

 

[Funkadelic]

I wudnt bother w leavin em in the dark. I can guarantee ur not gonna notice a difference. Just flush em for the last week and chop.

Best growers Ive ever seen agree. I just saw data showing 36hrs dark gives best terpene transfer. I like to err for caution. A bad cure turns a crop to hay. At low tide. And Ive seen so many many many people do that.

 

[G gnome]

Best growers Ive ever seen agree. I just saw data showing 36hrs dark gives best terpene transfer. I like to err for caution. A bad cure turns a crop to hay. At low tide. And Ive seen so many many many people do that.

I dont know what u mean by "low tide"?

I'm interested to see the scientific backed evidence ur referring to?

Just to be clear im not talkin about keeping em in the dark durin the drying and curing process. That imo is an absolute must. Im talkin about giving em a dark period b4 the chop. I dont think it makes much of a difference. Just my opinion.....fwiw most of the best growers i know chop when its time to harvest and immediately fill the space w new plants and either dont have the rm to let plants sit in the dark for a cpl days and/or are not willing to dedicate valuable space in the groom to do so.
Furthermore if ur runnin a perpetual garden its not feasible to just simply turn out the lights in the flowering rm for a cpl days cuz u got plants in the same rm that are still in the middle of flowering

 

[Freshone]

If it makes you feel better do it,but I do not think it makes much difference to the plants.Some will swear it does though.
Try it this round if you like and then skip it next round and see if you can discern any improvement in quality.Congrats on your first harvest,hope you have many more.

 

[G gnome]

If it makes you feel better do it,but I do not think it makes much difference to the plants.Some will swear it does though.
Try it this round if you like and then skip it next round and see if you can discern any improvement in quality.Congrats on your first harvest,hope you have many more.

Better yet, take one plant down like normal and another left in the dark for a cpl days or however long......OR half a plant like normal and the other half after a dark period......

I really dont think there will be a discernable difference. The only way to know fer sure is to get both samples tested by a lab

 

[Funkadelic]

I dont know what u mean by "low tide"?

I'm interested to see the scientific backed evidence ur referring to?

Just to be clear im not talkin about keeping em in the dark durin the drying and curing process. That imo is an absolute must. Im talkin about giving em a dark period b4 the chop. I dont think it makes much of a difference. Just my opinion.....fwiw most of the best growers i know chop when its time to harvest and immediately fill the space w new plants and either dont have the rm to let plants sit in the dark for a cpl days and/or are not willing to dedicate valuable space in the groom to do so.
Furthermore if ur runnin a perpetual garden its not feasible to just simply turn out the lights in the flowering rm for a cpl days cuz u got plants in the same rm that are still in the middle of flowering

"Low tide" = smell of stale or mistakenly cured buds. Lots and lots of it. Another word for hay smell maybe? I use both because Ive smelled a lot of great dank ruined by this stink. I had a good round with excellent bouquet/terpenes/cure, but had too many bugs stuck so I had to stash most of it for later blasting.
Opened up tote and it reeked like low tide/hay.

Ive heard it comes from photosynthesis during cure? Not sure about that though. Sadly its common.

In a non-perpetual, turning lights panel off 36hrs before chop and moving to drying tent or area is what I do. Agreed on all other points.

I also use high Brix molasses at end, and had outstanding flavors finishing with insect frass too. Flavor is tremendously important, so I err for caution. I no longer use screens and aggressive chops. Just cut down and hang in dark, after 36 hours dark to finish. Make sense?

In near total agreement with you on everything, this is just what I carefully follow since Im paranoid about cures going wrong...

 

[Funkadelic]

Good point, Gnome. Labs can test terpenes. For science~!

Again, Im not arguing, just sharing my preference. Better growers than me do it your way.

 

[Freshone]

Better yet, take one plant down like normal and another left in the dark for a cpl days or however long......OR half a plant like normal and the other half after a dark period......

I really dont think there will be a discernable difference. The only way to know fer sure is to get both samples tested by a lab

The only real way to know and a great idea.

 

[G gnome]

"Low tide" = smell of stale or mistakenly cured buds. Lots and lots of it. Another word for hay smell maybe? I use both because Ive smelled a lot of great dank ruined by this stink. I had a good round with excellent bouquet/terpenes/cure, but had too many bugs stuck so I had to stash most of it for later blasting.
Opened up tote and it reeked like low tide/hay.

Ive heard it comes from photosynthesis during cure? Not sure about that though. Sadly its common.

In a non-perpetual, turning lights panel off 36hrs before chop and moving to drying tent or area is what I do. Agreed on all other points.

I also use high Brix molasses at end, and had outstanding flavors finishing with insect frass too. Flavor is tremendously important, so I err for caution. I no longer use screens and aggressive chops. Just cut down and hang in dark, after 36 hours dark to finish. Make sense?

In near total agreement with you on everything, this is just what I carefully follow since Im paranoid about cures going wrong...

I use just mollasses for last week too.
No, i dont understand what u mean by hangin in the dark for 36hrs? What i thought this thread was about is leavin in dark BEFORE chop?
U only let it hang for 36hrs? I dry mine hangin in the dark for like 10 days.

Good point, Gnome. Labs can test terpenes. For science~!

Again, Im not arguing, just sharing my preference. Better growers than me do it your way.

Nope, no argument just a conversation among colleagues :)

 

[G gnome]

The only real way to know and a great idea.

Thats the only kind i have:)

 

[G gnome]

"Low tide" = smell of stale or mistakenly cured buds. Lots and lots of it. Another word for hay smell maybe? I use both because Ive smelled a lot of great dank ruined by this stink. I had a good round with excellent bouquet/terpenes/cure, but had too many bugs stuck so I had to stash most of it for later blasting.
Opened up tote and it reeked like low tide/hay.

Ive heard it comes from photosynthesis during cure? Not sure about that though. Sadly its common.

In a non-perpetual, turning lights panel off 36hrs before chop and moving to drying tent or area is what I do. Agreed on all other points.

I also use high Brix molasses at end, and had outstanding flavors finishing with insect frass too. Flavor is tremendously important, so I err for caution. I no longer use screens and aggressive chops. Just cut down and hang in dark, after 36 hours dark to finish. Make sense?

In near total agreement with you on everything, this is just what I carefully follow since Im paranoid about cures going wrong...

Im sorry. I misread. U sed AFTER 36hrs

 

[Funkadelic]

Funny, was JUST talking about loving Gnomes book back in the day, just yesterday. Ha~

Yeah, day and a half BEFORE CHOP, kill ballasts. Terpenes migrate fully to buds, in dark 36 hours while plants still alive and uncut.

Chop, hang in dark on trunks intact a week+.... make more sense? I promise Im on topic, even if Im a bit fuzzy. =D

 

[Funkadelic]

Can't find thread discussing the science on other forums at moment. Chlorophyll break down and terpene migration is the goal with added 36hrs. Sorry I can't locate that discussion, but it convinced me.

Probably no major difference in resulting cure, I just go all out to be as safe and careful as possible. Plants ready for death and winter, including increased darkness, cold, wet soil, etc. Could be bs, and I wish I could find that science on other board. I only use this one, but read others sometimes. They're kinda hard to read and full of insults and/or noobs in my opinion usually.

 

[G gnome]

Funny, was JUST talking about loving Gnomes book back in the day, just yesterday. Ha~

Yeah, day and a half BEFORE CHOP, kill ballasts. Terpenes migrate fully to buds, in dark 36 hours while plants still alive and uncut.

Chop, hang in dark on trunks intact a week+.... make more sense? I promise Im on topic, even if Im a bit fuzzy. =D

I do agree about leaving buds on stems during the drying process for the purposes of drying slowly but i must say im not convinced that there are a substantial amount of terpenes anywhere in the plant other than the buds themselves. In other words i dont think leaving buds on the stem to dry actually increases terpenes but more preserves them by allowing the plant to dry more slowly and evenly.
Kinda reminds me of the ole lore about leaving the stems on so the thc can run from the stems to the bud.
If there were terps in the stems the stems wud taste good when u smoked em and they definitely dont taste good haha

 

[G gnome]

Can't find thread discussing the science on other forums at moment. Chlorophyll break down and terpene migration is the goal with added 36hrs. Sorry I can't locate that discussion, but it convinced me.

Probably no major difference in resulting cure, I just go all out to be as safe and careful as possible. Plants ready for death and winter, including increased darkness, cold, wet soil, etc. Could be bs, and I wish I could find that science on other board. I only use this one, but read others sometimes. They're kinda hard to read and full of insults and/or noobs in my opinion usually.

Im more interested in seeing some evidence to suggest that leaving plants in the dark b4 chop has a positive impact on quality. Whether it be by increasing thc content or terpene content.

As far as the hay smell goes....i dont get any hay smelling bud the way i cure but i have when i first started growin. I attribute the hay smell to having too much moisture content when jarred and not burping the jars frequently enuf.

Imo, if u dry slowly, evenly and thoroughly u wont have any hay smell. I dont think that giving the plants a dark period b4 harvest has any effect whatsoever on whether u get a hay smell or not. It has to do again w how well the product is dried b4 curing and allowing the chlorophyll to evaporate.

 

[DemonTrich]

Flushing is another misconception.

I haven't flushed anything but toilets in over 3 yrs. My flowers are always smooth and tasty when smoked.

I do a 3 day dark before cutting if I'm able. I also dry in my clone room with 4x4't8 lights on 18/6. I've found no difference in drying in dark vs lite room.