Harvest, Drying, Curing - My Timing Sucks and Need to Adjust

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BC21596

BC21596

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I have a family get-together out of town and while out, I want to stop by a few friends as well. I'll probably be gone for 5-6 days. I'm real close to harvest...tomorrow is 8 wks into flower and the seeds said 7-9 weeks. Mostly this grow has gone very well. One day I accidentally turned the light timer to fully on so it was on 24 hrs. I noticed in the morning and then I flipped it off for 24 hrs. It seems that the top bud is the least ripe which is opposite how it usually is and I'm guessing it's because of the light issue. I currently have almost 100% cloudy trichomes and about 5% amber on the sugar leaves but not much inside the buds. I have plenty of couch-lock stash so I'm looking to keep the sativa side of this and don't want to wait too long to harvest. Strain is White Widow. Grow was DWC and I swapped out for pure ph adjusted water two days ago. If I need to give more info, let me know.

My question is how to harvest based on my timing. Some options I've considered:
- Wait until I get back. That's an extra week and a half though and I'll be past the 9 weeks by then. If I left this in pure water, will this slow down the ripening process?
- Harvest today, dry for 3 days, and put in mason jars with Boveda packs?
- Harvest the day before I leave and jar them up when I get back with Boveda packs to re-hydrate?

Any other ideas?

Thanks.
 
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TomTom420

TomTom420

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Hello friend
I'm on my third grow so inexperienced and still learning alot myself. I've been reading alot on here and one thing I remember I've read boveda packs are more for storing already cured weed. If I remember correctly they can kill you're terpenes. Perhaps leave your plant whole and untrimmed while hanging will slow the drying process? Although I've read it's harder to dry trim but I'm sure there's a technique or two that would make things easier. Don't know if that helps any but at very least I bumped your post lol.😎
 
BC21596

BC21596

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Thanks. I think that cutting the day I leave and hanging the whole plant until I get back is the best idea. That gives a couple more days to flush and ripen up also. Then I can split to individual branches when I get back and finish the dry/cure process.
 
BurnzYzBudZz

BurnzYzBudZz

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There’s no easy way around your issue. The ideal way to dry and cure is 10-14days @ 60 degrees/60% humidity hang drying. If you’re able to do that then you’ll be back in time to trim and jar. I wouldn’t advise drying for 3 days and jarring. You’ll come back to a jar of mold. Boveda packs make me cringe but to each their own. Any pictures of trichs?
 
BC21596

BC21596

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My last grow went completely to mold and it was the first time I used Boveda packs...? I blamed it on the summer humidity/heat but could be wrong. I hung branches for 10 days and it still wasn't dry. I then jarred them with the Boveda hoping it would pull more moisture out. The 80% average humidity in the basement over summer was too much for the dehumidifier to keep up with. I decided to do a few grows every winter but skip the summer since I'm usually busy during the summer anyways. It's hard for me to get pictures of trichs. I don't have all the right equipment for macro photography.
 
T

TheC525

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My last grow went completely to mold and it was the first time I used Boveda packs...? I blamed it on the summer humidity/heat but could be wrong. I hung branches for 10 days and it still wasn't dry. I then jarred them with the Boveda hoping it would pull more moisture out. The 80% average humidity in the basement over summer was too much for the dehumidifier to keep up with. I decided to do a few grows every winter but skip the summer since I'm usually busy during the summer anyways. It's hard for me to get pictures of trichs. I don't have all the right equipment for macro photography.

You need to go by what your plants need, not solely what everyone else suggests. If you pay attention to your environment you will begin to understand the needs of you plants better Yes, by all means study what others have done, there's a wealth of good, solid info out there but you NEED to talor that info to your needs and your area. You may live in an area with more humidity then others. I pay attention to my plants, those numbers people give out about drying X number of days are only a REFERENCE, your plants may need more drying time. When the branches crack (like a green twig) but don't snap in half (like a bone dry twig) it's time to trim and jar. Get some moisture meters and keep an eye on them. Sounds like you need to dry some other place then your basement (80% humidity? That's just crazy!) If your branches aren't dry in 10 days it's clearly apparent that they need more drying time, so give them 5 or 10 more days. Lay them out on some cardboard. Why would you just go on and jar them? Because that's what the guy growing in a dryer climate said to do? Foolishness people who live in say, Arizona don't dry plants the exact way people who live in North Carolina do. Granted, the technical aspect is the same however the drying times are/ must be different. Look, I really don't mean to pick on you but you gotta use some common sense here. Stay away from those Boveda packs, let nature take it's course, in the end you'll be pleased that you took the extra time. I know it's not easy but you must be patient, don't rush things. JMO
 
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josefrahl

josefrahl

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Any pics of the plants at all? In my experience if the seedbank/breeder says 7-9 weeks it's more likely 9-12.
 
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