Harvesting the main cola. Question..

[malachii]

Hi guys,

One of my plants is finally ready. Just chopped her down. Small "pot of gold" plant around 24 inches tall. Anyhow, chopped the side branches, trimmed them, and hung them.

The main cola (cut in half due to height issues in my drying space) is hanging an drying.

When it comes time cure, I'm supposed to separate out all the nugs, and put them into jars. How do I do this with the main cola? Do you just "unravel" it into nugs, or do you stick the whole mother into a jar lol?

Thanks!

 

[Seamaiden]

Depends on how big it is and what your preference is. I don't do things the same way many, if not most others do. I eschew jars entirely in favor of a Humidor-type of storage situation, nothing gets trimmed until it's absolutely necessary. But to answer the question, I would suggest breaking it down, just start at the bottom. Once you dig into it you'll see how the buds are formed on each side, will come off on their own little stem once you get it trimmed down.

 

[malachii]

Depends on how big it is and what your preference is. I don't do things the same way many, if not most others do. I eschew jars entirely in favor of a Humidor-type of storage situation, nothing gets trimmed until it's absolutely necessary. But to answer the question, I would suggest breaking it down, just start at the bottom. Once you dig into it you'll see how the buds are formed on each side, will come off on their own little stem once you get it trimmed down.

I'm sure down the road I'll end up exploring a few different methods, but for my first grow (nearly finished), I'm trying to keep things along the common path. Then I'll have a basis for comparison on several different aspects hopefully.

Anyhow, thanks for the tip. Looks like I'll be undoing the cola puzzle in a day or two. Kind of makes me sad - I'll really be done with the plant at at that point. I'll get over it once I enjoy the product I'm sure!

Mal.

 

[Seamaiden]

I totally know where you're coming from on both aspects. I became very emotionally attached to my first grow, to the point that I waited so long before harvest that my son gasped and yelled at me. I don't think the buds were shrinking, but they were probably close. And it's pretty weird when you think about it, that I would get attached like that. I've raised pigs and other animals that we slaughtered for food, but I get upset at the idea of cutting down a tree.

I found it took me a few grows to get over that emotional attachment. Smoking more weed definitely helped!

 

[johnursery]

id stick it in a jar if it fits, or jars if it needs to be in sections unless its realy dense and im worrying about mold then i cut up my colas, if you have a large yeild glass becomes unpracticle, but if you dont have that problem id go with glass and whole cola if its not to dense, and dry enough for the jar that is. that big stem will slowly release moisture slowing the curing process to a crawl if your careful you will be glad you did IME
remember the slower the drying and curing the better but also the more chance of mold so its a double edged sword and you have to become familiar with it cause all strains are different and all buds come in different sizes and shapes, so burp and inspect religiously, dont be afraid to take buds back outta jars if you find they werent as dry as you thought, better to dry than moldy

 

[Sea Of Green]

The other thing I've not heard mentioned about breaking down colas is manicuring. You can usually do a better trimming job, as it's possible to get at leaves that are tucked in or hidden on the inward facing sides of the buds. I like to break mine down before drying for that purpose. A lot of times I'm too lazy and don't. They do take longer to fully dry if you don't too, the way I hang/dry mine anyway.

You wanna talk sad? The first truly magnificent plant I grew got jacked. It wasn't my first grow, just the first that really grew to it's full potential(outdoors of course). It was one of those 12'+ monsters you see pics of now and again. It took me more years of trial and error to finally get to that plant than I'm willing to admit. I've never worked harder to grow any plant in my entire life, and I don't know if I ever will. I had the perfect game plan and the perfect hiding spot. All went exactly as I'd hoped it would, well minus the 4 sativas next to it that hardly even started to flower by quittin' time. The estimation of which on my part was apparently my only other mistake. I was there two days prior to potentially harvest it. But decided I'd give it just a couple days more, since the weather was optimal. Bad idea...;(

 

[malachii]

Oh crap! That would be terrible. I guess it's a benefit of growing indoors - less risk of jacking. I've been thinking of doing a little hidden outdoor growing next spring to try something new. Just need to scope out the perfect place. But this is getting way off topic now!

 

[ThanksButNoDank]

Oh crap! That would be terrible. I guess it's a benefit of growing indoors - less risk of jacking. I've been thinking of doing a little hidden outdoor growing next spring to try something new. Just need to scope out the perfect place. But this is getting way off topic now!

dude if you have the luxury of growing indoors then i wouldnt even bother with a guerilla grow, finding a good spot, hauling water, avoiding snakes, avoiding detection, being ripped, getting enough light, tons of things and hours of work i never expected, all in the hot ass sun, i wish so bad i could just grow in my yard or in my house without worry, unfortunatly my state is in the bible belt so i doubt i will see marijuana decriminalized for quite some time

but back to the topic... sure why not? slice it in half again if you have to to fit in the jars, but imo i'd rather seperate nugs from it and put it in the jar so i dont ave to do it later, just make sure you keep a close eye out for mold, it may be harder to spot with such a dense piece of bud though

 

[Jsän]

nothing gets trimmed until it's absolutely necessary.

Sea? do you find that it takes longer to cure with that much leaf on the flower?

i was under the impression that the less leaf in the jar, the quicker 'the hay smell' leaves. (<--pun) ..something about decaying chlorophyll and ethylene gas.

can you school me please?


side note: the decomposition of chlorophyl produces "Fluorescing chlorophyll catabolytes" that will cause ripening bananas to glow bright blue under UV light.

just found it interesting.
had to share.

 

[Seamaiden]

Curing doesn't take longer, because I really prefer longer cures most of the time. Drying does take longer, though not by a whole lot. I also don't use jars, haven't since my first grow. Lost about a QP from mold by putting my product in jars, not doing that again.

I have a unique situation in which I have a huge walk-in basement area (in California, a basement??? Yeah, I know!) that's exposed to bare earth, has those little vents, and almost zero light coming in. Because of these conditions I basically have a humidor, except that it's difficult to control temps and humidity if they get out of range. Winter means wet and cold, perfect for mold, yeah? But once dried it's great. So, plants are harvested whole, brought into the basement and hung up to start drying. If it's not too wet they stay there, if it is they I have to string up a bedroom and hang them in there.

Once everything is dry, I leave it for the curing. Month minimum, two months is usually optimum for me. I like the curing area to be cool and RH between 60%-65%, seems to be a real sweet spot. Again, everything remains whole, as much for my own ease as anything else. Curing can occur hanging, or I might break it down and put it into paper bags that are then put into plastic bins (bug and gunk protection). Once it's in the paper bags for a month or two, there is no hay smell that I can detect.

 

[dorjewright]

I paper bag and then jar with a caliber3 hygrometer (ebay). If above 70% back in the paper bag or drying rack. Once below 68% I open the jars, rotate leave for a few minutes and top again. Also check the drying space humidity and temp that's just as important to control when you open jars to breath. Like Seamaiden said 65 to 60% is ideal for a final cure. Toward the beginning of jar curing let the hygrometer stabilize for a few days in a tightly closed jar before leaving closed for the final cure.

 

[BigGreen56]

Try freeze drying in your freezer for 30 minutes and then proceed with letting them cure longer in glass jars or cedar box. With all good quality herb age properly will enhance any smoke.

 

[The HC]

I'm sure down the road I'll end up exploring a few different methods, but for my first grow (nearly finished), I'm trying to keep things along the common path. Then I'll have a basis for comparison on several different aspects hopefully.

Anyhow, thanks for the tip. Looks like I'll be undoing the cola puzzle in a day or two. Kind of makes me sad - I'll really be done with the plant at at that point. I'll get over it once I enjoy the product I'm sure!

Mal.

Get on your next grow ASAP, I felt like everyday between when I finished my first and stared my second were a waste of time and almost missed my chance for the second.