Your Method of Harvesting

[Krypto1]

hey i am just curious as to how everyone else harvests there crop. i personally have been getting the same tasteing bud for the past few harvests it taste like homegrown green. its just not what i want. i let it cure for 30 days and all that good stuff but it just doesnt have the awesome smell i want to follow the DJ-Short guide this time but this is my method

i flush for 2 weeks im in organic soil outdoors in pots
i cut the plant down then i cut the branches off 1 by 1 then i cut the buds off the branches and manicure the buds then dry them in a box and place them in jars if they become to wet in the jar i put them back in the box to dry a little more and so on. i dont know what im doing wrong but i just thought i might post this and ask the pro's thanks again K.1

 

[Smoking Gun]

From what I have found that green flavor you are experiencing is mostly from the growth phases. The chop and cure, in my opinion will not be where that awesome flavor comes from. Now a proper chop and cure is crucial to the best possible flavor and smoke, so here is how I do it.

It all depends a bit on how the plant was grown. If you have many branches I chop off each branch individually, if it is a single stalked plant with only small side branches I leave it all as one plant. I trim off all the large fan leaves, and most of the larger sugar leaf. Then hang the branch as a whole (I sometimes leave everything untrimmed while hanging, this allows the buds to dry out a bit slower and bit more evenly, but is not crucial to flavor as I have found). I let it hang until the stems snap when I bend them, most often this takes 5-7 days. If they do not snap at all then I leave them for another day or two, and check them again. Once the stems snap I do a final trim, remove all the buds from the stalk and place them in a jar. There are people who will throw the buds into a paper bag between the drying and the jar, I find this is really more for aesthetics rather than flavor.

Once the buds are in the jar the true cure has started. During the first week I burp the jar once a day for an hour or so and every two days dump the whole jar out, mix up the buds, and place them back in. This keeps the excess moisture from collecting on the inside of the jar and inviting mold. The following week I let the jar sit in a dark corner or a cabinet virtually untouched; I usually can't help myself and sneak a sniff of the jar. After the second week in the jar is the first time I consider the buds cured. I personally like the buds to be jarred for 4 weeks before I call them cured and start to smoke them.

 

[Mr Green]

right on target smoking gun with exactly the way i do it... you wrote everything i was going to..

 

[Skunkenstein]

Smoking Gun hits Bullseye..

I normally Harvest multiple outdoor monsters every fall.My falling and trimming process last for days..and thats just the 'Rough' fan leaf trim.The final manicure ?? Weeks.I believe you must be ready and have a plan..it is truely an art to dry and cure your bud properly.This aspect is really where the ''Rubber meets the Road'' so to speak.I normally chop into managable pieces, trim away big fans, and hang all main branches w/bud intact.Adequate ventilation,Odor control,Dark area{mold needs light},70 degrees initially..then mid to high 60's for the rest.Anywhere from 7-9 days you can start manicuring..Then you still have to check,check, and recheck.The buds that are ready can be jarred up..They must be aired-out daily.They will start to break down and you will notice the change in aroma.After several weeks you will start to find the smell you are looking for..Plants that have been properly flushed and have canabalized the remaining stored nutrients will cure out and have the aroma quicker than unflushed Green plants.:cool

 

[ReelBusy1]

:harvest:

Harvest Bump

 

[hbstoner]

Are you drying outdoors or indoors? When I do it indoors its pretty simple to get the great smell and taste.. the hard part is the patience that it takes to do it right. Ill dry in a room with temps between 65-75 and humidity around 40 to 50. With these temps I usually dry for 15 days sometimes a little more depending on the size of the buds. After that i go into jars for at least a couple weeks and after that everything should be good.

The most important of the whole process being making them dry as slow as possible. If temps get hotter then 75 then some flavor and smell is going to be lost.
Depending on the strain ill leave all the leafs on and separate each arm and hang em.. no trimming before. This helps them dry slower and also protects all the crystals. Soon as you bend the stem all the way and it snaps (not rips) then you should be ready to cure.

 

[Solidopc]

My first two grows produced bud like this, then it just went away and the bud started getting better and better. I think alot of it had to do with me learning to grow, and getting my enviroment setup perfectly to grow marijuana. I am indoors mind, so little you can do on the latter, OP'er.

Growing a pre-selected mother allways helps aswell if you can get ahold of one. As you know the bud should be good, and if it isn't, you know you are doing something wrong, and can change things around and see what works. Alot of the time, i rekon people are just growing out phenos of strains that aren't that good, or not to their tastes. When you know you have something good, it's alot easier to concentrate on the growing aspect and perfecting that, rather than worrying about genetics and finding a keeper at the sametime.

I think just keeping at it solves the problem in the end though. Once you've got the experience, it all just falls into place.

 

[budboy]

I find the key to getting the great flavor is to ensure you flushed all nitrogen from the plant if you are getting a good fade in the last weeks all will be good, dry and cure as normal

 

[heavy hitter]

hang upside down for 6-10 days for drying. Put in air-tight jar for 5-7 days for curing. Open 3-5 times a day for thoes 5-7 days. Myne taste so clean and unique. Curing is very important it brings all the flavor and taste.

 

[K Double O]

Real simple if drying indoors. Let hang dry for about 4-5 days with a small fan in a dark place like a closet or something.

Once buds dry are to the touch. Remove them and place in brown paper bags for about 3-4 days. During this step you will notice the buds start to "sweat a little" also they will start to compact and develop more of an aroma.

After they have dried to your preference. You can either zip lock them or cure them in jars. Your choice. 2-3 Curing would bring out the taste a bunch. The longer the better though.

Thats it. really simple. I've found that "real" killer dosent need a cure to bring out the potency. Curing vs Potency is probably a myth. Anyway. Hopefully this is was helpful.

Peace!

 

[ismokepot]

I cut the tops of each plant first, then work my way down to dirt which usually takes about 2 days. I hang dry for 7 days, then put in mason jars. Initially I open the jars 4-5 times a day for a little while and slowly cut back to once a day after a few weeks. That's when the flavor/smell starts becoming noticeable. The longer they sit in the jar, the better the overall product is......

 

[Smoking Gun]

Curing vs Potency is probably a myth.

Yes and no. Curing will not make the bud any more potent as potency is developed will the plant is alive and growing. Once chopped the potency cannot increase because the plant is not producing anything.

But curing will enhance the flavor and effect of the herb. Curing is essentially controlled decay. Once chopped down the plant is now decaying, and by putting the buds into containers we slow down the decay process, but it is never ceased. As the buds go through this controlled decay things like chlorophyll are also decaying which allow the terpenes that give our buds their flavor and aroma, to come through. Even the resin glands are decaying, so the cannabinoid profile changes slightly throughout the curing process. THC breaks down into CBD, which is the chemical responsible for a more narcotic long lasting effect, making the bud seem more potent.

This is why properly cured marijuana is significantly better than uncured marijuana. When cured the herb is simply at its optimal state for use.

 

[Beeronymous]

neat.

 

[Papa_kush]

Growing a pre-selected mother allways helps aswell if you can get ahold of one. As you know the bud should be good, and if it isn't, you know you are doing something wrong, and can change things around and see what works. Alot of the time, i rekon people are just growing out phenos of strains that aren't that good, or not to their tastes. When you know you have something good, it's alot easier to concentrate on the growing aspect and perfecting that, rather than worrying about genetics and finding a keeper at the sametime.

I think just keeping at it solves the problem in the end though. Once you've got the experience, it all just falls into place.

^^^^IMO the most important factor to making sure you have quality budz in the end. Get your genetics from a reputable source:smiley_joint:

 

[FastForward]

Real simple if drying indoors. Let hang dry for about 4-5 days with a small fan in a dark place like a closet or something.

Once buds dry are to the touch. Remove them and place in brown paper bags for about 3-4 days. During this step you will notice the buds start to "sweat a little" also they will start to compact and develop more of an aroma.

After they have dried to your preference. You can either zip lock them or cure them in jars. Your choice. 2-3 Curing would bring out the taste a bunch. The longer the better though.

This is how I harvest mine....pretty much DJS's recommended method. I also give 48 hours of darkness before the chop, and hang my plants whole when chopped, removing only the large fans.

 

[germinator]

My .02 Pre harvest tricks....... Cover plants for min 24 hour prior, make sure your plant soil is BONE dry then pullem before the lights go on.
All the rest has been covered expertly above.

 

[rambo6372]

Yes and no. Curing will not make the bud any more potent as potency is developed will the plant is alive and growing. Once chopped the potency cannot increase because the plant is not producing anything.

But curing will enhance the flavor and effect of the herb. Curing is essentially controlled decay. Once chopped down the plant is now decaying, and by putting the buds into containers we slow down the decay process, but it is never ceased. As the buds go through this controlled decay things like chlorophyll are also decaying which allow the terpenes that give our buds their flavor and aroma, to come through. Even the resin glands are decaying, so the cannabinoid profile changes slightly throughout the curing process. THC breaks down into CBD, which is the chemical responsible for a more narcotic long lasting effect, making the bud seem more potent.

This is why properly cured marijuana is significantly better than uncured marijuana. When cured the herb is simply at its optimal state for use.

I think you mean THC breaks down to CBN which produces the couchlock stone. CBD does slow down the onset of THC thereby creating a "creeping" high which in effect lasts longer.