Bizie's best way to harvest & dry cannabis

Id like to share my favorite harvesting method with everyone here. It is as follows. Cut the plant at the lowest point and let it dry whole. Yes, that's right, with out trimming. Let it dry all the way, then trim and cure.

We dry as a whole for a slow and even dry. This takes place because plants are made up of cells and cells are mostly made up of water, once a cell dries out it is dead and it role in life of transporting moisture stops. If you trim at harvest your exposing the inner cells to air and they dry out faster then the moisture can be replenished from other cells and then die aka dry uneven. With the more cuts you make the faster and more uneven your product will dry. You can see it happening with your eyes if you look closely you can see the water or moisture exiting every cut you just made. This speeds up the dry and can cause it to dry uneven and grassy/hay/alfalfa tasting. Drying like this also requires a precise and lengthy cure. Leave the plant to dry whole the inner cells transport their moisture to the drying outer cells, but this can only happen if your temp and RH are manageable so they don't dry faster then the cells can move moisture. Well mainly RH..  When your RH is between 50-60% then you can just leave the plant dry until the stem snaps and then trim. The optimal environment is 65-70 degrees and 55-60%RH. When the plants dry the stem will still have a slight bend and then it will snap. The whole plant will be ready to be smokable, stinky, and will have a considerable amount of flavor at this time. The dry time is usually around 10 days for me. My area is usually warm but this method still works great for me. I read that drying like this can take up to three or even four weeks. It all depends on your environment. Once you trim then comes curing and it does not need to be a science or rh meters involved, its simply the slow removal of any remaining moisture in the bud and is highly over rated. A good slow and even dry requires only a short cure for maximum potency. If your environment is not manageable then I suggest trimming once the fan leaves are completely dry and easily snap off. Then revert to Rumpleforeskins dry. It is a good method and I use to use it before I found this one. Just remember slow and even.
 
I'd like to add something else that has been working real well for me with poor humidity management (I too suffer). Once the outside of the plant feels dry I like to carefully wrap a 55 gallon trash bag around it and get it nice and tight around the stalk. After a day like this the plant will have redistributed the moisture and you can dry for a bit and bag for a bit until you are ready to trim. I still stand by the trimming after the plant (or cells) are dead and dry. Drying like this keeps more starches and sugars available to the plant; starches and sugars are converted into thc during the drying, this allows for a better all around product imo.
 
-Hanging and trimming the plant.

I grow DWC for the past near 3 yrs and find it most convenient to just take the bucket out of the room drain it and let it dry. I leave the roots and make no cuts for the slowest most natural dry. If you uproot a soil grown plant make sure you wrap a grocery bag so you don't accidentally get soil all over your buds. I like to keep it up right to avoid the p.i.t.a trim. Hanging the plant up right allows the leaves to dry sticking out and easily accessible for removal. The large buds or plants with skinny stems will need support so they don't hang to the floor. I do this by tying some present string to the branch at the highest exposed node and then pin the string to the ceiling. This dry can also work by simply draining your grow room or stop watering and shut down everything except the environment control. Once all the stems bends slightly and then snaps your dry enough to trim and cure. Once everything is dry trimming is a breeze and everything falls right off. Some people that harvest like this don't even use scissors, they just brush everything off with their hands. Though I read that by hanging the plant upside down the fan leaves laying on the bud cause a even slower dry and protect the trichomes but I have tried both and think I like upright better but am still testing that part.
 
- For large outdoor whole plant harvesting.
 
If you think your plants are going to be too big for drying the whole plant then you can simply cut the branches into manageable sizes and then dry as if each branch were a whole plant.

-Speeding up the dry

I have had success with a faster dry leaving the plant untrimmed but drying it in a warm area...around 85-90 degrees the high heat seems to evaporate the moisture from the inner cells to the outer faster drying cells, keeping the dry even. Because even is the key. No matter the dry technique, if you can keep the bud drying even through out then you will have a successful dry. I don't recommend trying to speed up the dry because high heat with inadequate air flow can promote mold. This has worked to dry some wonderful pineapple express to the stem snapping in 5 days. The product came out wonderful but it was totally accidental and I don't practice this method because heat is said to degrade thc. I read over 88 degrees Fahrenheit but I think that's debatable because I have had stuff that knocked me on my ass that was exposed to 100 degree temps.

-Curing your DRY product

Curing needs O2 (oxygen) to take place. Once all the o2 in a sealed container is used curing stops and storing begins. This is why you need to open the jars to replenish the o2. If you put your bud in a container that's only half full then the extra o2 will allow for a faster cure. Less o2 and more full equals a longer cure. You can adjust the cure length to the moisture content of the bud. I cure in a food safe tub that seals but not air tight, this allows for o2/gas exchange but keeps the rh up. I store in mason jars. This is most convenient for me in the fact I would be burping way too many jars if I cured in them. Remember that Jamaicans, Cubans, or any foreign country producing weight of good weed are not curing in jars. They are using burlap sacks. And I have seen how to harvest videos made by Jamaicans where they hang the entire plant until its dry. They smoke and produce dank and do little if any curing. Id also like to add that you can speed up the cure with WARMTH, such as you can the dry.

curing o2 info was obtained from a high times issue, cant find it right now and will put down the issue when I find it.

-When to harvest

The most important part is when to harvest. It's best accomplished by observing the plant and its state of growing. You can watch the trichomes mature if you want but its easier to watch the plant and harvest when its ripe. Then smoke the product, check your trichomes and adjust your next harvest time from the point of a ripe plant. A plant will ripen in these stages- Hairs will turn red, then they will recede and the calyx's/bud's will swell considerably. The plant will be producing no new growth at this point. Hairs changing color is only a indication harvest time is nearing. It does not mean harvest and there is no percentage of red hairs that tells you when to harvest. If you want a percentage its basically 100% hairs red and most of them receded/disappeared. I believe in a minimum of a 3 day flush depending on the medium used and I like to do 48 hrs of complete darkness for improved trichome production. I remember reading a study where this showed a recordable increase of trichome production for certain strains but not all and mostly effecting strains of white strain (white widow) heritage. But for any miniscule increase in potency its worth the little effort it takes imo. Unhealthy plants never seem to quite ripen right. They take forever to finish, look airy, and dry to near no measurable weight. No dry technique will salvage a poorly grown plant.

All this information is obtained from other forum grow faqs and other growers. It has been tried in my grow room. I have been growing for 6+ years and have made many mistakes in my time. I have thrown out unhealthy flowering plants, had bug problems, nute problems, drying problems and all you can think of. I'm here to help you not have those problems. Happy growing & soon ill try to post some pics of my dank I make

I have read about every book on cannabis growing I can get my hands on. Also, here are a couple links where I got most of my information that lead me to harvest the plant as a whole. These links can answer most of any question on growing cannabis. I especially like the first link.

Cannabis FAQs / FAQ , Recipes, Medical Marijuana
Growing Haze.
http://ts420.com/cure_marijuana.html

 

Here are some fairly recent ones. The strain with the duct tape roll on it is pineapple express. The large plant hanging in a bc purps. It is also the one pictured laid out after dried and trimmed. The frosty single bud is sweet deep grape fruit, that plant went another 10 days after that picture was taken. These are what nice and ripe plants look like.

 

Thank you sir.

 

A new read I found also suggest that after a flush 'starving' the plant can trigger a natural survival response to fight dehydration of producing more oils, which would result in tastier more potent smoke.

Seems pretty much like how certain vineyard experts intentionally induce drought for a juicier, tastier grape. Then they use these in their finest wines. Also similar to tomatoes ripened on the vine. All these produce a tastier fruit that in turn is more expensive.

No wonder my stuff comes out so tasty I just drain the tubs and the plant's go bonkers. Seriously, everyone should try drying everything intact if possible (roots and foliage) or 'drought/starve' the plant before harvest. Really let her know her time is up and give me all you got!!

http://bigbudsmag.com/grow/article/...roponic Medical Marijuana Nutrient PPM Basics

 

I wouldn't do anything early. The riper the buds are the more flavorful they are. But yea you can dry that way. I wouldn't just leave the plant outside to dry though because of condensation that could lead to mold.

 

The slow natural dry of leaving it in the planter gives it a great flavor. Depending on your medium and the size of the planter this may not be practical. If you do it that way make sure you cut your watering back at the end and pull the plant or cut the lights and start drying day 1 once the leaves are drooping and shes begging for water.

 

I have been trying a few different things here and there and with the super dry air in my area at the moment I would like to add that its been really helpful to slow the dry down by hanging the plant upside down instead of right side up. When the fan leaves lay down over the buds they protect them from exposure to the dry air. Once the fan leaves are dry then I trim and jar it. At this point the plant will smell good and will have lost the chemically grassy smell they give off while drying. The stem should still have some bend to it, possibly with a crack but still some moisture in it. Then sweating or jarring until its at your preferable moisture content will work great. That method never worked for me because I live in a more humid area and my house averages 50-60%rh during the day and the bud never dried properly. It has been around 20-30% rh around here and jarring the final product has been coming out good. So it still comes down to keeping the dry slow and even. If you're in a more dry area it seems sweating works fine. If your not then sweating to early will just keep your bud wet and you should hang until the stem snaps. Either way I feel it is still important to leave the plant whole for at least a few days. Hopefully this can help people out trying to dry in a very dry climate. I know drying was one of the more difficult areas I had in my learning years...

 

Drying troubles anyone?

 

Haha you must be old school to even know about them.

My man!!

But no I'm not Bizie bone bonebone bone bone lol.

 

I prefer large no more then 3/4 the way full. I just watched a Green house seeds video on drying that says to slow dry the buds in a humidity controlled room 55-60% for 2-3 weeks and then they said they put their finished product in paper bags to cure. I would think think this is to keep them in contact with o2 for curing.

In the High Times magazine it states that curing is a chemical degradation process called decarboxylation in which the acids in the bud combine with o2 to form bases which increases potency and the stability of the resin glands. Curing also changes the non-psychoactive resin glands into psychoactive glands. It says curing allows metabolic process to continue using up enzymes, chlorophyll and yes even nutrients in the plant. The buds continues to respire and they give off co2 in the process so a air tight jar will stop the cure after all the o2 is used. And yes all of this is happening after you chop so dry with care.

 

Too much flushing imo. Just flush with the flushing solution and tap water for a week, drain the tubs and that will be good.

 

Has everyone been having good success drying the plant as a whole?