Sup Blades...thought'd I'd pass this info on to those looking forward to harvesting and curing. It's an e-mail from some marijuana connoisseurs which basicly says the same as Big Poppa. Hi Guys (and Girls ofcourse). It's been such a long time again. But here is some great information for you to read. Here are three questions with answers about growing. 1. What are the time periods for germination, flowering, etc... 2. What is the best method for cropping and drying. 3. How do I get large buds (nugs). ========================================================== 1: germination can take place over a time period of 3to7 days quality of seeds determines this.and flowering can take place between 30 and 40 days unless your flowering indoors, flowering indoors takes a little less time, but your strain of dope your using may very from others, some strains take alot less time than others, your climate also depends. 2: as far as for the the best method, is really unknown, but i have a great method that works to unsure a greater taste a less harshness and high quality mellow high. Commercial growers take the colas from the plant and manicure them before drying. They usually dry them on a line, upside-down, which is fine. However, usually airflow is forced, and temps too high, humidity too low. As soon as the buds are considered dry (usually a few days), it is sold. The reason for this behavior is the fact they are, as I said, commercial growers and in a constant hurry to exchange their buds for cash. Every minute counts and they don't want to 'waste' the space or the time needed for drying and curing. This results in harsh, grassy tasting weed that lacks the full-bodied flavor and smooth stone of properly dried and cured bud. To do it right: At harvest-time all you have to do is cut the plant as low as possible and hang the whole thing upside down to dry on a line. The humidity should remain a constant 50-60%. Too high and buds will mold, too low and they dry too fast and taste bad. Temperature should be around 65-68 degrees, wherever possible. Make sure the room is dark, as light degrades THC. All kinds of processes, like the transport of sugars inside the plant still take place, even when you cut it down. These processes will slowly come to an end while the drying progresses, but are the main factor for the end-taste of your smoke. That is the first reason why you don't want to quick-dry your weed. The second reason is the way that a plant dries. Plants are made up of cells and, as we all know, cells contain mainly water. Exposed to air, the (dying) plant's outer cells will dry out first but the above-mentioned processes will still transfer water from the inner cells to the dryer outer cells, thus causing the plant to dry equally all over. By removing the stalk and cutting off the individual colas, you prevent this natural process by taking away the extra moisture that would be drawn from the stem to the leaves and bud. Got it? Good! Moving on... Make sure you hang the plants so that they do not touch each other (invites mold). With constant temp and humidity, the plants should be ready for manicuring in 1-2 weeks. At this time trim colas from the main stalk, and trim large and medium fan leaves, leaving most of the smaller leaves sticking out of the bud in tact. Hang them up again and for a day or two, until 'popcorn' dry. The stems should snap when you bend them, and the bud should be dry, but not brittle. Now for the curing... Trim all remaining leaf tight to the buds, and trim smaller buds from larger stems. Store them airtight; air at this point degrades THC. Note- ziplock bags are not airtight! You could use buckets with an airtight lid like used for food and sauces and such, but the best containers are those glass canning jars. Just put as much bud in it as possible using light pressure. The point is to fill it as much as possible, so not too much air remains in the container. The less air, the better. To be safe, check them the next day to make sure it's still dry (did not 'sweat'). Any excess moisture at this point will invite mold. If it did sweat and is moist (soft) again, lay the bud out on something other than newspaper and put in a dry place to get the last water out. Repack and place the container in a cool, dark place, The longer it sits (up to around a month, maybe longer) the better it gets, both in taste and potency.let your bud cure in the glass jars for 2 weeks, or more.opening them everyday and stirring them around with your finger to let the air circulate. If you're not in a hurry to sell your crop you owe it to your head to wait the extra time and have great tasting, very potent bud! Curing is the only way to make harvested bud more potent, so try it, you won't be disappointed! 3: and as far as getting big buds also depends on the strain of dope. but as long as you remove your males, (this helps to increase thc content and allow the buds to grow big because the plant doesnt have to use its resin and flowering time to produce seeds.)and give the plants atleast 9-12 hours of light a day. To Your Success. Ron & Vic