So I am about 10 days away from my first harvest. Looking for some advice on how to get the best product possible. Currently I am using a Flush Solution by humbolt nutrients. My plan is to flush them once more, and then let them dry out a bit before I cut them down. I also want to give them 24 hours of darkness to help reduce chlorophyll. These plants are pretty small, auto flowers grown in about one gallon containers. I dont know if I should hang the entire plants or cut them up into branch sections? I hope to dry them for about a week, cure them in jars burping once a day for two weeks. Does this sound reasonable for a nice tasting bud with good aroma? let me know what you think. Im tried to upload pics of them but got upload failed for some reason. Ill figure it out t some point
Cut branches off an hang The longer the cure the better the smoke, 1 month would be ideal but 2 weeks is fine.
I heard, and always, cut the bottom of the plant as low as possible and let the plant hang all on it's own and let it do it's thing. I personally cut off as many leafs from the stem in-between the buds as I can and dry them pretty much already trimmed. I hate the smell of drying leaf I always had great tasting and smelling bud. A lot of people I know prefer to leave the leafs on and their weed to me always tastes bad (plus they use plastic containers lol) It's all preference, but I find it a lot easier to take the big leafs off while they are still wet and bendable. You can actually do a real good job of cutting them pretty close to the main branch and leaving as little stem and leaf as possible. Most growers here will not do that. I don't know how many times I seen people's shit covered in nasty leaf. Who wants that stuff in the jars curing with your bud? To everyone who uses one of those trim reapers or hand held trimmers I feel sorry for your buds lol
I don't understand when you say "I heard, and always, cut the bottom of the plant as low as possible and let the plant hang all on it's own and let it do it's thing." Can you tell me more?
The more of the plant you keep intact/attached the longer it will take to dry out, which some say gives better end product.
Where are you drying? What will your temps and humidity be like? My harvest procedure changes with the seasons. In the winter, my climate is very dry, and so I will usually hang the entire plant (with nasty leaves and all), so that it counters the lower humidity level, and doesn't dry out too fast. In the summer, it is very humid here, and so I tend to do a wet trim (big fan leaves and my sugar leaves) right away, and then usually cut individual branches to dry "faster", which really just counters the higher humidity. Of course, if you can control the humidity in your drying area, that would be best. Harvesting and curing always raises a lot of questions, and the truth has been (at least for me) that it really is just a bunch of general rules and then trial and error for your particular set up. I would recommend looking into those small humidity gauges that you can actually stick in the mason jar when curing. It will give you a general idea of whether your bud is wet or dry, which after one or two harvests you will be able to tell just by touching the buds. Good luck.
A complete flush, especially without a flushing agent, will take 1-2 weeks. Yellowing and dieing of the plant and leaves will let you know when it is flushed and ready to hang. They say 15 gallons of water to flush a 3-5 gallon pot plus straight water for a week or more depending on your preference. If you grow pot outside in the wild you will notice that the outside plants die off when they are ready naturally. I try to duplicate this indoors by flushing until they are almost completely yellow and ripe
I believe its open and shake it then let it open for a hour or two. I dry mine fast witb a dehumidifier for 3-4 days with a fan blowing over it then I toss it in a brown papler bag for a few days then it goes in the jar. I do I regular Dailey check to make sure its not damp in the jar if it is ill take it out and let dry for another day. Most people will tell you its wrong but I wont change my methods.