hello all, New grower here and I totally have a newbie question. I am a little confused as to when I'm supposed to flush my plants. I know that when I see that the tricomes are milky and the pistols on the plant are curled in, they are ready for harvest. What I'm confused about is when I'm supposed to flush the plant? Am I supposed to do it when the tricomes are half milky half clear? Am I supposed to do it soon? I just want to get this right so my NL are as tasty as can be. Thanks
And if any, are there nutrients I can an while I'm flushing to ensure dank taste or is that supposed to only be Ph water?
It's not an overnight change from clear to milky to Amber. Clear to milky takes about a month and Amber maybe 2-3 weeks. Give or take a week. So if you see about 90% coverage of milky start with the flush - just water and some molasses the molasses being optional. If you're not going for couch lock (esp Indica Dom) may want to start a little earlier like at 75%. In any case the flush should be about 2-3 weeks and your plants won't starve there's still enough risidual nutrients in the soil and plant and even seeing a slight yellowing and die off of shade leaves is aok. The trim and cure is really where you'll make or break yourself on flavor and smokeability.
Are you growing in soil? If so most people take 7-14 days at the end and give them just water. I grow in hydro with GH nutrients. I bought their product called Florakleen. I used it on my first crop and it was so clean tasting I use it on everything now. It really helps speed up the flush process. It's formulated to break the bond the chemical salts have with the roots and wash the medium clean. It only takes 2 days in hydro to do a proper flush with it. In soil what I've done is soak the plant down with 1 week to go with 1/2tsp/gallon florakleen. When it drys out in 3 days or so I soak it again with just water. As soon as it's dry again and needs water I cut it down. I've been really happy with the flavor and burn. That is only a small part of the curing process. The way you trim, how long and how you hang dry, and how long and how you jar cure is also going to play a large part in the finished product.
Trim and cure? There's a lot of detailed info out there but in a nutshell.. Trim as much and as aggressively as you can right after the chop. You may feel like you're cutting too much off the buds but you'll be able to use those for edibles or hash later so it's all going to the cause. Hang in a dark cool room with some airflow. Not buds swaying in the breeze windy but enough to where you can feel the air moving. Temps and humidity should be in low 60s but you can fudge some. Buds will be ready in 3-10 days 6 being optimal. Stems should snap with some fiber still hanging on and outsides of buds will be dry to the touch on the outside. Cut into thumb size nugs (don't go for the ego trip and go for donkey dicks, they're more likely to mold. Put into mason jars and crack for 20 minutes or so a day, give it a little shake to move stuff around. If you notice it's all moving as once big chunck it's too tight and you'll need to take em out and rearrange. Mold likes stagnant air. You probably won't be able to keep your hands off of them so use that opportunity to give the jars a sniff.. it may smell a little grassy at first but any off smells like ammonia or sour could be mold. General rule is a month for a decent cure but 6mos is a good cure and any longer is great. That's all I can think of.