almost harvest time

water curing??

whats with the 10 am thing>??

the lights off will stress the plants and force them to do a last strive for their last chance at reproduction and increase their flowering, aroma and ive heard they produce more resin at the gland sits as well as thc but i dunno about the last part.
i think you can cut on the third day

Originally Posted by videoman40

Howdy everybody!! As you may know, I have a grow almost finished, I think I have about 3 weeks to go til harvest. I'd like, and appreciate any tips or tricks I should perform prior to harvest that will help the finished product.

Some things I have come across that have some merit already are:

Mix some sugar into my feedings. Molasses is better, but I dont have any, and I do have sugar.

Turn the lights off 3 days prior to harvest. (not sure about this one)

Harvest around 10am

Also as a side note, I plan on taking a small amount, maybe half an oz to an oz and doing the water curing process. This way I dont have to wait a whole month to try my smoke. I dont want to cure it all this way because you loose 20% of the weight this way.

my little brother uses molasses in his feedings for the last 3-5 days before harvest i haven't noticed any difference in taste(maybe its just me). I do however keep the lights off for 24 hours right before harvest it helps the THC, i'm still just a little green on indoor growing(finishing my 2nd in 2 weeks) but i have always harvested my outdoor plants between 8am-10am, in my opinion the thc content is much higher in the morning.

Geez, I wish my memory was better today, but its not. I did read something, somewhere that stated to harvest around 10am that would be ideal for ultimate potency or something. This is a small point, doing it cant screw things up. lol
dankciti, I apologize about my memory today, it happens, I get good days, and bad ones too.

water straiight for the last 10 days it will force the plant ot metabolize its own sugar and carbs stores, this will also reduce concentrations of phosphorus and salts prent inthe plants system... (this means smoother more pleasant smoke) as well as make for an easier curing process

Thanks ljjr for clearing that up for dankciti, and myself too! as far as the molasses goes, this is what I was taught, Table sugar is nothing but sugar - CHO's. Molasses is a less processed form of sugar from sugar beets that is high in vitamins and minerals as well as sugar (CHO's). The more a food is processed, the less nutritious it is. While sugar has its merits, blackstrap molasses is just a MUCH better form of food for the microbeasties which condition the soil. People often set a can of soda out overnight to "defizz" before applying it to their garden/lawn with the water. Keeping the microbial population healthy and thriving is key to a good soil/organic grow.

Why Molasses?

The reason nutrient manufacturer’s have “discovered” molasses is the simple fact that it’s a great source of carbohydrates to stimulate the growth of beneficial microorganisms. “Carbohydrate” is really just a fancy word for sugar, and molasses is the best sugar for horticultural use. Folks who have read some of our prior essays know that we are big fans of promoting and nourishing soil life, and that we attribute a good portion of our growing success to the attention we pay to building a thriving “micro-herd” to work in concert with plant roots to digest and assimilate nutrients. We really do buy into the old organic gardening adage - “Feed the soil not the plant.”

Molasses is a good, quick source of energy for the various forms of microbes and soil life in a compost pile or good living soil. As we said earlier, molasses is a carbon source that feeds the beneficial microbes that create greater natural soil fertility. But, if giving a sugar boost was the only goal, there would be lot’s of alternatives. We could even go with the old Milly Blunt story of using Coke on plants as a child, after all Coke would be a great source of sugar to feed microbes and it also contains phosphoric acid to provide phosphorus for strengthening roots and encouraging blooming. In our eyes though, the primary thing that makes molasses the best sugar for agricultural use is it’s trace minerals.

In addition to sugars, molasses contains significant amounts of potash, sulfur, and a variety of micronutrients. Because molasses is derived from plants, and because the manufacturing processes that create it remove mostly sugars, the majority of the mineral nutrients that were contained in the original sugar cane or sugar beet are still present in molasses. This is a critical factor because a balanced supply of mineral nutrients is essential for those “beneficial beasties” to survive and thrive. That’s one of the secrets we’ve discovered to really successful organic gardening, the micronutrients found in organic amendments like molasses, kelp, and alfalfa were all derived from other plant sources and are quickly and easily available to our soil and plants. This is especially important for the soil “micro-herd” of critters who depend on tiny amounts of those trace minerals as catalysts to make the enzymes that create biochemical transformations. That last sentence was our fancy way of saying - it’s actually the critters in “live soil” that break down organic fertilizers and “feed” it to our plants.

One final benefit molasses can provide to your garden is it’s ability to work as a chelating agent. That’s a scientific way of saying that molasses is one of those “magical” substances that can convert some chemical nutrients into a form that’s easily available for critters and plants. Chelated minerals can be absorbed directly and remain available and stable in the soil. Rather than spend a lot of time and effort explaining the relationships between chelates and micronutrients, we are going to quote one of our favorite sources for explaining soil for scientific laymen.

“Micronutrients occur, in cells as well as in soil, as part of large, complex organic molecules in chelated form. The word chelate (pronounced “KEE-late”) comes from the Greek word for “claw,” which indicates how a single nutrient ion is held in the center of the larger molecule. The finely balanced interactions between micronutrients are complex and not fully understood. We do know that balance is crucial; any micronutrient, when present in excessive amounts, will become a poison, and certain poisonous elements, such as chlorine are also essential micronutrients.
For this reason natural, organic sources of micronutrients are the best means of supplying them to the soil; they are present in balanced quantities and not liable to be over applied through error or ignorance. When used in naturally chelated form, excess micronutrients will be locked up and prevented from disrupting soil balance.”
Excerpted from “The Soul of Soil”
by Grace Gershuny and Joe Smillie

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Molasses deters pests
Molasses deters fungal diseases
Molasses provides B vitamins
Molasses provides Fe, S, Ca, and K
Molasses catalyzes a compost pile

Table sugar does none of that. Table sugar and blackstrap molasses are nowhere near the same thing nor do they provide the same nutrition. Table sugar will provide the microbes with carbohydrate but they need a lot more than that

with the lights off the plant no longer pruduces cloraphil and after 18 hours or so the thc will begin to degrade (STRESS) somthing that is integral in the curing process, so in turn to help shorten curing time and the less light that you expose the plant to during, before and after the curing procces the smoother it gets.... as we all know dark green is cough city and we all strive for that light neon type of green bud.

as the thc degrades (from lack of light and sugars/carbs) it will inevitably get better and better so once you cure it dry in a completely dar space jar em and keep them in complete dark storage, all it will do is make the smoke better over time, and the apperance more atractive shade of green.

folk curing can make or break the entire harvest so kids reading up on this, patience is the key and dark dank places is the the trick.

with the lights off the plant no longer pruduces cloraphil and after 18 hours or so the thc will begin to degrade (STRESS) somthing that is integral in the curing process, so in turn to help shorten curing time and the less light that you expose the plant to during, before and after the curing procces the smoother it gets.... as we all know dark green is cough city and we all strive for that light neon type of green bud.

as the thc degrades (from lack of light and sugars/carbs) it will inevitably get better and better so once you cure it dry in a completely dar space jar em and keep them in complete dark storage, all it will do is make the smoke better over time, and the apperance more atractive shade of green.

folk curing can make or break the entire harvest so kids reading up on this, patience is the key and dark dank places is the the trick. dry slowly and thouroghly the store on the dark.

Yeah, i was taught to hang em for 2 or 3 days in a dark closet, than toss em into a brown paper bag, or into glass jars. Opening the bag, or jar every day to release the chloraphil.
Thanks dude!