I ve read about different ways of harvesting, some of them differ very much from others:
What are the most important procedures to take into account while harvesting/drying/curing? I've heard about ''flushing'' your plants before harvest, why is this important? I would like to hear the different opinions from all you prof growers out there, I think this could be very educational for all us noobs trying to learn a thing or two from you guys!

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 room you use to dry should be the about the same size you grew in (if not the same room). 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 3-4 weeks. At this time trim colas from the main stalk, and trim large and medium fan leaves (save them for making hash), 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 (save for hashmaking) 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 jars with the rubber seal and latch. 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, like a refrigerator. Note- fridges have high humidity so they must be absolutely airtight.
The longer it sits (up to around a month, maybe longer in the fridge) the better it gets, both in taste and potency. At around the month mark, you can move it to the freezer to almost stop the aging and curing process. Once you've got some buds stored in the freezer, you have a private stash that will last a long time. If you've got the patience to wait, the smoke will be sweet and smooth. The high will be mellow, and longer lasting. If you grew enough to last you a while, then after a few harvests you will be able to have properly cured buds at your disposal, with no downtime waiting for the next batch to cure!

I have heard that after flushing (to get rid of the left over nuts) you can turn the lights off for a day or two to force the plant to use up whatever resorces it has left in it, and thus produce an even cleaner smoke. Does this make sense to anyone or just snobby bs

you should stop all nute 2 weeks before harvest or when the colas beging to turn brown just feed it plane water till time to harvest

wow mogie!, did you write that? because if you did.....you should write a book or something.( ex. instructions). because i only read it once, and the message was clear as day. i completly understood everything i wanted to know. nice post, thanks.

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For Educational Purpose Only

No I can't take credit for that. Just passing along info.

Greenthumb, turning off the lights for a couple days prior to harvest is a technique I've read about too.

turning the lights out actually for an extra 2 days will force the resin out, making for more crystals, I believe it gets colder which causes the plant to protect itself by doing so

when this happens does it mean it will be more stronger smoke

I dont know if it will be (more stronger...lol) stronger smoke, but it will definately add to the bag appeal of the buds...

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