The final stretch for first time grow... a few ?s left

thegoodeye

Active Member
I am 7 weeks and two days into flower on my bagseed plant and just started flushing. This is my first grow and it's hydro. I am using basically organic nutes(PBP bloom/Liquid Karma/Cal Mag Plus). The thing smells great, if lemon Pledge or lemon Pinesol came in a slightly fruitier/citrus version, that's what it's like. Even the lower small buds are somewhat frosty. I have come this far and want maximize the outcome as much as possibly as far as yield and quality. I don't expect more than an ounce because I have a limited CFL light setup of 210w. Here are the questions I still have:

1) I know I can harvest the cola, but can I chop off all the fully developed top buds from each individual stem and leave the lower buds to grow with no issue? Do these smaller buds even look like they would be capable of developing further. I have observed for the last week and have seen minimal further growth from the lower buds and buds in general. I would be sure to monitor trichs above all, but I would like to give the lower buds the chance to be all they can be. Even though growth seems to have maxed out, I imagine they will get a nice boost once energy is shifted away from the cola and top buds. Could I flush for 5-7 days, harvest cola and tops, then reintroduce half strength(or even full strength) PBP bloom and Karma for a few days, all the time monitoring trichs to make sure I am not too far into amber, and then do a final flush for the remaining plant? Would that give the lower buds a good bump to finish up strong?

2) How long do I need to flush Botanicare PBP nutes/Karma since they are essentially organic? Is 5-7 days enough or is two full weeks generally the rule?

3) CURING! I have heard this is the most critical thing to do right so all your hard, long works isn't compromised in the end. I have heard about paper bags, keeping in complete darkness, make sure the room is 80-90 degrees, air dry for a week then put in air tight jars, etc. What is generally considered to be the best way to bring out the sugars and preserve trichs at their best? What methods are proven to not degrade the weed and even increase potency?



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Warlock1369

Well-Known Member
Yes cut the finished buds and give the lowers a week. You can go longer but will need to feed them and re flush. I always give the extra week unless I have plants needing in the room.
So will say you don't need to flush. Others say a week. But 4 days is also good. I flush depending on how I'm cutting. If it's all comming down I flush for a week. But if I'm going to let the lowers go another week I start 4 days befor harvest and let it go thru the next week as well.
Try to dry as long as posible. 75deg with 60RH works for me. 5-6 days. Keep it dark. Nug them up and jar. Burping every 12 hours the first few days. Check the RH in the jars. Should be around 56 and 63%. then burp once a day for 2 weeks and is ready but still burp as long as you can. Just make sure the RH of the buds dosnt drop below 56% or curing will stop.
 

thegoodeye

Active Member
Yes cut the finished buds and give the lowers a week. You can go longer but will need to feed them and re flush. I always give the extra week unless I have plants needing in the room.
So will say you don't need to flush. Others say a week. But 4 days is also good. I flush depending on how I'm cutting. If it's all comming down I flush for a week. But if I'm going to let the lowers go another week I start 4 days befor harvest and let it go thru the next week as well.
Try to dry as long as posible. 75deg with 60RH works for me. 5-6 days. Keep it dark. Nug them up and jar. Burping every 12 hours the first few days. Check the RH in the jars. Should be around 56 and 63%. then burp once a day for 2 weeks and is ready but still burp as long as you can. Just make sure the RH of the buds dosnt drop below 56% or curing will stop.
Thanks for the info, I was wondering if the reintroduction of nutes after flushing was an ok thing to do. What nutes do you use and how much more have you seen bud size increase on the lowers once the tops were harvested?

So you are saying I should hang and air dry for 5-6 days and then jar them up for two weeks? Is there a type of jar that is considered better for curing? Also, I'm a little confused on the RH(I assume that means relative humidity, right?). I would think that higher humidity would cause the buds to not dry out quickly but you said to not let it drop below 56. Am I thinking wrong about how humidity works with curing?
 

Warlock1369

Well-Known Member
I use heavy 16 nutes. As far as lower bud size it dosnt get much bigger but fills out and dince. Let's them finish.

Yes you want to dry in a dark place. With temps around 75 and humidity in the 60's. I add a humidifyer sence my dry room is in the grow area and with a humidity (RH ) of 50%. the slower you can dry and not get them wet the better. But once the buds are crispy on the outside and a little moist in the middle it jar time. It brings the moisture thru out the bud. Evens it out. And as long as you don't keep the jars in the sun and heat mold won't be a issue. The longer you can cure at 56-60% in the jars the better the cure will be. I still have a QP in jars after 2 mounths.

I use glass canning jars from the store. I tryed to clean jars the had food but couldn't get the flavor out so it was a waste of time.
Don't wash the cure jars when empty. Let then collect the resins and after time it works wonders. Only clean them if mold or rot took place but I would just get rid of them. 1.50 isn't worth it to me.
 
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