[Wrams]

No it's not set in stone how you harvest it's just a general help and probably best practices thats all. Each person harvests in different ways and to be honest it's up to the grower. However I do beleive that this method is far more superior than most others I have read. This has worked for me time and time again and on other foums they love this post and follow it with fantastic results. If there happy, I'm happy :p

wrams your dead on!

Originally Posted by Sparkitup77

All of that sounded good except... cutting a few hours before the lights come on.. I was told by someone that i should cut after the lights have been on for a couple hours.... anybody.......

Somebody told you wrong..


There were a couple of points I thought could use some better explanation...

The darkening of trichomes is degrading THC, but its' conversion into another cannabinoid lengthens the effect. It also gives you more of a stoned affect, which is why many growers on here wait until 20-50% of trichomes are amber on indica varieties.

I think curing takes longer... Cannabis books recommend 2-3 weeks drying time and then 2-3 weeks cure. If you only dry for 1 week you should add to your cure time. I always smoke my bud while its curing, but I don't feel like it has the right taste and smell until 3-4 weeks after a 1 week dry.

Bud otherwise I thought it was a great post.. keep up the good work! K+

[Grimr3efer]

Air dry time varries. Mostly depending on your conditions Temp/humidity. The lower the air temp (60 degress) will take longer to air dry than hotter temps (80+). Humidity has a role here. If humidity is high 65+ it will take longer to air dry that it would if its low like 20%. So everyone determines their conditions and make adjustments to make proper cure. I may hang my plants for 3 or so days if its 80+ degrees and put them into brown bags (coupple more days) turning the herb regular (2 x day)before jaring. I deal is to have a cure room tahs 60 degress temp and 50-60 % humidity. With thoes ideal conditions you can harvest and hang for a solid week maybe longer before you bag em then jar em. Good info in here. Remember to flush!!!

[Wrams]

Originally Posted by Grimr3efer

Air dry time varries. Mostly depending on your conditions Temp/humidity. The lower the air temp (60 degress) will take longer to air dry than hotter temps (80+). Humidity has a role here. If humidity is high 65+ it will take longer to air dry that it would if its low like 20%. So everyone determines their conditions and make adjustments to make proper cure. I may hang my plants for 3 or so days if its 80+ degrees and put them into brown bags (coupple more days) turning the herb regular (2 x day)before jaring. I deal is to have a cure room tahs 60 degress temp and 50-60 % humidity. With thoes ideal conditions you can harvest and hang for a solid week maybe longer before you bag em then jar em. Good info in here. Remember to flush!!!

Your right air times do differ from strain to strain due to the density of buds. Also I remove all my bud and place it in a drying tent with a 6" clip on fan pointed towards the ground away from buds just to circulate the air in the tent. I try to keep humidity at a constant level and usually cure for about 2 - 4 weeks myself. The above curing time is a general time scale, each strain dependant of how dense the buds are. Most of my curing consists of 4 weeks where I will sample the bud every few days until I am satisfied of taste/texture and smell and most inportant the hi I get from it

[Chronic Don]

why do you dry in the dark? wouldnt it be better to dry with some light? would the plants not continue to produce resin until they dry too much, without light wouldnt they go into a "hibernation" and quit doing anything?

[Chronic Don]

I get the idea of drying in light from what I've read that its the uv light that causes heavy resin production as well as to keep from drying out. and that I've heard of using a bunch of reptile uv lights in your grow room during flowering to increase resin production. so where am I wrong in my thinking? anyone?

[igrowkushbitch]

Awesome post. I am cutting down my girls right now. I am glad I took a break to look at this.

[Wrams]

Originally Posted by Chronic Don

I get the idea of drying in light from what I've read that its the uv light that causes heavy resin production as well as to keep from drying out. and that I've heard of using a bunch of reptile uv lights in your grow room during flowering to increase resin production. so where am I wrong in my thinking? anyone?

Drying your buds in light dries them to quickly and I've done both and the weed I dry in the dark is much better than weed dried in light. I have many many friends who all grow cannabis and each one dries in the dark tent or cardboard box with tiny holes in to allow air to be drawn into the box which helps with drying but not to much.

[Wrams]

Here I found this from a repitable holland growers blog which if I am allowed I will post the link but heres what he has to say about drying.

Cut down, trim, and drying 101

Now comes the fun part! Time to get those scissors sticky. For this part of the procedure, you will need a good pair of trimming scissors.Many garden nurseries and hardware stores carry appropriate models with small enough blades to get the marijuana bud leaves and comfortable handles for hours of work. A small closet or room is all you will need for drying a personal harvest. Larger grows may need more though. But for just a few weed plants, a small closet will work fine. Enough clothesline or rope to wire across your small room is all that you will need to hang your branches, but make sure its attached well on each end. You don't want to come in and find your precious stash on the floor!

Temperature

Temperature in the space should be between 70 and 80°F, with the lower to mid-range preferable.The closet should also be able dark. At this point, heat and UV rays are the two main enemies of THC, the active ingredient in your weed buds. A small oscillating fan is a must as well. Also advisable is a gauge to measure the humidity in the room. This is especially important in areas such as a basement or tropical climates, as too much humidity will extend the drying time and perhaps bring on mold in the marijuana buds.

The section your refering to is in bold text.