make my buds taste better!

[puck07]

not the ones in my jar, but the ones in my closet!!

I'm 2 weeks into flowering on the next go, this will be my 4th harvest. I've gotten consistently better with each cycle, I've learned a lot and have been pretty successful. I do 4 plants under a 400 watt hps, got 8 oz the last 2 crops. The quality is getting better but I'm just not satisfied with the taste. It's sort of a bit earthy, kinda smoky as opposed to sweet or piney or fruity.

I know the first 2 grows weren't flushed as good as they could of been, so I figured that had a lot to do. First grow made the mistake of over drying, there was no moisture for a proper cure. 2nd and 3rd harvest, 7 days drying till gettin crisp just on outside, final manicure and jar for 2-10 weeks, burping everyday for first week or so, no mold. evenly distributed moisture throughout...

I still have some of 2nd crop, 3 months cured. still is just earthy, smoky. Figured it was flush since corrected the dry and cure. 3rd crop was grown in 3 gallons of soil, flushed with 10 gallons of water throughout last 2 weeks, currently cured for 6 weeks, same thing, just no skunk taste or pine or any good taste really, kinda dissapointing. bud looks really good, current strain is white russian, past grows did white widow, ak48, apple jack, gdp, kush, similar results. The buds have grown well, look good on the plant, lots of trichs, super stinky/skunky, sticky, green, healthy....

I'll attach pics

ANY SUGGESTIONS!?! could it be over nuting, under nuting? too early of harvest, too late? the dry, the cure? shit i don't know. feel free to ask more specs on grow set up, I've already written a bunch. has ANYone experienced less than tasty crops??

 

[reckon]

something aint right..........

I get a nice smooth cure in about 2 weeks,......I LIKE it when it's more like 2 months, but the green fresh taste is gone in about 14-20 days

I grow in organic soil, and add PURE WATER, and molasses for cal/mag,....thats it

if you add a bunch of liquid nutes during growth, you have to flush like mad, and I mean run 10 GALLONS through each pot, and if you are using unfiltered tap water, THAT is the reason your smoke tastes flat still.

if you wont drink your tap water straight, then neither should the plants.

 

[BLUNToPOTomuss]

not the ones in my jar, but the ones in my closet!!

I'm 2 weeks into flowering on the next go, this will be my 4th harvest. I've gotten consistently better with each cycle, I've learned a lot and have been pretty successful. I do 4 plants under a 400 watt hps, got 8 oz the last 2 crops. The quality is getting better but I'm just not satisfied with the taste. It's sort of a bit earthy, kinda smoky as opposed to sweet or piney or fruity.

I know the first 2 grows weren't flushed as good as they could of been, so I figured that had a lot to do. First grow made the mistake of over drying, there was no moisture for a proper cure. 2nd and 3rd harvest, 7 days drying till gettin crisp just on outside, final manicure and jar for 2-10 weeks, burping everyday for first week or so, no mold. evenly distributed moisture throughout...

I still have some of 2nd crop, 3 months cured. still is just earthy, smoky. Figured it was flush since corrected the dry and cure. 3rd crop was grown in 3 gallons of soil, flushed with 10 gallons of water throughout last 2 weeks, currently cured for 6 weeks, same thing, just no skunk taste or pine or any good taste really, kinda dissapointing. bud looks really good, current strain is white russian, past grows did white widow, ak48, apple jack, gdp, kush, similar results. The buds have grown well, look good on the plant, lots of trichs, super stinky/skunky, sticky, green, healthy....

I'll attach pics

ANY SUGGESTIONS!?! could it be over nuting, under nuting? too early of harvest, too late? the dry, the cure? shit i don't know. feel free to ask more specs on grow set up, I've already written a bunch. has ANYone experienced less than tasty crops??

PUCK! Thanks for throwing this out there!! Im in the EXACT place you are!! on my 5th cycle now and have grown some super stoney shit, but just earthy smelling that tends to lack taste.

I grew 2 Green Cracks last cycle and they are tasteing a littlebetter but still not the GREEN CRACK taste Im looking for!

Thanks again! Its almost as if I wrote the OP myself!!!!!

Blunt-o

 

[THC123]

maybe it's the curing in jars that don't work for you.

I also get shitweed(like you describe) in jars. It simply doesn't work at my place although it works at another friends place.

I just cut dry and freeze my weed now and when i take it out of the freezer , i let it air for 12-24 hours and then i put the content of a small bag in a ziplock bag for 1-3 days and then it gets tasty and it smells very strong , no earthy stale smells anymore

Curing still is the way to go but if it doesn't work out for ya why waste so much weed and energy

So i am pretty sure your problem lies within the dry/cure department

 

[clp]

Sounds like a curing problem bro.. If the buds are looking good (lots of trichs, orange hairs etc) then there should be an overpowering dank smell.
Those buds definetly look dank enough for a good smell..
Hows the humidity etc where you live?
Sounds like a wierd problem and not as much bag appeal :/

 

[Absolut]

You should check this thread out by Simon...

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=156237

You can grow the best nugs ever, but without a good cure you won't get the the best taste imo.

 

[puck07]

thanks everyone for the replies. reckon, yea i am using some fox farm liquid nutes, but i did flush each pot with 10 gallons of filtered water. I agree that they shouldn't drink it if I don't..

Does this 10 gallon flush need to be done in one sitting, or can it be broken up? I did 4 separate 2.5 gallon flushes in the last 2 weeks due to the time it took. It would take 3 hours or more to do 10 gallons through EACH of my 4 pots in one night, could this be a problem?

Humidity here is probably in the middle somewhere, I'm near the coast but it's not like the pacific nw or anything...

Right now I'm personally leaning towards it being a flushing problem, but who freakin knows!! this being said because I just thought the cure was really good this time, from the time of cutting it was 3 weeks before the bud was dry enough to burn properly, up until it was holding moisture and felt spongy everytime the jars were burped or left to air out a bit. I thought if the moisture was left in for a good amount of time to kind of marinate things should be kosher when they dry out the rest...

The buds got a kind of sweet smell in the jars, its not as in your face as i'd like but its definetely no hay or green whatsoever. its the taste though!! please anyone chime in with their 2 cents...

 

[puck07]

few more questions. thc 123, thats an interesting way of doing things, whatever works!! generally how long are you drying for? still moisture left when you freeze or a little bit of crisp? and also how long do you freeze them for?? I might have to try this with just a small amount at first and see what happens, couldn't hurt, would be killer if it turned out!!

Also, blunt-o, I'm sorry to hear you encountered some of the same predicaments I have, maybe we can both learn some things and come out with some super dank next round!! Dido, the bud is killer stoney, but I want some yummy tasting herbs as well, its about the package.. truly I don't care what the shit looks like, if it tastes superb thats a big thing to me!(of course i love pretty buds tho too)Are you growing soil too? I know people that grow hydro and their bud tastes bomb as shit like 1 weeks after cut, no cure!! bullshit, i thought soil was supposed to give that flavor we like!!

 

[RandomGuy00001]

thanks everyone for the replies. reckon, yea i am using some fox farm liquid nutes, but i did flush each pot with 10 gallons of filtered water. I agree that they shouldn't drink it if I don't..

Does this 10 gallon flush need to be done in one sitting, or can it be broken up? I did 4 separate 2.5 gallon flushes in the last 2 weeks due to the time it took. It would take 3 hours or more to do 10 gallons through EACH of my 4 pots in one night, could this be a problem?

Humidity here is probably in the middle somewhere, I'm near the coast but it's not like the pacific nw or anything...

Right now I'm personally leaning towards it being a flushing problem, but who freakin knows!! this being said because I just thought the cure was really good this time, from the time of cutting it was 3 weeks before the bud was dry enough to burn properly, up until it was holding moisture and felt spongy everytime the jars were burped or left to air out a bit. I thought if the moisture was left in for a good amount of time to kind of marinate things should be kosher when they dry out the rest...

The buds got a kind of sweet smell in the jars, its not as in your face as i'd like but its definetely no hay or green whatsoever. its the taste though!! please anyone chime in with their 2 cents...

IMHO, it should be done in one sitting. Think of the 'flush' as jsut that, all those un-used nutes are just chillin in your soil/medium. I'd say one sitting, +/- 10 gal ran thru each one .. then only water when needed till the chop.

If i am wrong please correct me, cause thats^^ what i'm fixin to do on mine soon.

--RG1

 

[THC123]

ew more questions. thc 123, thats an interesting way of doing things, whatever works!! generally how long are you drying for? still moisture left when you freeze or a little bit of crisp? and also how long do you freeze them for?? I might have to try this with just a small amount at first and see what happens, couldn't hurt, would be killer if it turned out!!

after 10-14 days depending on bud density , they can be frozen , as soon as the stem snaps , the outside is dry and the inside is sticky.

Before this year i froze them much drier , but i tested this year and they can be frozen as soon as they are dry and yummy

downside with this method is that when they come out of the freezer they are a bit harsh cuz the buds need to acclimatize , so just leave them open 12-24 hours in a drawer and then bag or jar

This way you always have fresh good smelling/tasting weed , but it is fresh , so not the same as nicely cured buds but 100x better than weed in jars that doesn't taste right

But the best thing would be to cure them and then freeze , i freeze for years and years

 

[mrred]

i let mine dry 1 day in open air then the rest in a bag till the stem snaps or outside of bud is crispy then into the jars

dont put to many buds in 1 paper bag as it will mold , gotta have plenty of space if you put a wet bug in a paper bag, i use lunch paper bags and put 1-2 in there, make sure they have no coating too

 

[ISP_SmokeTrain]

If the overall yield is good, but the taste is so-so. Then get yourself some beneficial microlife in your medium, and some Earth Juice Microblast. The microlife will free up insoluble nutes (kind of a live, ongoing micro flush), help regulate the pH in the medium (helps prevent deficiencies), and the microblast will give Mary every element she needs to develop a full rich taste / smell.
Also how are your temps during flowering ? I say this because, high temps cause the essential oils of any plant to evaporate, causing a loss of nice smells / flavors. Measure the temp at the top of your plants for two whole minutes. If the temps are 90 and above, either raise the light, or improve air flow.

 

[Grass Lands]

What strain are you growing? some strains are not of the sweet variety. Some can have a very earthy/hashy taste even though it may smell sweet...

 

[lerellion]

While it is important to do large quantity flushes (ie 10 + gal water) all this does is clean out the soil (salts, nutes etc). Since you are using a chemical fert ( and FF is) I would recomend doing a large flush 2 weeks before harvest, on the next watering use a product like Final Phase then just ph'ed water until chop. Dry and cure normal. This process has never failed for me.

 

[AceHaze]

HI!

Maybe you shoud try to dry the entire plant before removing the buds. This slows down the drying process, what is good 4 the Aroma.

To do the perfect flush isn´t always easy, especially with a new strain. You don´t know, when it will finish exactly. Flushing too long (more than 3 weeks) can also have a negative effect on the taste.

It could also be the nutes; I don´t know if the liquid fox farm nutes is organic stuff, but organic ferts are supposed to give the best taste. I also read, that bat guano gives a rich taste to your buds. Soma swears by it. I plan to try it in coco, cause I´m also not totally satisfied with the taste.(I use Canna).
Good luck!

Peace
ACE

 

[puck07]

wow thanks to all, this is only my second post on icmag and I have been very pleased, very. this site seems to be FULL of really knowlegdeble and cool people, other sites have been dissappointing to even browse through.. EVERY reply was totally legit, no bs

So i'm still leaning on the flush as being the culprit,(really the chemical nutrients) but I will focus my attention to flushing wiser this next time. Lerellion, until now I didn't know of such flushing agents as final phase, I well definetely employ this next round!! thanks!

ACE, the big bloom fox farm is organic with worm castings and bat guano so that should be on my side, but I also use the tiger bloom as well(not 100% organic). GREAT GREAT point on new strain flushing!!! that was basically a big factor in my thinking still of flush as opposed to cure, because I started flushing at 6 weeks, and the plants didn't need to go until 9!! I think the extra week of nutrient depravation could be not good. I didn't give any mollasses or anything, and did 4 seperate 2.5 gl flushes during the time then watered til chop..

I will flush roughly 10 gallons 2 weeks prior this time, water once with final phase as directed by advanced, and one light water before chop. I will dry and cure, and cross my damn phingers for some tasty treats!! oh well at least I got some budder to keep me busy.... grow on!

 

[puck07]

grow off! To those that still might think its the cure, trust me I'm still skeptical but I forgot to give you the latest on the current cure.

The bud is sweet smelling(no hay, grass), we're 6 wks from chop 4 wks to cure, got buds that have a tad moisture in them(not wet by any means but not crumbling), I got buds that i've dryed to bone and threw back in jars, still earthy and harsh.. strain is white russian, i don't think it's supposed to be shitty smoke.. anways, I'll catch you guys on the flipside. thanks a much, happy plants.. grow on!

 

[dub 6]

I attribute your problem to drying too fast. It happened to me a few times. When I would hangm up in the flower room they would have nice taste and smell. In a closet they would taste like dirt. I think u need a bit more humidity in your drying area but not too much cuz of mold. I like for mine to take at least 2 weeks to dry hanging so I leave most leaves on and trim when dry.

 

[grow nerd]

Screw you! Clean my bathroom!

 

[lerellion]

Screw you! Clean my bathroom!

LoL now that is funny shit