Flavor?

I'm a first time grower, just about ready for my first harvest (month and a half or two left!). The girls are doing great, but I was just wondering, is the "taste" entirely derived from strain, or can you manipulate it a little to your liking? For example, maybe curing a harvest longer or cutting it from the plant early/late?

I'm also curious about additives, for instance could you somehow fuse a fruit flavor like grape or cherry into the bud? I doubt I'll try that, but out of curiosity I guess haha...

Most people are gonna be on your ass for this...Everyone will say "Proper Drying and Curing is all you need...." and it is....those drops you buy at the store make your stash harsh....Sweet, and Mollasses work good...just pick the right strain and do all you can to make it better DURING the grow...But if you can alter the taste/flavor/smell naturally....I'd like to know too......LOL

Pretty much all genetics. Curing does come into play at enhancing but how the plant will smell is as much nature as nurture.

I've had some success adding a mild citrus flavor and smell by allowing the buds to become crispy dry and adding small amounts of lemon peel to the jar to rehydrate the buds. Repeat this process several times and you can get some results but you will need to be extremely careful about mold. You don't need to leave the peel in there longer than a few hours to rehydrate the buds.

I really like that lemon peel idea, I might try that with a small section of what I get...but other than that I'll just cure it for a few weeks and enjoy the natural flavor =)