For all new growers with questions... Tons of information and answers..

when you dry yours buds you want it in about a 70 degree room with good air circulation/ventilation and a RH is about 60%... even if the outsides feel dry, they may not be ready for a jar yet... when the stems snap with a fair amount of ease, but arent brittle, you know they are ready to cure..

curing is where the smell and taste really develope... you'll want to jar them for about a week.. making sure to burp the jars a few times a day for a few minutes.. basically just remove the top and let the air exchange.. curing redistributes the remaining moisture throughout the bud and makes for an even dry throughout..

if your stems are still "wet" you may want to dry them for a few more days.. just throw them in paper bags with the top rolled down... let them chill until the stems are where they should be.. and return to jars.. if the stems are snapping already just give them a week or so in the jars, again making sure to burp them daily..

mr773 said:

thanks simpson 4 the help, you should do a curing segment on your youtube page a step by step break down. love your youtube page and the grow room is 5stars, i think iput my buds in the jar 2 soon i didnt even put them in the brown paper bags, they went from hanging up for five days right into the jar. like i said if you do a curing segment on youtube man that would ROCK, i got a super lemon haze plant its at 8weeks and man it smeels like lemons,when i chop it down i will let you hold my hand threw the chop up until the cure cause i really dont want 2 F this up thanks bro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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i will try to do a harvest to smoke video.... the only problem is what i have isnt going to be around for me... basically i do my personals different than the commercial... but i can explain the differences in my own verse the commercial...

i will step by step it though now... only because im bored and wanna kill some time..

FLUSH TO CHOP:

SOIL: when i grew soil this is how i personally went about flushing and harvesting...

1) the 2nd to last watering i would run 3x the amount of nute solution as the size of the pot at 1/4 strength.. i grew in 3 gallon pots, so i flushed with 9 gallons of 1/4 strength nute solution... the 1/4 strength removes more build up then plain water, and gives your girls a little something to eat towards the end..

2) the last watering i did would be plain water.. i usually did 2x the amount instead of 3x.. if you have a flushing agent like florakleen or something similar this would be when i would use it..

3) once the soil is dry it is time to chop.. i would chop as soon as the lights came on... over night the buds pack on trichs.. and lose them over the day.. so you get the most resin production when the lights out.. i dont like trying to do that stuff in the dark.. so i just chopped as soon as the lights came on.. or left them all in the dark and pulled plants out one by one... either way works..

4) i would start by removing all remaining fan leaves.. there shouldnt be many by this time typically... so it'd go pretty fast... you can save the fan leaves if you want to make honey oil.. or discard them if not...

5) after the fan leaves were taken off i would start removing branches, one by one, from the main stem... starting from the bottom of the stem i would trim the buds upwards... its easier to remove the smaller bud leaves by looking underneath the flowers... i would cut these over something to collect them for hash..

6) once the smaller leaves were removed i would trim the smaller leaves that come out from the actual flowers.. how much or far in you trim is up to you and what you want as a final product... again, i would save these trimmings for hash as well...

**you can save stems for honey oil also.. but it takes a LOT of fan leaves and stems to make honey oil.. saving your trimmings for honey oil, instead of hash, will produce a larger amount**

7) after i would get a plant trimmed i ran a line and hung them from it... for commercial stuff i would let it dry for about 4 days in a little bit warmer of a room.. about 75.. with a lower humidity, around 40%, to increase transpiration and drying.. for my own i would let it dry in a cooler room, around 65 to 70.. with a higher humidity, around 60% for about a week.. either way i did it i knew it was time to go to jars because the stems would snap when bent, but they were brittle.. i'll explain the difference and why towards the end..

after the stems told me they were ready i would jar them.. for commercial it was a quick 3 to 5 days.. for my own it was about 7 to 10 days.. but the longer the better.. the jars would be filled about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full.. enough to make good use of the jars.. but enough room the buds could breath.. i would burp the jars 3 to 4 times a day for a few minutes.. to allow the moisture thats built up to leave the jar and fresh air could take its place..

now the purpose of drying and curing is to remove the moisture in the buds of course.. but there is a lot more that takes place.. i wont get to confusing, but i will say the longer the dry and cure the smoother and better tasting the smoke will be... patience at this point pays off almost more than anywhere else in the grow.. since commercial is out the door i dont mind if so much if it isnt the absolute best it can be.. it will still be fire, taste good, and smoke well.. but its not 100% the best it can be.. more like 75%.. now, with my own, i dont mind the wait... so the slower drying from the higher humidity, and longer cure, those become ok with me since i want things to be 100% for myself...

i want to stress something though.. if you do dry slower with a higher humidity make sure you have really good air movement and ventilation... the extra humidity, if not controlled through circ/vent can cause mold to grow or bud rot to take place... it is very very important to make sure you have good circ/vent while drying to avoid those devastating problems...

wow... this turned out to be a lot longer than i thought...

odinfolk said:

Very awesome post...thanks, man!

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thanks bro.. glad you enjoyed..

simpsonsampson420 said:

1) just use trimmings from flowering... and only the trimmings you see resin glads (trichromes) on... you can save everything else for honey oil if you so choose...

2) the first time i made bubble hash i pulverized the trimmings in a coffee grinder... it actually turn the hash a green color from the chlorophyll.. so i would say just cut everything up, by hand, the best you can, maybe even let it dry out a little, and just mix and aggitate the water well.. adding a bunch of ice helps out a lot also.. mix until the ice melts..

3) i personally would only run the the trimmings through the first two, maybe 3 bags.. the last bag takes FOREVER to drain.. and the 3rd bag even is bad... it just depends on your patience level..

4) i would save anything after you are done.. it isnt worth it...

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Excellent thanks. That helps. I also really appreciated your suggestions on curing. Sounds really important. Probably a big part of the difference between the good bud and the really KIND BUD! And we both know the type we are looking for! I'm approaching flower week six. My strain says eight weeks so I'm watching the trich's closely per your earlier suggestions. What can I expect in the last two weeks? I've learned that the whole process is'nt linear. Sometimes things happen faster (like the stretch). I thought I heard (maybe hoped?) that the last few weeks of bud production was some of the best. It sure seems to be heading that way. Thanks again from your loyal listener in the days of page four (page 41! Rock on).

captin pisspot said:

can anyone please tell me what fimm is

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FIM'ing is a pruning technique.. it stands for "fuck, i missed"

similar to the results achieved during topping, yet much much less stressful, FIM'ing is, at least to me, prefered over topping...

in order to fim you first must locate the new growth of your vegging plant... this new growth is actually a little "bud" (not like bud as we think.. but a little nub) at the end of each stem and the main stalk.. this is the point in which new growth comes out from... you may have to pull back a few of the surrounding, newly forming leaves to get to it.. but it's there...

in order to FIM the plant, after locating this new growth bud, you simply take about 80% of it off, via cutting or pinching... again, in my opinion, pinching the tops off actually lends itself to forming more than 2 tops on a normal basis.. i think this is due to the unevenness of the surface once pinched... either way is fine tho..

bobbychuck67 said:

Excellent thanks. That helps. I also really appreciated your suggestions on curing. Sounds really important. Probably a big part of the difference between the good bud and the really KIND BUD! And we both know the type we are looking for! I'm approaching flower week six. My strain says eight weeks so I'm watching the trich's closely per your earlier suggestions. What can I expect in the last two weeks? I've learned that the whole process is'nt linear. Sometimes things happen faster (like the stretch). I thought I heard (maybe hoped?) that the last few weeks of bud production was some of the best. It sure seems to be heading that way. Thanks again from your loyal listener in the days of page four (page 41! Rock on).

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MJ growing is definitely not linear.. things happen at different paces for sure.. different strains act differently and show different growing traits.. some grow steadily at the same pace throughout the entire grow.. so have spurts that tend to ebb and flow.. i think it worries a lot of growers when their plants dont grow in a linear fashion until they get used to the idea that not all of them do.. but once the initial worry is out of the way its much more enjoyable to grow..

im glad that the quick drying/curing tutorial helped ya out... its always nice to know that the stuff i am spitting out is helping people fill in the gaps they have...

as far as flowering goes, i find that the last few weeks of flowering, usually the last 2 to 3 weeks, show the most growth... the plant is getting close to the end of its life... it needs to swell the flowers up as big as they can to try to catch pollen.. so they push the hardest.. this is partly why i disagree when people flush for those last weeks.. and even cut off nutes for the entire last week.. this is a vital time to have those available for the plant.. a simple 1/4 strength flush/feed and a single no nute feed is plenty... but to get back to the point, over all, you should see the most growth over these last couple weeks bro... its always fun to watch them put on an inch or 2 of new growth in a week.. its crazy... i am enjoying the last week of swell right now.. come monday my girls are coming down...

i dont know if i posted this or not.. but here is a link to my newest youtube video of my current grow.. check it out and enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsFZ-xHId1c

simpsonsampson420 said:

MJ growing is definitely not linear.. things happen at different paces for sure.. different strains act differently and show different growing traits.. some grow steadily at the same pace throughout the entire grow.. so have spurts that tend to ebb and flow.. i think it worries a lot of growers when their plants dont grow in a linear fashion until they get used to the idea that not all of them do.. but once the initial worry is out of the way its much more enjoyable to grow..

im glad that the quick drying/curing tutorial helped ya out... its always nice to know that the stuff i am spitting out is helping people fill in the gaps they have...

as far as flowering goes, i find that the last few weeks of flowering, usually the last 2 to 3 weeks, show the most growth... the plant is getting close to the end of its life... it needs to swell the flowers up as big as they can to try to catch pollen.. so they push the hardest.. this is partly why i disagree when people flush for those last weeks.. and even cut off nutes for the entire last week.. this is a vital time to have those available for the plant.. a simple 1/4 strength flush/feed and a single no nute feed is plenty... but to get back to the point, over all, you should see the most growth over these last couple weeks bro... its always fun to watch them put on an inch or 2 of new growth in a week.. its crazy... i am enjoying the last week of swell right now.. come monday my girls are coming down...

i dont know if i posted this or not.. but here is a link to my newest youtube video of my current grow.. check it out and enjoy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsFZ-xHId1c

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Sweet video. I'll have to watch again on the computer and not the handheld. It had a lot of compression, but I understand. So that's what you sound like. About what I expected. Reminded me of a friend of mine. He was a good old boy from Clayton County Georgia with lots of growing experience too. Sorry didn't mean to pry. Good luck with the harvest. You done good!

Question Time!

Should I start flowering these suckers?

Lowbrain said:

Glad I found this info. Thanks.

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glad to have helped!

Livershot said:

Wicked thread... learned a ton. thanks.

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if you have any questions feel free to post them

bobbychuck67 said:

Sweet video. I'll have to watch again on the computer and not the handheld. It had a lot of compression, but I understand. So that's what you sound like. About what I expected. Reminded me of a friend of mine. He was a good old boy from Clayton County Georgia with lots of growing experience too. Sorry didn't mean to pry. Good luck with the harvest. You done good!

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dont be sorry bro.. nothing to be sorry about.. yea, thats me... i think i sound like a stoner... but i dont know..

the video is a lot better on a computer for sure.. i have a couple other ones on you tube floating around also.. from my last grow.. its the last soil grow i did.. they are worth searchin for...

wont be long until i have a new one up and start my grow series.. i plan on doing video tutorials one things like FIMing and super cropping... taking clones.. ect ect.. im making a list so if there is anything i can help with visually with a video of please ask away so i can add it to the list!

Livershot said:

Question Time!

Should I start flowering these suckers?

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if you wanted to flower you definitely could.. there is probably enough space in the room to veg another week possibly tho.. at least what i can make out from the pics.. either way would work.. but i would start thinking about it in the next week for sure..

i would suggest trying to raise those two little ones off the ground and get them closer to the light.. they will be thankful

Judgeroy said:

Great Post, and info. just getting started myself and learning!! Thanks for info and will be visiting often. Thanks

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come back anytime.. and, as always, feel free to post anything i can help out with..

Oh thanks a ton for the info on he nutes. Been hemmed past couple weeks but did finally get the system I'm gonna use. I got that "V" style one (from the post where I asked which you would advise). I fear I made have made a bad move. I couldn't tell from the website for that v-drip thing, but the pots are only 4.5" pots & they are NOT netted. So obviously there's no room for the roots to spread out (as I have seen in videos using DWC & misting methods). I am hoping since I will only be running auto ak's (and maybe x3 auto afghan ryders), I won't need a ton of root space. But what are your thoughts regarding having that little space to spread out. I'm lookin @ a few hundred for auto fem beans, and just don't wanna totally waste. I'd prefer to chalk it up as an expensive rookie error & just build or buy a system with netted pots. Please advise, and as always I thank you in advance for your sage advice. Too kind!

if the pots are removeable i say just replace the pots...

or makes the pots "netted" yourself carefully....

this is assuming the system will work with netted pots installed and they can be removed..

if they cant i would recommend using a medium such as coco coir... it holds a lot of moisture so the root system that is there can absorb more water and its always present.. the nice thing about hydro systems is the root systems themselves dont need to be as large over all to produce large plants.. as long as they are supplied enough water, air, and nutes plants can flurish with very small root masses.. using coco coir will help retain more water so you can be assured the plants have as much water as they need.. even as they get bigger.. i think that would be the biggest limiting factor is the roots not having enough water to absorb to feed the plant.. again, thats why the coco coir...

you may need to help support the plant if it gets to large.. the root system will likely be able to support a much larger plant feeding wise than it will be able to size wise... so you'll want to watch for leaning or anything like that...

you can always try to move to another system.. but thats your call....

im getting ready to make a large seed purchase myself.. about 500 of it is just in autos.. im excited to see them in action.. never grew them before..

Good call, thanks for your 2 cents. I believe that the pots can be drilled out (carefully of course) to create a somewhat "netted" type pot. Each pot sits in a channel that has a total of x3- 4.5" pots in a row, angled down so that the water flows back to reservoir. So I am confident w/ holes drilled in the pots, that I can maybe get some roots rollin into the channels. If you have a chance it is a v-drip.com & I just got the smallest system (the v-12). Either way, your advice & time is very appreciated as always.

The company I bought it from suggested coco coir over clay for the exact reasons you mentioned. So fortunately, I do already have that particular medium.

I'm gonna let 'er rip (after drilling out the pots tomorrow, unless you say not to). Fill er up w/ AK's except for the x3 Ahghan ryders. I look forward to gettin some pics goin, so that I can bug ya w/ some more Q & A.

Last question, & its a dumb one. However, I do want to be prepared for everything. Regarding changing the water in hydro systems. I read in your 101 guide that water needs to be changed weekly, (bi-weekly @ MOST). My question is, about the nuts & bolts of acutally changing out reservoir. Is it the type thing where you need to be able to carry reservoir to bathroom & dump in bathtub, or do you simply fill more water into the reservior @ the grow spot (so essentially, reservoir is never moved), just the lid is removed & nutes & PH checks from there. Just trying to be as prepared as possible to prepare for this small vision.

As always, you are the man! THanks for the time.

showhard2handle said:

Good call, thanks for your 2 cents. I believe that the pots can be drilled out (carefully of course) to create a somewhat "netted" type pot. Each pot sits in a channel that has a total of x3- 4.5" pots in a row, angled down so that the water flows back to reservoir. So I am confident w/ holes drilled in the pots, that I can maybe get some roots rollin into the channels. If you have a chance it is a v-drip.com & I just got the smallest system (the v-12). Either way, your advice & time is very appreciated as always.

The company I bought it from suggested coco coir over clay for the exact reasons you mentioned. So fortunately, I do already have that particular medium.

I'm gonna let 'er rip (after drilling out the pots tomorrow, unless you say not to). Fill er up w/ AK's except for the x3 Ahghan ryders. I look forward to gettin some pics goin, so that I can bug ya w/ some more Q & A.

Last question, & its a dumb one. However, I do want to be prepared for everything. Regarding changing the water in hydro systems. I read in your 101 guide that water needs to be changed weekly, (bi-weekly @ MOST). My question is, about the nuts & bolts of acutally changing out reservoir. Is it the type thing where you need to be able to carry reservoir to bathroom & dump in bathtub, or do you simply fill more water into the reservior @ the grow spot (so essentially, reservoir is never moved), just the lid is removed & nutes & PH checks from there. Just trying to be as prepared as possible to prepare for this small vision.

As always, you are the man! THanks for the time.

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so for the nutes.. i meant bi-monthly.. i feel like jackass having put bi-weekly... i feel retarded as fuck..

so anyways...

you can do it one of two ways..

1) this is how i would recommend doing it personally... it involves changing out the entire solution in the res.. you may need a small pump to empty it out into a bathtub, toilet, or sink.. i prefer the toilet myself.. anyways.. once a week, or at least once every other week, empty the entire res out.. rinse down the side and get as much build up out as you can.. it doesnt have to be perfect, just good enough... then fill and add your nutes... make sure to stir after adding each nute to ensure they dont react to one another.. sometimes some nutes can react with one another if the concentrations are off.. this creats clouds of ion-bonded nutes that wont dissolve in the water... after you add your nutes, check and adjust ph... allow to aerate for a while.. then check and adjust the ph again... after your first ph adjusting, if you have to adjust again, make sure not to adjust over .5 at a time.. any more than that can cause the roots to suffer osmosis shock....

2) the other way to do it is to top the res off with solution as the level falls... basically you know how much nutes it takes to reach the desired ppm you are using each time you fill the res... now lets say you need to top the res off with 50% of the amount of water as it holds.. so its half way empty.. you simply figure out how many gallons it is and use half the amount of nutes you need to fill the entire thing up.. so, for instance, you need to fill 20% of the res up.. use 20% of the amount of water the entire res holds, and 20% of the amount of nutes you normally would use... this way is ok.. but if you arent careful you can end up with build up.. you still will need to check and adjust ph as needed...

oh.. and by all means.. start the grow bro!

I'm not tryin to polish your nuts or anything, but you are the shiz! Dude, thank you for all the guidance, you should be a doc @ this bro. Hopefully soon that will be a possibility. I believe the tides are starting to turn. Super psyched bout OCTA next year & what Cali has goin on.

I'll be back soon, probably too soon on your end w/ some progress. Again, thanks for takin your time to "teach how me to fish" homey!

if you wanted to flower you definitely could.. there is probably enough space in the room to veg another week possibly tho.. at least what i can make out from the pics.. either way would work.. but i would start thinking about it in the next week for sure..

i would suggest trying to raise those two little ones off the ground and get them closer to the light.. they will be thankful



Thanks dude... I'll get those little ones higher asap... I think I'll probably change my photoperiod on Sunday. Thanks again.

Does a HPS system use regular plug in or do I need a whole different setup

The ballast for hps lights plugs into standard outlets. You will need to purchase a ballast if you do not have one, the hps bulbs do not work for regular light sockets.

Sam, thanks for the good info post, newbies are much appreciative.

~V~

Go Hoosiers!

Livershot said:

if you wanted to flower you definitely could.. there is probably enough space in the room to veg another week possibly tho.. at least what i can make out from the pics.. either way would work.. but i would start thinking about it in the next week for sure..

i would suggest trying to raise those two little ones off the ground and get them closer to the light.. they will be thankful



Thanks dude... I'll get those little ones higher asap... I think I'll probably change my photoperiod on Sunday. Thanks again.

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ill be looking forward to seeing some flowering pics...

ap2015 said:

Does a HPS system use regular plug in or do I need a whole different setup

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Vnice said:

The ballast for hps lights plugs into standard outlets. You will need to purchase a ballast if you do not have one, the hps bulbs do not work for regular light sockets.

Sam, thanks for the good info post, newbies are much appreciative.

~V~

Go Hoosiers!

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thanks for the answer assist... it does help out when others can share info if i am awol!!

and i am glad to have information to offer up!! anything i can help with please feel free to ask!!.



i just harvested my grow yesterday.. i have a BUNCH of harvest pics up in my journal.. links in my sig below... feel free to check it out!

showhard2handle said:

I'm not tryin to polish your nuts or anything, but you are the shiz !

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I'll second that you are the shizzle fazizzle! Minus the polishing part. The girls are turning into very pregnant women. And holy earth mother we thank you! Most especially for your abundance. You have been most kind.
Still two weeks to go. Trichs are LONG and milky. I've been clipping back the little fan leaves that come out of the buds. Not the little ones mind you, but full tiny leaves. Anyway it seems to really help those buds a little lower down. I'm trying to be careful and not overdue it. My girls are thinking "sink or swim" and they're putting in the last push for the finish! How fucking awesome is that! I've goota post some pics.

Also, I understand and I have read all that you have written. I have an 8inch container that holds 3 quarts of soil and mixture. I have 2 parts potting soil and 1 part vermiculite. I understand that I need to get a moisture meter but I was just looking at how much water I should give each plant each time I water. I will be watering every three days or so but I just would like to have an estimate on how much water.

Thanks for all of the info. My first grow went pretty good, started with 4 plants and 3 ended up females and gave me great buds but I am looking to step it up for the second and built a new grow box from all of the information here and elsewhere. I am in the middle of planning for the next grow and just wanted an estimate.