atu grow 8: Afghan Kush (WoS), OGKush (RQS), NL (RQS), Tangerine Dream (BF)

[alltatup]

oldjarhead100 My buds on the fireplace mantlepiece: they'd be toast!!!! They are safely tucked away in a cool, dark environment.

Man oh man, that's a lotta snow!!!! I do love living down south as opposed to Buffalo. We have a frost warning this morning, then it's going up in the upper 50s today. We had very cold rain yesterday. So the wood stove is all fired up and keepin all the critters warm.

[alltatup]

RagWeedDWC I gotta vape some first to know the real deal!!! And I believe that when we have got the right genetics from a top notch breeder, even when we make mistakes we end up with some good bud. You will see with your bud.

Cannabis is such a strong girl: she bounces back from difficulties so well.

[oldjarhead100]

I never tried the AN line because of that it just doesn't make sense to me , I love my age old organic nutes, and a frekin snow plow just went by so I guess we have 6 inches of snow dam dam dam were definitely moving south these is getting real old fast lol

[oldjarhead100]

And all the jars of Bud were sitting on the fireplace Mantel singing songs of good tidings and Cheer , I love the look of bud curing and storing in Jars it just makes me smile Great job ATU

[RagWeedDWC]

I hope mine comes out half as good, I'm leaning toward your comments concerning AN also, however because I had my light so close, Im not sure what cause the problems in my grow. Nice Job!

[alltatup]

The CURE is underway. Total weight of harvest: 211g = 7.5 oz

All jars are between 60-63% RH. I smell all sorts of different aromas: that sweet aroma of cut grass or hay is still in some jars: I like it. In other jars, the smell of dankness is taking over; this I love, too.

I had a much easier time of drying and moving into the cure on this grow: I left the bud drying on larger branches for longer. I got more of an intuitive feel for when the bud was "just right dry" on the outside. It's so cool how the buds sit in the jar re-distributing the moisture and biosynthesizing into supreme dankness. So the 8-week curing process is underway. Yes, of course I'll try some; I'll decarb some, but not the OGKush, Tangerine Dream or Northern Light. Those were the strongest growers and developed the best colas; I want to give them the real deal cure. I know they're gonna be kick. ass.

Lessons learned for next grow:

• Let them veg for another week or so to maximize my space in the grow box. They could have been taller without a problem.
• I'm switching back to Future Harvest nutes for a while; made in Canada, these are the nutes that came with my grow box, and I haven't used them since my third grow. I'm a little ambivalent about Advanced Nutrients right now, because the three fertilizers Micro, Grow and Bloom are all used in the same ratio throughout the grow. I was nowhere near the max amount they recommend and in the second or third week of flower I got nitrogen toxicity claw on the lower smaller bud sites. Not the first time this happened. Doesn't seem right to me to use all three in the same ratio all the way through...
• I'll be using my new RoomMate box with LEDs in addition to my old one with MH/HPS. Can't wait to try the LEDs!

Thank you all for your friendly support. Everyone on this forum helps me grow better!!!!

[alltatup]

I'm happy I got it and it's got LED lighting, so it will be much cooler.

[Mr.furley]

Congratulations on your upgrade Atu. That must make you so excited, I know that I'm excited for you.
I look forward to seeing your future cannabis endeavors.

[oldjarhead100]

Very nice ATU , That should make your life easier no traveling from one to the other lol

[alltatup]

Mr.furley I got a second LED larger grow box.

[Mr.furley]

I'm sorry Atu I must have missed something, are you UPGRADING your grow box? 😆

[alltatup]

Lurking, I'm selling the small box. Your idea's a good one, though. And yes, JJ tha'ts correct

[LurkingInTheGrass]

Just thinking out loud

What if you turned the hated and reviled 😁 small grow box, into a small dry box? I suspect you already have it vented for air, and it's light proof.

[Juicyj89]

I cant wait to see how everything turns out! You said your curing for like 2 months right?

[alltatup]

THE OUTRO

I harvested the beautiful OG Kush this afternoon--a cup winner from Royal Queen Seeds. I was finally able to get a good close look at the trichomes: I saw a smattering of amber, the rest cloudy and clear. Maybe it was like half half cloudy clear, maybe more cloudy. I've never seen my buds look like these looked, and this one stayed in the grow box for 2 and 1/2 days longer than the ones I harvested on Tuesday. I believe I hit that 72-hour harvest window right on the head this time.

Nothing I love more than sitting and trimming branches. My hands were so sticky when I was done. Terpenes were in my nostrils. The fresh-cut buds do smell like sweet fresh-cut grass: I love that smell, they're beginning to transform as they start this phase of drying, as the biosynthesis activities begin to kick in, moisture is distributed and slowly removed, sugars and carbs used up, chlorophyll removed and other cannabinoids are transformed into THC acid. Which is why the bud gets stronger when cured properly.

This time I am doing my cure a little differently. This time I left the buds on larger branches, to slow down the drying period, not to rush it. I didn't do a close close trim so that the most trichome-laden parts of sugar leaves will protect the trichomes all over the calyxes. And since I vape rather than smoke, leaving more leaf on the buds won't matter. Cuz what gets vaped are the 'noids and 'penes, whereas what gets combusted is everything.

I've got two plants to go: the nine-week Tangerine Dream and the tiny Night Queen at the back of the small grow box, which I'll never use again. All the rest and hung up and drying in my closet. I hope my clothes smell like sweet grass and not like cannabis...