what to do after harvest?

[TVR]

So again I'm in my first grow and first flowering, but thinking a bit ahead, what do I do with all these plants after harvest? is that it for them and start raising a new bunch?

 

[kingfish]

That's easy. Send it to me, I will smoke it for you and give you a report.

 

[AGH]

kingfish let me know and I'll come join in as a variety of opinions are even better!

Good that you're thinking ahead! The harvest is a fun part but can also be pretty mysterious for new growers.

First off, just like crops such as corn or soybeans 'die' at the end of the season and they're harvested, your plants will die and you'll cut them down. After that, you'll trim (about an hour or two per plant for indoor grows depending on how detailed you are), you'll dry (3-7 days depending on conditions...and some people will dry before they trim, but usually only in really dry climates), then you'll cure your buds in jars (2-4 weeks...I find that around week 3 of the cure they start to have great flavor but I don't share any until closer to 4 weeks because to me that last week really makes a difference!)

Check out the growweedeasy.com site and you'll find TONS of tutorials on trimming, drying, and curing. Here's one all about drying and curing for example: https://www.growweedeasy.com/drying-curing#step-5-place-buds-in-jars

Personally, I dry my buds in my tent as that works great to manage the environment. Once you do the 'chop' and harvest your plants, you can start cooking your soil for the next grow (if you're going organic) or you can germinate more seeds for the next run!

Good questions and have fun!

 

[SoOrbudgal]

We are so much kinder than other forums when this type of question comes up. Give it away, smoke it grow again

 

[kingfish]

AGH, here is my run down. I don't water my plants 2-3 days before I harvest. Then I cut the colas from the main stem, trim all the exes leaves and hang them upside down in my storage room in the basement. I keep a fan running on low just to keep the air moving but not directly on the buds themselves. When I can snap the small stems into and the big stems bend easy, then I cut the buds off the colas and put them in a mason jar. Fill them about 3/4 full and burp them about twice a day for about a week. If you live in a humid area, you might want to burp them more often. After that, you good to go. I have kept weed this way for as long as two years. It is like a good wine, it gets better with age.
One more thing. I have reused my Roots Organic soil. I'm on my 5th grow with same soil. I just pick the big root clusters out and that is it. I don't cook it, I don't sterilize it, nothing.

 

[SoOrbudgal]

True dat about storage

 

[Sixwinds]

My goal is to have the next plant ready to flip after I harvest the current one. To do this I use seed "windows" where the next generation can be germinated to guarantee minimal downtime. The others covered the harvesting perfectly so I have nothing to add there.

 

[Rwise]

Are these girls autos or photos? If there auto they are done for, pull them rework the soil and plant new seeds. If they are photos you can try to reveg them.

 

[SoOrbudgal]

I'd like to see these big flowering beauties