Harvest,Curing and Storage-The Knowledge Project #7

I recently heard a member say that....

"Everything up to harvest is skill, after harvest it is ART!"

Share your ART with us!

For the last few months we have been slaving away, propagating, cultivating, waiting and pruning and waiting. Now what...its time to cut and really enjoy the fruits of our labor.

What do you do?

Cut in the dark?

Cut at sunrise?

Just cut the plants and stick em in the microwave?()
How do you cure? Why do you cure? Do you really really have to cure?

No, you don't have to, but It is sooo much better if you do.
In all my years of smoking I have only recently learned how important this is as in the '70's, with $10.00 bags, I didn't care. All the weed tasted pretty much the same. I'm certain it was cured, but then stuck in a bag to start molding and stinking like ammonia. No matter, its all better now.

Now that its cured,

What now?

What do you do with all the goodies you have put back?

What are you going to do with your stash to ensure long term smoke-ability?


It is going to be really cool to have a stash from a certain period in my life. In the past, I smoked it up as fast as I could buy it. Now It seems I can save a lil' bit but I really don't know how long I can keep it until it starts to crumble and lose the potency.

Harvesting, Curing & Storage

These are the focus points for The Knowledge Project Seven, and I look forward to all the members' entries and infinite wisdom

Winning entries will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Originality...this is not the time for cut and paste jobs:Pictures are good especially if you take them yourself, but don't let that limit you.

2. Reliability....we want tried and true methods based on experience and knowledge...not speculation on advanced techniques.

3. Ease of Use...please assume little or no previous knowledge or experience on the part of the reader...organize your info in as practical a way as possible and for goodness sake, please use helpful pictures as needed.


A panel of mods will judge the posts, which are due by November 30th. We recognize that there are different, useful approaches to these matters, and so may select more than one entry to be a permanent selection of "The GP Hall of Fame"

Once again thanks to Shinningwind, Mr.Moon, and our friends at Highgrade for making this ongoing contest and valuable service possible.

For the winner Highgrade will provide a 10 pack of their quality seeds.
Marijuana Seeds - Highest Quality Marijuana Seeds Online

Rules: In order to keep this simple and fun, Rules are minimal. The contest starts on November 1st and carries on through the month until the November 30th. It will end at midnight on the 30th
No winning this contest series twice in a row.

Please refrain from negative comments in the contest thread.

All entries must be displayed completely in the contest thread. No links to your pictures.;

Have fun with this people ...Extra points for creativity.

Yet another great topic! My curing so far has been with my supersonic 2009 microwave. Works gr8 for me so far! Some day I will have to know more about this, so I will definatly be watching this one!! I'm sure we will get to see some fresh harvest pics here too!!

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Our first grow
http://www.greenpassion.org/f22/lesb...-closet-13859/

This Months Prize For another great Topic, which will be most handy for one and all.... Is.......




Northern Lights #5Pure Indica
Indoor/GreenhouseNorthern Lights #5 is the state of the art hybrid in cannabis breeding with over 25 years of selected inbreeding. This strain is synonymous with ease of growth, strong hybrid vigor, high yield, low odor, fabulous taste and a superb high that has made it the #1 selling strain of all time. Northern Lights #5 is ideal for all growers especially those who prefer shorter bushy plants and is a perfect strain for smaller indoor growing spaces. Fast finishing time with highly frosted resinous buds. A super smoke! Height: 3 ft
Flowering Time: 8 weeks
Yield: 2.5 to 3.0 oz per plant


Lets hear about all your tricks of the trade....

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Cheers!!!!! Shinningwind
current log @ HGS
Shinningwind's Outdoor Adventure/09

Thank you Shinning! GREAT prize! Way to go HGS!

That is an awesome prize there!! That is what I was gonna get if I ever had the spare money around lol But the ones I'm getting are crossed with NL5 so I'm sure I will be over the moon! This part of growing I haven't really had to know yet, but I really want to learn so I hope to see some of the great wisdom floating around GP on this topic! Cmon guys and gals! Start typing!!

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Our first grow
http://www.greenpassion.org/f22/lesb...-closet-13859/

How about inadvertent curing?

I was in my shop, looking for a small tool of some sort, when I opened a seldom used drawer. In the drawer was a small ceramic jar, with wire closer.

AhHa!

I opened the jar to find about 1/4 oz. of buds. I don't remember stashing it.

And, it came at a perfect time. I had just run out, and would be out for about a week.

It was WAY smoother than the rest of that harvest, whenever that was.

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Charlie

Oh, btw. If the winner doesn't know which strain to pick, if that's an option, I suggest ClusterBomb. Everyone, to a person, who has tried my CB, has given RAVE reviews. Be cautioned, however; it is extremely fragrant.

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Charlie

I always cut down my plants just as lights are coming on for the day ,no putting them in the dark for 24 hours or anything crazy like that .I cut all buds off main branches ,manicure them real good ,put in shoe boxes with holes punched in the sides of them,stack them on closet floor,then place a fan in front of boxes blowing on them,open boxes about 8 times a day to turn buds over,rotate boxes one that was on bottom will be on top,after about 4 days of this then I put in paper sacks for another 2 days or until tems snap cleanly,into mason jars they go for the long haul,open mason jars everyday to let remaining moisture out ,after about 3 days of that I put the mason jars back in their box tape it closed then store in cool dark spot until I'm ready to smoke them. I never put them in plastic people say that the plastic taste cures into your smoke??Before I put the mason jars in box and tape up I run hot water in sink and put jars in to heat them up ,after about 5 minutes of this I pull them out and put lids on ,then to the freezer they go.What this does is kinda like a vacuum pack or almost like canning fruits or vegetables. Instead of boiling my jars I just put under hot water .When I pull the jars out of freezer you can push on center of lid to see if the safety button on lid sucked in?? If not repeat steps again?? I have never had a problem doing it this way ,all buds are just as fresh as the day I put them in the jars .Anytime I pull out a new jar to smoke I open the jar and you can hear the air rush in .Just like opening a jar up from the store. anyway I hope this helps some of you guys and gals out???pretty much about as simple as simple gets if you ask me ??no voodoo or anything crazy involved. Maybe I will win this ,I never win anything at all ,I'm not holding my breath on it. There are many more people out there that probably harvest,trim and cure better than me ???but this way is really easy any newbie can do it my way.

My bad!! I need to be a little more in depth about heating the jars.I fill the jars with dry buds leave a little breathing room,then I fill the sink with straight hot water.then I place the jars with the buds in them into the hot water making sure none gets in the jar.I then let them sit like this for about 5 to 10 minutes,till the glass is hot.Then I put on the lids and place in freezer for about 20 minutes or so.I then check to see if the safety button in the middle of lids sucked in or not ?if not I repeat until it sucks in.You can check by pushing on center of the lids if they push down you need to do it again.if they don't push down then you are set put in boxes close them up and put in cool dark spot until needed? you know what a safety button on a lid is right?after you open a jar for the first time it makes a weird noise like a pop??before you open a jar from the store for the first time look at the center of the lid and you will notice what I'm speaking of??

I cut my bud's off just after light out. I'm not really sure it matter's. I trim them up. After this i hang all the bud's in a dark low humid closet. Where they get plenty of air no fan though. I like that odor to soak in real good. Then after about 5 days and the buds are dry to the touch. I place them in mason jars.Inside the jar i place a piece of sponge. That i attach to the inner top of the lid. do not glue it because of odor. Two way tape is great for this. The sponge only needs to be about one inch by one inch. The reason is to absorb the odor of the smoke. Then i just close the lid for one day. Then open for one day. I do this until they bud are so dry they crumble when broken up. (I know goes against what you are told). Once this happens i just close the lid. But here is the trick. When the buds are that dry which is basically 0 moisture. You can store them for almost ever. When you wish to open and take buds. You have to reconstitute them. How you do this is you take Luke warm water and dip your bud in it for 10 seconds(remember THC is not water soluble) than pull it out. You will notice that your bud appears to be wicking the water away. But it really is soaking it up slowly. set it somewhere that is room temperature for 10 minutes.(please note drying time may very due to top size) Then flip it over. give it ten more minutes. And you are done it is now ready to consume. You will surprisingly find even after 10 years in that jar. That you have buds that are more potent then when you put them there. Also your taste and smell are as you would of just picked them.I have done this since the 80s. It really does work. It is almost like freeze drying it. Storing it than reviving it back. Also during storage you can take and wash the sealed up jar in scent killer soap from the hunting supply. Then you can spray it with cover scent. And that will make your stash odor free for storage. Just remember if you think this don't work. I can smoke a afghan creeper hybrid offered by dutch growers twenty years ago. Matter of fact i will see you later I'm going to get my creeper.

All done sweetie...
Peace, Jangel

I figured that more people would have already had a bunch of posts on this already??I might just be able to win this contest.that would be kool .I have wanted pure nl5 seeds for awhile now I might get a chance to win these??

I just got those seeds and 3 have sprouted so happy days for me. These contests are an AWSOME way to win seeds! Bring on what you know!! Everyone has a chance! Good luck!

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Our first grow
http://www.greenpassion.org/f22/lesb...-closet-13859/

First let me say everything I do with my girls is hands on.
The only thing automated are the lights.
So here's my harvesting and curing process.

I start by rolling up a fatty from last months harvest and heading into the flower room as soon as the lights come on.
Leaving the girls in their gro bags, one by one I take them from their beds and remove all the fan leaves and other larger leaves from the girl by hand. Then I cut them down, close to the soil line.
From there they are hung in a dark walk in closet upside down with a small fan slowly circulating air around the closet.
They hang there for about a week until I can snap a stem, not break it but bend it and hear or feel a breaking sensation.
Next I bring them to the living room where I can be on the computer and watch TV through the next process.
I have a large wooden lap tray where after cutting each branch off the main stem I gently remove the buds (by hand) and pull off any leaf material that is left that I don't want on the bud.
Depending on the strain from there they may go into paper bags to further dry and start the curing part of the process or go into glass jars with air tight lids.
What determines where the buds goes is how dry they are.
One of the strains I grow is dry enough at this point to roll up and smoke. That goes into the jars so the flavor and potency can mature.
Others that aren't 'joint smokable' go into the paper bags.
I use grocery store bags and put roughly 1/4 lb. into each bag. I leave the bags open for about 6 hours a day, gently reaching in the bag and fluffing the buds once a day. After 4 to 7 days those buds are ready for the jars.
The jar part of curing is what brings the flavor and potency out IMHO.
For the first week I'll burp the jars letting any stale air and moisture out. After that the jars stay sealed until I need them.

In case you are wondering, the main reason I manicure by hand can be summed up in two words, 'finger hash'.

Nice Contest guys... Great one... I can use some pointers on this as well...

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Spank You,
JohnnyBoy928
I ❤ 'The Pot'