Ready to switch to dark for 1-2 days?

[AdaminCO]

I’m planning on these two going down this weekend. (Yesterday pic)

August 20

 

[The Bard]

I’m planning on these two going down this weekend. (Yesterday pic)

Nice! All that white frosting is blinding. Good job.

 

[AdaminCO]

They say when you think it’s time, wait another week.

 

[derek910]

I want to say you are right on the week left from what mine did. I unfortunately didn’t have a microscope when they started turning it wasn’t until amber was starting when I got my digital one in mail but another week should do. You will know for sure when you check then. What is your plan for harvest? Are you flushing or not? Doing a dark period before harvest?

I manage the salt in my plants throughout the grow and I never let it get too high. I don’t flush my plants, but after reading a post from Emilya today I’m going to start flushing them when they have 2 weeks to go with 3x the pot size to get all of the salt out and then continue the nutes so they are available for the swell. I plan to cut the top colas in about a week. There is a layer of buds that is just below those. I’m going to leave them on the plant until they are ready as well. They haven’t been getting all of the light because of the cola blocking it

 

[AdaminCO]

Check out @InTheShed writeup regarding flushing.
He has a different perspective.

No flush for me, and @Emilya told me today she runs compost teas throughout the whole grow.

 

[CC420710]

Yeah I’ve seen where people take a small piece. I just haven’t been able to bring myself to doing yet. I just turn the fans off and take a crap load of pictures all over the place. It’s a pain to get steady and focused pictures but I’m getting better at it the more I do it

Sorry, I didn't mean to sounds like I was arguing with you, just trying to understand.

If the trichs are ready, then I would think it was done. If you let it go longer, the other things that you said (darkening pistils, filling out more, etc.) might indeed happen. But if the trichs are ready now, then they will continue to ripen/degrade. As I understand it, as the trichs move from clear to cloudy to amber, the effect becomes more and more sedative/sleepy. If that is the effect you are going for, then great!

Personally, I harvest when the trichs look like what I am going for, regardless of what the pistils say.

Well I thought you were supposed to go by several factors not just one but this is my first grow. As far as the trichs degrading too much that’s why I continue to watch and check them everyday to make sure they are still under a certain percentage of amber. As long as there is a majority cloudy still then there is no reason to lose any weight or not wait until she at least looks ready. If it has more amber than her sisters that’s fine I smoke a bowl at bedtime too and already have some for day. Also being my first grow I technically don’t know where I prefer the trichomes to be I can only guess based on others info. Until I actually try different stages of cloudy and amber I will never truly know what I like. So all and all I’m not losing anything by letting the one keep going imho

 

[Emilya Green]

Check out @InTheShed writeup regarding flushing.
He has a different perspective.

No flush for me, and @Emilya told me today she runs compost teas throughout the whole grow.

Actually, Shed and I totally agree about the need to flush the salt out the medium if it becomes a problem, and at the beginning of budswell at the end, and I agree with him that a flush at the very end, like right before harvest, is totally pointless. I think we both agree also on the proper use of the word flush, which means 3x the volume of the container moved through the soil so as to wash out the debris, and not a new term for giving plain water instead of nutes for one or more waterings.
In an organic grow, where there are no synthetic nutes breaking down and causing salt lockups, and no nutes building up in the soil to drive it acidic, there is no need to flush, ever.

 

[derek910]

Well I thought you were supposed to go by several factors not just one but this is my first grow. As far as the trichs degrading too much that’s why I continue to watch and check them everyday to make sure they are still under a certain percentage of amber. As long as there is a majority cloudy still then there is no reason to lose any weight or not wait until she at least looks ready. If it has more amber than her sisters that’s fine I smoke a bowl at bedtime too and already have some for day. Also being my first grow I technically don’t know where I prefer the trichomes to be I can only guess based on others info. Until I actually try different stages of cloudy and amber I will never truly know what I like. So all and all I’m not losing anything by letting the one keep going imho

You can cut buds at different stages based off the trichomes to figure out what you like. Cut some mostly milky and clear, then cut some milky and amber, and then cut some more amber and some milky. So forth and so on

 

[CC420710]

I manage the salt in my plants throughout the grow and I never let it get too high. I don’t flush my plants, but after reading a post from Emilya today I’m going to start flushing them when they have 2 weeks to go with 3x the pot size to get all of the salt out and then continue the nutes so they are available for the swell. I plan to cut the top colas in about a week. There is a layer of buds that is just below those. I’m going to leave them on the plant until they are ready as well. They haven’t been getting all of the light because of the cola blocking it

I did the same with the ones I harvested but am doing the last sister different just because it’s such a hot topic and I have to know for myself to even begin to argue it. So planned on no nutes the last week or two depends on when she is ready I’m not the best at guessing that part. I plan to grow organically in future so I don’t have the same issues. Then I do 48 hours in the dark right before harvest. I will test that theory next batch but here it’s a good thing to do. And yes Emilya is full of scientific advice and that’s good a thing. It has helped me more than once

 

[AdaminCO]

Actually, Shed and I totally agree about the need to flush the salt out the medium if it becomes a problem, and at the beginning of budswell at the end, and I agree with him that a flush at the very end, like right before harvest, is totally pointless. I think we both agree also on the proper use of the word flush, which means 3x the volume of the container moved through the soil so as to wash out the debris, and not a new term for giving plain water instead of nutes for one or more waterings.
In an organic grow, where there are no synthetic nutes breaking down and causing salt lockups, and no nutes building up in the soil to drive it acidic, there is no need to flush, ever.

The last part is all I’ve really paid attention too. I bought the FF line and it sits unopened in the cabinet. You two have taught me a lot, and carried through my grow.
Thats what I meant by different perspective. Not whether or not it was relevant, but rather, is it necessary dependent on your mediums... grow type... organic vs. synthetic

 

[CC420710]

You can cut buds at different stages based off the trichomes to figure out what you like. Cut some mostly milky and clear, then cut some milky and amber, and then cut some more amber and some milky. So forth and so on

Yeah if I had only one of that strain I probably would go that route but figured since I had several of a particular strain and one that is taking longer to just do by whole plant instead.

 

[derek910]

Actually, Shed and I totally agree about the need to flush the salt out the medium if it becomes a problem, and at the beginning of budswell at the end, and I agree with him that a flush at the very end, like right before harvest, is totally pointless. I think we both agree also on the proper use of the word flush, which means 3x the volume of the container moved through the soil so as to wash out the debris, and not a new term for giving plain water instead of nutes for one or more waterings.
In an organic grow, where there are no synthetic nutes breaking down and causing salt lockups, and no nutes building up in the soil to drive it acidic, there is no need to flush, ever.

I cut clones from my current grow and I have them in 5 gallon pots of Ocean Forrest/Happy Frog soil. Sorry hadn’t read your watering post before I transplanted them. I usually let them go for about 3 weeks to a month depending on when I flip them. Since I am growing the mothers with synthetics Fox Farm dry and liquids. I am going to run the clones organic for a comparison. Figured what better way. Same environment same genetics. I have the FoxFarm organic dry amendments. I’m going to try and top dress them about every 3 weeks. I’m curious to see the difference. Any advice?

 

[derek910]

I did the same with the ones I harvested but am doing the last sister different just because it’s such a hot topic and I have to know for myself to even begin to argue it. So planned on no nutes the last week or two depends on when she is ready I’m not the best at guessing that part. I plan to grow organically in future so I don’t have the same issues. Then I do 48 hours in the dark right before harvest. I will test that theory next batch but here it’s a good thing to do. And yes Emilya is full of scientific advice and that’s good a thing. It has helped me more than once

I completely understand. My money is on you won’t notice a difference in smoothness, smell, or taste. I have ran nutrients out at the end one time along side one I fed until the end. There was no difference in them as far as those things go. All that stuff comes from drying and curing properly. It doesn’t make sense to me to starve your plants when all the good stuff is happening. I did try it once though

 

[derek910]

Yeah if I had only one of that strain I probably would go that route but figured since I had several of a particular strain and one that is taking longer to just do by whole plant instead.

That’ll work too. More than one way to skin a cat. Just figured you’d get more options to chose from rather than harvesting whole plants at once

 

[Emilya Green]

I cut clones from my current grow and I have them in 5 gallon pots of Ocean Forrest/Happy Frog soil. Sorry hadn’t read your watering post before I transplanted them. I usually let them go for about 3 weeks to a month depending on when I flip them. Since I am growing the mothers with synthetics Fox Farm dry and liquids. I am going to run the clones organic for a comparison. Figured what better way. Same environment same genetics. I have the FoxFarm organic dry amendments. I’m going to try and top dress them about every 3 weeks. I’m curious to see the difference. Any advice?

I don't think you will get the results that you are wanting unless you bring the microbes into the picture. There are several ways to do this these days, but just putting the minerals in the soil is not going to cut it.

 

[derek910]

I don't think you will get the results that you are wanting unless you bring the microbes into the picture. There are several ways to do this these days, but just putting the minerals in the soil is not going to cut it.

The bags say they have active microbes is that not going to cut it? I have this one, one for flowering, and another one of bat guano. All say active soil microbes

 

[Emilya Green]

Think about how dry that stuff is and how hibernated and dormant the microlife is in there. Sure, it will provide a few flagging colonies of microbes of various sorts all around in the container, but even multiplying every couple of hours it will not be anywhere near the billions of microbes you should have in there in a true organic grow. Organic growing doesn't just mean using natural ingredients... it is an active effort to make that soil come alive with more microbes in that container than there are human beings on the planet. Actively Aerated Compost Teas, Voodoo Juice, URB, or RealGrower's Recharge... are the best ways to get the most beneficial microbes to work in your container, and in the numbers where they can actually get ahead of the feeding needs of the hungry plants.

 

[derek910]

Think about how dry that stuff is and how hibernated and dormant the microlife is in there. Sure, it will provide a few flagging colonies of microbes of various sorts all around in the container, but even multiplying every couple of hours it will not be anywhere near the billions of microbes you should have in there in a true organic grow. Organic growing doesn't just mean using natural ingredients... it is an active effort to make that soil come alive with more microbes in that container than there are human beings on the planet. Actively Aerated Compost Teas, Voodoo Juice, URB, or RealGrower's Recharge... are the best ways to get the most beneficial microbes to work in your container, and in the numbers where they can actually get ahead of the feeding needs of the hungry plants.

Understood. Thank you. I will look into these

 

[The Bard]

Well I thought you were supposed to go by several factors not just one but this is my first grow. As far as the trichs degrading too much that’s why I continue to watch and check them everyday to make sure they are still under a certain percentage of amber. As long as there is a majority cloudy still then there is no reason to lose any weight or not wait until she at least looks ready. If it has more amber than her sisters that’s fine I smoke a bowl at bedtime too and already have some for day. Also being my first grow I technically don’t know where I prefer the trichomes to be I can only guess based on others info. Until I actually try different stages of cloudy and amber I will never truly know what I like. So all and all I’m not losing anything by letting the one keep going imho

That's great! By all means let it keep going if that appeals to you. All I was driving at is the trichs are the determining factor on when to harvest.

 

[CC420710]

Sorry, I didn't mean to sounds like I was arguing with you, just trying to understand.

If the trichs are ready, then I would think it was done. If you let it go longer, the other things that you said (darkening pistils, filling out more, etc.) might indeed happen. But if the trichs are ready now, then they will continue to ripen/degrade. As I understand it, as the trichs move from clear to cloudy to amber, the effect becomes more and more sedative/sleepy. If that is the effect you are going for, then great!

Personally, I harvest when the trichs look like what I am going for, regardless of what the pistils say.

It’s more about just because you think trichomes are ready doesn’t mean they are so it good to go by several factors not just the one because it could be wrong. The lightning could be off, bad eyes, first time growers ect. As someone mentioned on this post about learning to take pictures with lights off because it changes the way the trichome looks. Maybe a better way of putting it though. Instead of saying trichomes are ready let’s keep it at when you think trichomes are ready but other factors say it’s not then you don’t want to cut without much further investigation because it could be a simple thing making them look more ready. Does that make sense? It’s hard to explain things in text