Finally, the day has come to reap the rewards of all our hard work. After a week and a half of flushing the plants with filtered, ph’ed water, they are ready to cut down. The best time to cut is first thing in the (plants) morning. You want to get them within the first 10 minutes of the light turning on, while all the trichomes are stretching upward, before they begin to hide from the light and heat of the day. Strains vary in flowering time, my Chem D is an indica heavy hybrid, and finished in 8 weeks, some sativas can go as long as 12 weeks. A general rule of thumb is to watch the hairs. When about 50% of the hairs have turned from white to orange, the flower is done, and its time to flush.

Flushing can run anywhere from 4-10 days, depending on the gardener’s patience. I personally flush for as long as possible to make I eliminate any leftover nutrient smells or tastes. If you have ever smoked an un-flushed bud (I have many a time purchased un-flushed medications from reputable dispensarys…), you probably noticed one or more of the following: it smelled a bit like fabric softener, it tasted unpleasant and burned the throat, the ash from the finished bowl is black instead of white. If you haven’t come across such nug, consider yourself lucky, it’s gross. Commercial flushing products are also available, I have used Botanicare’s Clearex, I have also heard people swear by Advanced Nutrients Final Phase. They work well, and cut your flush time by a third, but if you are patient, water works just as well. Also pH’ing your water with a fresh lemon will help the plants break down the residual nutrients.

When you are ready to cut your babies down, be sure to clear your schedule for several hours. When you harvest, you want to remove extraneous leaves, they slow down the process, and are only full of chlorophyll. Trim off any leaves without visible trichomes. Also be sure to remove any necrosis (brown dead spots) as they will begin to mold during drying and curing. The best approach for trimming is turning the bud upside down, this exposes the stems, snip the stems, and the leaves will just fall out.

Drying should take place in the same climate as flowering, 68* 50% humidity. However, you want to minimize exposure to light, as it will begin to degrade the cannabinoids. Drying should take 1-2 weeks to allow the plants moisture to evaporate evenly, taking all the chlorophyll. If it dries out too fast, chlorophyll deposits will make your flower taste like grass. Let the plants dry on a laundry line in a dark room with stable humidity, and good air circulation. I have read that on larger farms, tomato cages are used as a drying rack. The buds are done drying when the stems snap instead of bending. If after 2 weeks they are still not dry, place them in a brown paper bag overnight.

Curing is one of the most important parts of the whole process. This is where you make or break the smell and taste of the buds. Once fully dry, cut the buds away from the stems, and place them in glass mason jars. You want your herb to be snug, but do not pack it down. Store the jars in a cool dark place. The jar should be opened 10-15mins every 6 hours for 1-2 weeks for optimal trichome maturity and flavor.

And without further ado…here’s my harvest

dscn2395

dscn2397

dscn2399

dscn2400

dscn2402

dscn2404

dscn2407

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

It’s week 8, my buds are flushing. I finished foliar feeding just over a week ago, and I have been spraying the buds with pH’ed water to help them absorb any residual fertilizer left on the surface. I am looking closely at the trichome structure… and at the base of one of the smaller plants, I notice that the buds at the bottom, in the shade,are really frosty, not just regular frosty, clumpy and patchy frosty… That means only one thing… Powdery Mildew!!!

They [spores] need the proper conditions to germinate: a surface that contains nutrients on which they can grow, temperatures over 60?F (16-20 C), high humidity and a slightly acidic environment. Once the spore senses these conditions , it germinates, sending out a hyhae which seeks out a stomata. It enters the tissue and lives off its nutrients, eventually killing the tissue. The downy mildew powder you see on the leaf is the reproductive organ of the plant, which is releasing spores into the air.
-Ask Ed

Powdery Mildew is an airborne fungus, that basically occurs everywhere with friendly conditions. It has been a pain in the ass for commercial farmers since as long as people remember. If allowed to reproduce on your buds, they will spread to any and every surface. And when smoked, powdery mildew creates any of a number of unpleasant side effects including: sniffles, runny nose, itchy eyes, coughing and sneezing, and can trigger asthma and other allergic responses.

It spreads quickly in high humidity, and in the shade, so the best solution is prevention.
Keep your humidity on the low side 35%-45%.
Turn your plants twice a week to keep any one spot from staying in the shade.
Spray fungicides preventatively through the first 5 weeks.

Many commercial sprays are available that prevent powder mildew. Make sure to use an organic fungicide since you don’t want to smoke any harmful chemicals. I recommend either Seranade or Neem Oil. Both are organic, and can be found at most nursery’s.

However, as I said earlier, I am in week 8, so it’s too late to spray chemicals. There is a natural solution. Fungii only survive within a specific pH range. Farmers used to use baking soda, and laundry deturgent to spray for powder mildew, but that sounds dangerous and a little gross. An even easier cure is mixing up a solution of 1 part milk to 9 parts water, and spray directly on problem areas. The lactic acid will kill the fungus. Powdery Mildew has a 3-5 day life cycle, so it is important to spray again 2-3 days later to kill any new offspring.

Foliar feeding is a a great way to supplement your feeding. Whether to correct a nutrient imbalance, get the plants eating through nutrient lockout at the roots, or just to get a little more food in there to boost your buds, feeding cannabis through the leaves is fast and effective.

BE CAREFUL: Start with lower than recommended dosages, it is really easy to burn your plants.

Conventional wisdom tells us that plants can absorb moisture through the stomata on the underside of the leaves, so small doses of nutrients can be diluted in water and sprayed on the underside of the leaf, where the plant (or weed) can absorb and use them directly where they are needed.

Now, since we are playing with more interesting things than conventional wisdom, I recommend a product called Penetrator by Dutchmaster.

Traditionally the only holes in the waxy cuticle are the stomata on the underside of the leaf, however what Penetrator does is create a series of tubes coming in through the cuticle into the mesophyll layer. These tubes are lined with water, and evaporate away when the feeding is over It also contains a chemical agent that helps maintain the stability of the reaction. With traditional foliar feeding, the leaf can only uptake nutrients until it runs out of electrical charge, then it begins to close up and reject whatever is left. With Penetrator leaves are able to uptake more nutrients through both sides of the leaf, and they receive more nutrients at each site.

Since foliar feeding is topical, it allows the plant access to the nutrients it needs, at the location it needs them. It allows the plant to recover from any kind of deficiency quickly with minimal energy loss.

Foliar sprays should be alternated, to help the plant thoroughly ingest every feeding. I recommend foliar feeding 2-3 times a week during weeks 2-6 of flowering. I use concentrations of about 400-700ppm of about half nutrient/half Penetrator. Start at the low end, or even a little lower. Always use pH neutral water, whatever the pH of your medium is, 5.6-6.0 for hydro, and 6.0-6.3 soil. Since Penetrator allows your plant to absorb more food, use lower than recommended doses until your plants adjust to foliar feeding.

Products I use to foliar feed:

B-52 – B-vitamins and Norwegian Sea Kelp extract make this a great source of trace minerals. Also B-52 helps you plants be more tolerant to heat and drought. There are two essential plant hormones, auxins and cytokinins. Auxins encourage apical dominance, telling your plant to shoot straight up from the tallest point. Cytokinins do just the opposite, they signal the plant to stop elongating, and to start bushing, and noding closer together. Norwegian Sea Kelp is rich in cytokinins, so wait until you are satisfied with your plant’s height before you spray this one. Start around 200ppm B-52 200ppm Penetrator, and work your way up.

Revive – Advanced Nutrients gift to frustrated cannabis growers everywhere. It is a special blend of super chelated micro-nutrients. If for any reason your plants start to yellow, add 200ppm of Revive to the reservoir, and mix up 100ppm Revive 200ppm Penetrator in a foliar spray. You will see your plants returning to green in less than an hour. This stuff is amazing, and it works before your eyes. (In a pinch, substitute Ca-Mg+, same idea just not as immediately effective)

Humic/Fulvic acid – These are the decomposing remains of peat bogs, refined from leonardite (WARNING: exposure to bare skin may cause skin and eye irritation, handle with gloves). They contain loosely bonded elemental remains that your plant uses to break down its food. Humic acid helps with the breaking down of trace elements, where as Fulvic helps with the breakdown of sugar. Foliar feeding of these basically chemically induces hunger. These natural acids create a demand for nutrients wherever applied, so when applied in small doses directly to the flower, it tells the plant to send more food to the buds. Foliar application also helps your plants get through nutrient lockout at the roots. These two can be combined when added, but start off light, its way easy to burn your buds.

Note: I discontinued foliar feeding at the beginning of week 7, and began spraying pH 6 water on the leaves to help them intake the rest of their food. About 3 days later I found the beginning signs of powdery mildew. It is too late to spray fungicide, so I have to attack the mildew itself. I turned the air conditioner up to impede growth, and dry out the air. Anywhere that is already infected with powdery mildew (in the shade, near the bottom) it can be cured with a foliar spray of 1pt whole milk to 9pts water. The lactic acid will eat the powder mildew alive.