With our first harvest under our belt, and some killer Chem Dawg for our troubles, Its time for some shiny new hydro equipment. We decided the best approach was to upgrade everything…Starting with the walls. As chic as wood paneling, and garbage bags are, I decided a 4′x4′ hydro tent with reflective Mylar walls is a little more energy efficient.

Now for my sun, Sunlight Supply’s Magnum XXXL 8″, or as they affectionately call it, The OCHO.

Its the biggest reflector in their line, and probably the biggest I have ever seen. It almost entirely fills our tent. Light distribution smooth, even, and intense. Running a SolarMax HPS we are spreading 147,000Lumens across a 4′x4′x2′ garden.

As for the ballast, we decided to go with a magnetic ballast t to save some money in the short run. Digital ballasts reduce power consumption, so if you plan on growing for a while, you will definitely appreciate the digi.

The tray is Botanicare’s 48″x48″ tray. What they don’t tell you is that 48″ is the bottom measurement, at the top it is actually 52″x52″ so good luck fitting it into a 48″ tent. I had to take off the edges with a Skil saw, and it still doesn’t fit with the door closed. Measure your parts before you take them home! For the time being, a slightly larger door is being cut out of panda film. Next time I’ll have to decide whether to buy a new tent 3″ larger or, a new tray almost a foot smaller. It’s a good thing I seem to enjoy shopping for this stuff so much.

Outside of the tent is an Oracle Revolution 6 455cfm duct fan. The fan performs multiple tasks; it provides fresh air, by replacing all the air in the tent 3-4x a minute, it air cools the light, without it the light would overheat and explode, finally it force feeds all of the air coming out of the room into a Can50 38-Special carbon filter.  The insulated ducting helps quiet it down, and keep your exhaust from warming up your room (Home Depot carries it cheaper than anywhere else).

After careful inspection of our power bill, we realized about half of our consumption was coming from a 25yr old built in air conditioner. This time we went with a window mount energy star a/c unit. It is more than enough for our little room. It can also be run on low to help lower humidity. The efficiency we gained from the air conditioner should negate the cost of upgrading our light from 600w-1000w. It’s always good to keep electricity usage as stable as possible.

Now all that’s missing is the herb. My next article will detail the building and use of an aeroponic cloner.

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

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It was a cold fall night… this past Saturday. My partner and I were changing the reservoir, and we noticed as it cooled down that the temp at the top of the buds had already dropped to 64.5, and the rest of the plant was even colder! Since the light is on yo-yo’s we dropped it down about 6″ and watched the thermometer. After an hour, the temperature seemed to be holding between 69-72 with all the little girls huddled up under the light. It was a beautiful sight, I wish I had a picture…sigh. The next day I came in to check on my babies, I knew something was wrong before I even saw them. The fan had apparently shook itself to death.

Without the fan helping to circulate the air conditioning, the temperature under the lamp got too hot for weed.

All my beautiful tops were burnt to a crisp.

85 Isn’t enough to kill them, as you can see the tops burnt pretty good, but for the most part only the top 3″ or so of each plant was damaged. Unfortunately, the top is the prettiest freshest part, and I was way looking forward to them.

So I pulled the light up to about 2′ away from them, and ran down the street, and grabbed the only little oscillating fan i could find. It turns out they are a seasonal item, so by the fall they are all gone. Once I set up the fan, and restored air circulation, the temperature dropped down to about 70. I immediately mixed up a foliar spray of B-52 w/penetrator (pH 5.6 ppm 600).

In order to prevent this from EVER happening, make sure to maintain fans and all equipment at least once a week. I am setting 2 fans, each blowing air in different directions next to each other. It is redundant, and a waste of electricity, but anything is worth the price to never have to see my babies suffer like that again.