Plant care: harvest, trim and final drying.
After months of work, it is necessary to dedicate ourselves to the final phase of cultivation: the harvest, the trimming (cleaning of the plants) and finally the tanning. These last 3 phases are just as important as the entire part dedicated up to now to the growth and development of our plants. Poorly managing these processes leads to a poor result. By following our advice you will get a perfect product.
GATHER:
What is the best time to harvest? Do we have to stick to the times indicated on the packages? On what basis can we evaluate the maturity of the plant?
Let's start with what it looks like.
Look at your plant when it is in the period in which it should be harvested, remember that the quantity is not the only discriminating factor you need to consider, as is the color of the pistils, which go from white to brown. The best solution is always to consider all the details, so in addition to the period, the size of the flowers and the color of the pistils, the maturity of the trichomes and the thickness of the calyxes must also be evaluated. Having the ability to consider all these factors will allow you to better evaluate the appearance of your plant.
FLOWERING TIMES AND PERIODS:
All seed packages indicate a flowering time, and this refers to indoor cultivations and a flowering period which refers to outdoor cultivations.
These indications are a genetic reference and are based on specific experiences even if on large numbers. Having said this, the times are also dictated by fertilization, lighting, phenotype and size of the plant. So don't take harvest time for granted, always look at your plant and evaluate whether the time to harvest has actually arrived.
GLASSES:
To avoid a premature harvest, the calyxes of the plant are an element to keep an eye on, they must be swollen and tight together. Often the top of the plant has an inverted teardrop or foxtail shape, which is associated with excessive fertilization, this is not true most of the time. In fact, the tapered shape could be a specific characteristic of genetics and the flower still needs to be given time to swell and mature completely.
TRICHOMES:
Trichomes constitute a fundamental part of the flower, they are a source of smell and taste because they contain terpenes and essential oils, they are also the reservoir of cannabinoids. Trichomes determine the diversity between one plant and another. The Trichoma is a micro hair with a round droplet at the tip, it is greyish white, opalescent to reddish orange. The color is decisive in establishing the degree of potency and therefore the effect, light trichomes light effect and potency, darker trichomes greater potency.
In the final phase, about 2 weeks before harvest, it is important to proceed with the Flushing phase. Basically we proceed by administering only water to the plants. This process helps clean up and dispose of any salt accumulations due to fertilization. Flushing is a simple technique and still recommended, especially if you have fertilized with chemical products.
NOT TO DO:
Cut plants only according to the ratio of white to brown pistils
Cut before flavor and potency are at their peak (trichomes)
Cut late because the terpenes will be aged and degraded
Cut and store if you notice mold.
DRY:
The drying phase is as important as the others described, making mistakes could compromise the quality of the product and make it unusable, for example in the event of mold growth.
TRIM:
Before proceeding with harvesting and therefore trimming the plant you will have to decide whether to do it dry or wet.
Wet trimming : separate all the buds before drying them by cutting all the small leaves they contain. This method, which is probably the most common, will allow you to immediately have material (the result of the trim) available for other uses, furthermore it maintains a more complex terpene profile because the product does not undergo decarboxylation, which consists in the loss of carbon dioxide molecules.
Dry Trimming : When dealing with many plants it is certainly more practical to dry the plants first. After eliminating all the large leaves, the entire plants are hung for a period of approximately 2 weeks. At this point it is possible to start trimming, for which it is good practice to always have a sieve available so as not to lose the trichomes that come off.
Cleaning by hand or with trimmers?
Cleaning the plant by hand is always the best method, the result is of superior quality, the flower is not tossed and mistreated. It goes without saying that when managing large quantities of plants it is impossible to proceed with this method.
DRYING TIMES:
The drying period is approximately 2 weeks, it naturally also depends on the size of the flowers, the smaller ones can be ready in about ten days. The drying temperature should be around 15° with a relative humidity of 50%.
IS MY BUDGET DRIED WELL?
To realize the goodness of drying, take these indications into account:
Dry bud with strong odor
Smaller and more compact flower size
Lighter and more brittle branches
You no longer smell chlorophyll
Dry but sticky and tonic flower
The top makes a “croc” sound but doesn't fall apart.
TANNING:
By tanning we mean the "seasoning" of the flowers. As with other cured products, it is not enough to preserve the product to enjoy the transformation of smells and flavors that tanning entails. Store the product in a glass jar, make sure it is not compressed or crushed. Open the jar for about ten minutes every day to promote air exchange and the correct degradation of CBD and THC, in this way the effect will increasingly become narcotic.
All information contained is for informational and educational purposes only. We urge all users not to make any practical use of this information in connection with cannabis seeds. In fact, let us remember that:
In Italy the cultivation of cannabis seeds is prohibited (Art. 28 and 73 of Presidential Decree 309/90) if you do not have a specific authorization (Art. 17 Presidential Decree 309/90)
Therefore, cannabis seeds may be used exclusively for collecting purposes and for genetic preservation and are marketed with the reservation that they are not used by third parties in conflict with the law. Cannabis seeds are excluded from Presidential Decree 309/90, which means that they are not to be considered narcotic substances (L. 412 of 1974, Art. 1, Paragraph 1, Letter B; New York single convention on narcotics of 1961 and table 1 Ministry of Health decree 11 April 2006).
