Beginners advice on Harvesting

[Ajimango]

There was a whole discussion about this recently

[RougeDiablo]

1 hour ago, Ajimango said:

90k is a bit small. you need nearer 900k. Lots on here have had trouble with the gallery lately. Firefox is the browser to use if you arnt already.

I'm losing the will to live here! (Laughing emoji)

I thought it was 100 Kb's in a Mb, and a 100 Mb's in a Gb. Turns out it's a 1000, isn't it! 

So I resized my images from 800kb's to 90kb to fit.....but that's wrong! My original images at 800 Kbs, are under the forum limit of 0.98MB (Which is 980 Kb's?). 

That resizing journey was for nought, and I presume the failing to download my images in my personal Gallery is just down to my Browser being incompatible with this forum? 

I'm starting to feel like I'm paying for all your great advice, by getting Tecno-phobe headaches!!! (Laughing emoji) 

[RougeDiablo]

Update in my World, as I started this thread. 

Plant trichomes still short of amber, so patiently waiting. 

Having said I'll wait for a magnification device, I'm getting one in the next few hours off Amazon, after that recommended USB magnifier endoscope dropped in price from £20, to £14. So I couldn't resist. 

And on the technical front, I changed over to the Firefox browser. That did indeed allow me to download the previous images into my personal album within the Forum settings. Then, of course, when I tried to post them, they wouldn't post. No idea why, but it's quite consistent, that every stage is two steps forward, one step back. Like when I try to like things, or jump from page to page, this Forum isn't technically user-friendly. 
I'm brand new, so accept it for what it is, but I hope you can see, that because of the great help you have given me, as individuals, I have tried to make it work, as an ordinary, not that technically bright, old duffer. And I'm grateful for the confidence you have given me in plant growing and harvesting arenas....but I'm now giving up on trying to fit in with this Forums technical issues. Too complicated for me. 

Might be worth bearing in mind, if you want 'new blood' in the future, but that's for the organisers to consider, and they might be happy as it is. 

Still looking forward to trying the product for the first time, if all goes well, in a few weeks, and if ever this forum does sort out it's issues, I'd love to come back and engage in your various conversations, and exchanges. 

Onwards and Upwards... 

[Shumroom]

Maybe pop back in a couple of months as the site upgrades may be complete by then  

 

Best wishes

 

 

 

[MoT]

On 03/07/2023 at 9:58 PM, Ajimango said:

There was a whole discussion about this recently

 

Yep with Mr.Idiot here...

 

[RougeDiablo]

Hi Guys....

Just an update. I bought that USB Magnifier, and hawked the trichomes waiting for them to turn slightly amber. They took a few weeks longer than I was expecting, which was another learning curve. But eventually a few trichomes starting turning, and I probably harvested a week early. Remember, I wanted an anti-anxiety element. and as a first timer, it's been fun, but I couldn't resist, going for it. 

So then it was all about taking the fan leaves off, and cutting some of the lesser leaves off, to tidy the buds up. Not a complete trim, but I'd read all the various discussions, about the pros and cons, so was happy taking a middling line. 
I've hung up the buds, on 4 wooden hangers, on a pole crossing a bathroom ceiling. That was so it would remain dark. I've got a fan going for half the day, not pointing at the hangers. 

I'm guessing, I'll have two, quart Mason jars, threequarters full, or maybe two and a half? They have been drying since Sunday, and I've read to expect anything from 3 days to two weeks to properly dry...and that you want buds that are dry to the touch, small stems snapping, and a moisture level of 10-15%, which of course is a judgement call, unless they've invented a cheap machine that will tell you? 

Then it will move on to the burping, but I know that when we get to that stage, I'll be testing it. Even if it's harsh, just to see if I like it, and what effect it has? 

From a gardening point of view, I enjoyed the adventure, so I've bought a AK47 seed, to give a second plant a go, which I thought I might just get through before the end of Autumn, if the seed germinates. (Where I got it from, they give you a free seed of another strain, but I've held that back. I was thinking of staggering them, so I always have a supply, but don't look like Pablo Escobar, with a huge supply in a cupboard!  
That would be fun, if it's all successful, and I still have some of the White Widow left, and can compare the two. I like cigars, and vintage port, and can tell the difference between good and bad stuff in those two fields. But I am clueless regarding expensive whiskies and brandies. They are wasted on my palette, so I know I may be able to tell the difference between strains, or may not? 

I've taken images of all the various stages, and would love to have shared them, and sought your thoughts ad opinions, but maybe when the Forum gets it's technical issues sorted? 

Hope you are all well, 

Rouge Diablo. 

[RougeDiablo]

Morning......I think I have cracked the image problem?
Instead of a never ending 'loading' problem, when trying to post from my image gallery, I copied it in the Gallery, and pasted it in to this post. If it survives, I've cracked it! 

And if you can see it, you'll see my first harvest attempts. The quality is rubbish, because the dry trimming was so difficult! Tiny leaves everywhere, and so fiddly and sticky. As I went along, I lazily thought, Sod this, I'll individually extra trim when I actually use it. I'm not selling it, so what's the problem? That was after an hour or two, or clipping, and fiddling. I was amazed when I Googled-searched images of Jars, and saw how perfect the Buds looked in them.

I also finally tried it. Very good. Immediate chilled feeling, and also seemed to have that anti-anxiety element? Not sure about the painkiller bit, but very early days. Is it normal to have what feels like a heavy, relaxed feeling the next day? Maybe it's because I'm brand new, but all good so far?
I did do a bit of coughing early on, but that soon passed. I'm presumably testing the harsh, not fully dried stuff too?

I'd guess if I was better at the dry-trimming, I'd have only had a cpouple of quart jars. But I also noted the bit about leaving a quarter free, to asisst in drying, and discouraging mold?

So growing one seed of the strain AK47, and one seed of Insomnia Haze. (That one already germinated, but a bit leggy). 

Should be fun, and I'll be a lot better for this experience.

Any advice greatfully recieved, and if there are folk who can spot obvious mistakes, please chirp up!

 

[Shumroom]

1 hour ago, RougeDiablo said:

Is it normal to have what feels like a heavy, relaxed feeling the next day? Maybe it's because I'm brand new, but all good so far?

This is the equivalent to a hangover  

 

I wouldn't worry too much what the buds look like,

it's more about the effect it has 

 

Congratulations on your first harvest.

 

Atb

 

 

 

[MidgeSmith]

Totally what Shumroom said, though the more leave the harsher the vapour or smoke I have found.  Saying that, some well trimmed and well cured buds can make me cough, so not always a biggy.

 

Glad it is working for you and you are getting the growing bug

Edited July 25, 2023 by MidgeSmith

[RougeDiablo]

2 hours ago, Shumroom said:

This is the equivalent to a hangover  

 

I wouldn't worry too much what the buds look like,

it's more about the effect it has 

 

Congratulations on your first harvest.

 

Atb

 

 

 

A 'Weed Hangover' was something I knew nothing about. So thanks.  
Reading up on it now. Seems to be saying it doesn't last long, and a lot of folk don't get them.
Reading this..." Classic symptoms of a weed hangover are fatigue, brain fog, mild nausea, headaches, and dry eyes. "
It wasn't that bad, maybe just some of that brain fog.

[RougeDiablo]

23 minutes ago, MidgeSmith said:

Totally what Shumroom said, though the more leave the harsher the vapour or smoke I have found.  Saying that, some well trimmed and well cured but can make me cough, so no biggy.

 

Glad it is working for you and you are getting the growing bug

Yeah, I can well imagine it could have been a little smoother without all those tiny leaves. You live and learn, and I'll be better next time, but the trimming was much more complex and timeconsuming than I was expecting. Of course I was trying a few different methods. Nail clippers, fingers, harvest clippers, and all had pro's and cons. Sooo sticky, if you use mostly fingers, but you lot probably know all that! But I'll give everything I use, a further once over, with slight magnifying glasses, and the nail clippers. But I also presume it won't reach it's best condition for another month yet, with further drying and burping?

[MidgeSmith]

1 hour ago, RougeDiablo said:

Yeah, I can well imagine it could have been a little smoother without all those tiny leaves. You live and learn, and I'll be better next time, but the trimming was much more complex and timeconsuming than I was expecting. Of course I was trying a few different methods. Nail clippers, fingers, harvest clippers, and all had pro's and cons. Sooo sticky, if you use mostly fingers, but you lot probably know all that! But I'll give everything I use, a further once over, with slight magnifying glasses, and the nail clippers. But I also presume it won't reach it's best condition for another month yet, with further drying and burping?

Quite so, I have found up to 4 months there continues to be an improvement, though the method (stability and range of temperature, humidity and air movement) used to dry / cure also has an effect of course. Depending on how dense the buds are (mine are quite open buds this last harvest) you might find the buds keep improving for a long time or don't.  This could be because skimpier or more 'open' buds dry out quicker.  Basically buds in jars cure best around the 60% RH mark, tough anywhere between 55%-62% is generally fine.  Once the buds have dried out below that kind of level though curing stops and cannot be restarted.

I invested in a (wood) humidity guage.  If you plunge the spikes into the bud it will tell you roughly how much humidity the bud contains.  It is different to the RH, because rather than measuring the humidity of the ambient air around the bud, it gives a humidity level of the vegetation.  If I recall correctly 10-13% is a good range for buds to continue curing with 8%/9% or thereabout being a good moisture level for storing beyond curing.  Personally I like to store my weed at (10% ish) ambient 58%-62% ad-infinitum, in case there is any improvement to be had

It sounds like you have invested in some dedicated spring-loaded cannabis manicuring scissors which can can help a lot with the strain of trim-jail and have small pointy blades to get well into the bud.  That said, make sure that you scrape the trim-hash off the blades to smoke and dip the scraped blades in rubbing alcohol and rub them clean every so often when they start to stick.  It only takes a few minutes to get them good as new. Some trimming scissors (the ones I want but dont yet have!) are curved to make it easier to get right-in close to the bud and cut the leaves off very tidily.

If it is any use for comparison, I harvested three, relatively small autos recently and it took about 5 or 6 hours to trim the leaves.  If I am honest, I left my sugar leaves longer and more plentiful than I would normally prefer, but having tried each of the strains, they are very much good enough

Edited July 25, 2023 by MidgeSmith

[RougeDiablo]

Just now, MidgeSmith said:

Quite so, I have found up to 4 months there continues to be an improvement, though the method (stability and range of temperature, humidity and air movement) used to dry / cure also has an effect of course. Depending on how dense the buds are (mine are quite open buds this last harvest) you might find the buds keep improving for a long time or don't.  This could be because skimpier or more 'open' buds dry out quicker.  Basically buds in jars cure best around the 60% RH mark, tough anywhere between 55%-62% is generally fine.  Once the buds have dried out below that kind of level though curing stops and cannot be restarted.

I invested in a (wood) humidity guage.  If you plunge the spikes into the bud it will tell you roughly how much humidity the bud contains.  It is different to the RH, because rather than measuring the humidity of the ambient air around the bud, it gives a humidity level of the vegetation.  If I recall correctly 10-13% is a good range for buds to continue curing with 8%/9% or thereabout being a good moisture level for storing beyond curing.  Personally I like to store my weed at (10% ish) ambient 58%-62% ad-infinitum, in case there is any improvement to be had

It sounds like you have invested in some dedicated spring-loaded cannabis manicuring scissors which can can help a lot with the strain of trim-jail and have small pointy blades to get well into the bud.  That said, make sure that you scrape the trim-hash off the blades to smoke and dip the scraped blades in rubbing alcohol and rub them clean every so often when they start to stick.  It only takes a few minutes to get them good as new. Some trimming scissors (the ones I want but dont yet have!) are curved to make it easier to get right-in close to the bud and cut the leaves off very tidily.

If it is any use for comparison, I harvested three relatively small autos recently and it too about 5 or 6 hours to trim the leaves.  If I am honest, I left my sugar leaves longer and more plentiful than I would normally prefer, but having tried each of the strains, they are very much good enough

Interesting. Thanks.

So it does take that long, and is fiddly. I wasn't doing anything too wrong, I'd just underestimated it, and had no experience.

Yes, I've got those special long nosed harvest clippers. About £7 off Amazon. Great tip about alcohol wipes.

It also sounds like (I hope), that although my efforts are esthetically shoddy, that it isn't crucial, and if the taste and effect is there when used, who cares! I do love impressive flowers being just so in the gardening World, but that is good to know, and I can just get a little better as I go along, but it isn't crucial, so chill out.

[MidgeSmith]

17 minutes ago, RougeDiablo said:

Interesting. Thanks.

So it does take that long, and is fiddly. I wasn't doing anything too wrong, I'd just underestimated it, and had no experience.

Yes, I've got those special long nosed harvest clippers. About £7 off Amazon. Great tip about alcohol wipes.

It also sounds like (I hope), that although my efforts are esthetically shoddy, that it isn't crucial, and if the taste and effect is there when used, who cares! I do love impressive flowers being just so in the gardening World, but that is good to know, and I can just get a little better as I go along, but it isn't crucial, so chill out.

Oh yeah! Obviously the ideal is as little leaf material as possible, to highlight the delightful aroma, flavour and effects of the buds themselves, which are the most valuable and delectable part of the plant, containing as they do the most trichomes, loaded with terpenes and cannabinoids.

Purist might mock inelegantly trimmed buds and fair enough, the overall product is slightly less flavoursome and slightly harsher with more leaf (and relatively speaking less bud), but its kind of chasing an aesthetic of perfection all the time.  When I have had really dense buds, it has been easy to basically wipe the leaves off the bud with my silicone harvesting brush with almost no damage.  However, if I had gone hell for leather trimming my most recent sub-optimal harvest, I'd have cut a lot of bits of bud off trying to get ALL the leaf matter off and would still be left with an airy bud from the inclement growing conditions I faced.  It's a tough call, but I felt it better to leave a little more leaf on this time and prevent undue damage to the buds

Its great you have decent trimming scissors already, that's half the battle

Edited July 25, 2023 by MidgeSmith

[RougeDiablo]

No idea what the Forum is up to, but I can't download any images again, which is a shame. I'm getting Error Code -200?

But I'll crack on anyway. I am pretty much done on my first ever project. I decided, to laboriously sit at a kitchen Island, and meticulously cut off all the leaves, and stems, and cut my 4 Quart Jars of rough harvest, to pristine flowers. They just need regular burping for a week or so.
(Here is where I would have posted two images of how I ended up with just under 2 Jars).
I'm not sure it was worth it, and it took several hours, using magnifying glasses, and various cutting implements. I learned all about how the plant grows flower buds, and how leaves protect, and entwine it. Also how generally easier it is pulling off dry leaves and stems, but how the buggers try to hide as buds, on occasions, and need the magnifying glasses to root them out.  I was going stir crazy at times, and when all done, I ended up with 100 grammes. I've Googled it, and that seems okay for a generally indoor first attempt.
The difference is striking, and the images would have shown that.
I had noticed, over the past few days, how much smoother the smoke it was, if I eradicated all detritus, and had a purer smoke. I didn't collect the gathering trimming dust, as lots recommend, but will try to do that in the future.
One of the reasons I decided to refine my harvest, was how successful smoking a gram an evening is with my anxiety, and insomnia.
I'm roughly working out that if I have 100 grammes, and use a gramme a night, I have 3 months supply. So hopefully the new Amnesia Haze I've germinated will be ready by then?

So project completed. Thanks for your occasional assistance, and I'm a definite convert.