A few questions...near harvest

[Philly Green]

Ok, here are my stats if it matters. I am growing one ice feminized under a 150w hps. It is in the fox farm ocean mix (which worked amazingly for vegging) and I used fish emulsion throughout the veg cycle. Then, when flowering, I switched on my hps and have been using Age Old Bloom (5-10-5). I have been keeping it completely organic and want it to stay that way. Now, my white pistils are starting to get reddish on the lower buds and some of the main colas, so I know it is nearing that time to stop with the nutrients and just flush with water.
Here is question(s). I am trying to increase the potency of my buds to the highest potential. Since Age Old does not have as strong a Phosphorus content as more conventional nutes, I am looking for alternative measures. I am going to use a dehumidifier in the last week to increase resin. I may also cut some leaves in the last 2-3 days to allow a last blast of light. As for adding additives like molasses and other sugars, can you still do this during the flush period? Are there any additives that can still be added in the last few weeks? Does anyone have any tricks they use to milk out the best potency and tastes from a ripening plant? THANKS.

 

[JJScorpio]

First, if it is an organic grow, why flush them? Its not going to do the plant any good to drown the roots. All it will accomplish is to take the plant a week to recover from the drowning.....

 

[Trichome Toker]

Don't flush.

The last few weeks of flowering is when your plants need nutrients the most of all.

Don't butcher any leafs until harvest.

If you start cutting your plant to pieces you might as well go ahead and chop it and start drying because it won't do jack shit after that.

The goal is to keep your plant nice and green and healthy until the day of harvest.

 

[Stoner133]

It is likely that any measures you take, at this late stage of flowering, will adversely affect the finished buds. It sounds like you have made good conditions so far, it would be a shame to mess it up looking for some mythical increase in potency.

Hey JJS, still addicted I see. Check out my Winter garden, all set to flower at the end of this month.

 

[sensirocker]

well you didnt say how many weeks your plants were on, thats important....
First, dont cut any leaves. And i agree with stoner 133, theres nothing you can really do at this point to boost the potency that much, especially if your going organic.... most of the late bloom resin boosters are inorganic, like Cha-Ching by fox farm (which i use, and love).
And when tricometoker said that everything should stay green until chop, i dont agree with that at all.... your plants should be using up all of the N by the time you chop, which means that the leaves should be yellowing.... N makes bud taste bad... check out my ECSD, the leaves are yellowing, and in all actuality, could have probably yellowed a lot more.... this could be different with 100% organic but i dont know why anyone would want alot of N (which is what makes everythign green) in your plants anyways....




-sR

 

[Trichome Toker]

If your plants are totally yellowed out you might as well just chop them because they aren't doing much of anything.

Plants need sufficient nitrogen to produce THC along with every other nutrient.

I grow organic outdoors, and with hydroponics indoors, and my herb tastes like sweet candy after a week of curing.

Letting your plant yellow out (basically killing it and slowing growth to a halt) during the last few weeks of flowering is the absolute worst thing that you can do.

That is the most critical time of resin production, and a yellow plant is an unhealthy plant period that isn't producing as well as it can period.

Having enough N to keep your plants green is not having "a lot of N", it is just having enough N to keep your plant healthy and green.

I have harvested countless Cannabis plants, and the ones that where the greenest and healthiest at harvest, always got me the highest, and tasted/smelled the strongest.

Plants that yellowed out in the last 1-2 weeks always came up short.

Just giving my personal experience.

Flushing is the worst myth out of all the misinformation regarding growing.

A yellow plant is a sick and deficient plant.

Causing your plants to be deficient and sick is never productive, it will not improve taste, all it will do is slow down growth, including the production of resin.

 

[sensirocker]

i dont thnk theyre not doing anything, the THC is maturing in its potency which is the reason you let your pant go the whole flowering period in the first place.... saying that you should just chop your plants because the leaves are turning yellow is very odd?

And why is it a problem if the leaves are yellowing, you dont even smoke the leaves, you smoke the buds, which should contain little N which affects taste? The buds suck the N from the leaves, because your not supplying it in your feeding.
Ive never heard of anyone not recommend a 2 week flush ever.... With 2 weeks of water its completely normal for the plant to lose green color in its leaves....

i do agree with this: "Having enough N to keep your plants green is not having "a lot of N", it is just having enough N to keep your plant healthy and green." but i dont understand why its bad to let them yellow during the last 2 weeks before harvest... ive never seen or heard of lower resin production because of this....

PLus, all plants differ in late stage coloring and such...

 

[sensirocker]

and im not talkng about a 100% yellow plant, completely flopping and void of any green, but just the major fan leaves , not the ones on the buds...

for example:

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=721335&postcount=459

 

[Dan42nepa]

I thought the yellowing of fan leaves was a good sign. That it meant the last reserves of nitrogyn were used up. My last crop, all my plant fan leaves yellowed during the final weeks of flower. Its something i anticipate as well as the pistils turning brown. This is not correct?

 

[Trichome Toker]

A yellow leaf will still absorb some light, and do something for the plant, but not nearly as much as a healthy green leaf.

By the time the leaf turns brown, it is flat out dead and doing nothing.

The major fan leafs are crucial to producing resin, just as much, if not more so than the little leafs.

Every leaf counts, and the more healthy green leafs you have, the better your plant will be.

You don't smoke the leafs of course, but the leafs fuel the bud development, and every leaf that yellows out, is a leaf that can't efficiently produce good buds.

All I can say is do an experiment, don't take my word for it.

Take one of your plants, and don't flush it.

Keep feeding it and keeping it dark green until the very end.

Now sample that plant, and compare it to the others, and tell me that plant isn't much better, I guarentee it will be.

 

[Dan42nepa]

well, its organic so i dont flush anyway. I just dont feed nitrogyn ferts (mexican bat guano) after the second week of flower. I do use indo bat guano every other feeding for the phosph. One of my plants, the fan leaves didnt yellow until late.. and harvest was at 9 1/2 weeks where the others were harvested at 7 1/2 to 8. They were all started at the same time but it matured later.. and the fan leaves did eventually start to yellow.. On my sour diesels, the fan leaves seem to yellow earlier.. the sugar leaves on the buds are always green and healthy. I wonder if thats a strain phenomena.

 

[Trichome Toker]

Eventually, the plant will yellow out regardless, but by that time, it is past peak potency.

All I can say is the goal of any grower is to keep the plant as healthy and green as possible, as long as possible.

Yellowing is caused either by the plant not having enough nutrients, or because it is in a pot that is too small.

I grow my outdoor plants in 10 gallon pots and they stay green up until the day of harvest.

I used to use 5 gallon pots, and they would yellow out after about 6-7 weeks of flowering.

Now that they stay green the whole 8-9 weeks, the smoke is sooooo much better.

Just giving you guys my experiences with growing, I can't make you believe me, and I don't mean any offense.

Either way I am sure all of what we grow is better than the standard commercial shit going around our parts.

 

[Philly Green]

Thank you all. I just want to mention that my plant is experiencing barely any yellowing at all. I was just wondering specifically about removal in the last few days. I figure that if you are growing indoors, you only need to supplement what a plant lacks from being indoors. This is of, of course the elements we all know and love: air circulation, powerful light, water, and nutrients (and thousands of other little details).
From an organic standpoint, in nature, leaves yellow and dry up, even in the most ideal outdoors climates. Insects, although the hobby-grower's mortal enemy, seem to serve as the plants pruner...eating away dead or dying foliage.
I hear what people are saying about not removing leaves and keeping the plant as healthy as possible but you musn't forget about the goal of grower. To have a healthy plant at harvest will ensure healthy supply and a solid potency, but the goal to come away with the best possible buds.
YES, healthy leaves will more efficiently metabolize nutrients and sugars into trich production, but where there is a healthy plant...there is a healthy soil life, where nutrients are awaiting uptake AND the plant itself stores a good amount of nutrients in the leaves. Allowing your plants to use up their own storage DOES effect flavor. I have not yet made up my mind. However, I believe that during the peak potency, a plant should be exhibiting some signs of sacrifice for the enormous energy draw of flower and resin production. A healthy plant will always trump a yellowing plant, but remember...resin is a reaction to stress, plain and simple. I do consider myself an organic grower, but we all make unnatural alterations to the plant for our own benefits. In nature, a marijuana plant will not get an even boost of nitrogen during vegging and then suddenly have the rain and soil produce higher amounts of phosphorus. Our entire trade IS about mimicking the wonders of nature, but we also produce certain stresses, like light timing, dehumidfying, and forcing a plant to absorb its own sweet sweet juices for the sake of clean, potent smoke.

 

[Trichome Toker]

Resin in not a reaction of stress first and foremost.

Resin will be produced regardless.

 

[Truth]

I agree that flushing is not completely necessary, and not helpful to your plants. I could see maybe a 3 day or so flush as being perfectly fine. From my experience, flushing a week to two weeks before harvest hurts the plants, and can also keep your newer outer layer of buds from maturing properly. It will essentially delay harvest time, and the final product is not always as good. a good dry and cure is all that is needed. Sure a plant can survive without nutrients, but it won't thrive as well as it would with nutrients, whether you are organic or not.

 

[FGandalf]

if the plant is going through a cycle and it is nearing or is in the part of this cycle where it would start to die. Then the dying offf of fan leaves might mean that it was fed properly and used what it wanted to? More of a natural harvest? Sort of going along with what might happen in some climates in nature it gets colder, less water, less hours of light, so it is similar to late autumn. Does hat make sense? i hope so

 

[Guest]

the last two weeks of flowering is when buds pack on the weight. take care of em the same as you did in ealy flower.
i don't agree with creating stress on plants unless your topping, fimming or lst. your trading time for yield. it will take it's time to recover. if your looking to have plants mature and yield as soon and as much as possible, reduce stress.
as far as flushing goes, we could debate this one for days. personal prefence i'd hafta say. flushing creates no more stress than watering. but two weeks before harvest would be way too early anyways. i'd say it depends on your medium. some mediums will flush easier than others. peat and coir will flush easier than true soils. i do flush at the last watering but i grow in promix and use peters ferts. does it make a difference? i dunno. never tried not flushing . i never wanted to spend 3 months of growing and find out.

 

[Guest]

I agree with trichrome whatever 100%,the goal is to harvest a green plant without yellowing leaves.This doesnt always work out no matter how you grow it out,but that should be the goal for sure.I dont flush either,just use nutes until around the last week then plain water.When I harvest the only question I ask myself is whether I want the harvest quickly,or if I want to take my time.If IO want the erb quickly,I'll harvest the plant "dry".If I'm in no hurry and want a slow cure,I'll hydrate the plant fully before harvest