Purple Haze cross now in 21st week flowering

[Rocketman64]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=64989&pictureid=1559129 I totally screwed up the calculations on how long this has been in flower. I had it confused with another plant I put into flower on September 29, 2015. The actual light cycle switch for this plant came on September 9 making this the 21st week she's been in flower.
As you can see, she's just about had enough. All the leaves have turned deep purple and most of them are dying or dead. Trichomes are about 80% frosted and the majority of the white pistils are now dead and brown. That being said, there are some branches still showing new, bright white pistils but not with the vigor she once had.
Anybody see any reason to keep her going? I'm not sure another week or two buys me anything accept degrading THC levels. I'm open to opinions and suggestions. Enjoy!

 

[Rocketman64]

more pics...

more pics...

https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=64989&pictureid=1559122

 

[Rocketman64]

few more...

few more...

 

[ValleyKush]

Beautiful pics! I think the trichs look done to my taste, seems like there is very few clear left and a decent amount of amber here and there. I would cut her about now if it were me, but I've never ran anything over 16 weeks so thats a somewhat uninformed guess.

 

[MostlyMe]

I would have already taken her down weeks ago, but I have somewhat out of the ordinary ideas about peak potency. I know a lot of people like to harvest right at where the pretty lady is though, so go for it man!

 

[Rocketman64]

I would have already taken her down weeks ago, but I have somewhat out of the ordinary ideas about peak potency. I know a lot of people like to harvest right at where the pretty lady is though, so go for it man!

I clipped a bud of this about ten days ago, dried it, let it sit for a day or two and smoked it. The buzz was way too anxious, bordering on serious paranoia. I decided to let her go based on that. I'm hoping she's calmed down a bit by now. I would not have been happy had I pulled it at that stage.
I'm actually thinking I may do that again. I might have to just steal another bud and see where I'm at with it. I'm a little trigger shy now, I really don't want to end up with smoke I don't like.

 

[PoweredByLove]

looks fairly done to me, but if you don't know yet you could sample another bud maybe two, one from an upper portion and one from the lower. if you haven't started flushing you could start flushing while you wait on the sample to air dry. by the time you smoke the sample you will know if you are ready to chop or not. and you'll prolly be ready to chop anyway by 2 weeks and it'll be nice and flushed.

 

[MostlyMe]

I've tried sampling too, but I've never found the sample to be representative of the dried and cured product. Samples are usually racy and jittery, as you experienced.

The high might still be changing if you keep the plant, but I believe you will indeed lose potency if you do. You could of course harvest in parts, this will give you some experience for next harvests. This is what made me start harvesting what most call early, actually.

 

[Rocketman64]

I've tried sampling too, but I've never found the sample to be representative of the dried and cured product. Samples are usually racy and jittery, as you experienced.

The high might still be changing if you keep the plant, but I believe you will indeed lose potency if you do. You could of course harvest in parts, this will give you some experience for next harvests. This is what made me start harvesting what most call early, actually.

Know what you mean about the sampling. I try not to let the samples weigh too heavy on my final decision for the same reason you mentioned. I find some of my plants don't really reach their best until two months or more curing in jars or paper bags.
I've had plenty experience with harvests, I was just curious what other people thought about how it looked maturity wise. This is the longest I've had to take a plant into flower so it's nice to get some input from folks that have been there, appreciate it, thanks!

 

[Rocketman64]

looks fairly done to me, but if you don't know yet you could sample another bud maybe two, one from an upper portion and one from the lower. if you haven't started flushing you could start flushing while you wait on the sample to air dry. by the time you smoke the sample you will know if you are ready to chop or not. and you'll prolly be ready to chop anyway by 2 weeks and it'll be nice and flushed.

I almost hate to even ask this because I know what kind of shit-storm it can start in some circles but....
What do you feel the flushing does for your plant?
I have my own opinion and most of the time people don't agree with me.
I posed this question to a very reliable, educated biologist. I told him there is a belief that by providing simply water to a plant that's been grown hydroponically in it's last couple weeks will help remove some of the build up of nutrient salts that may exist in the plant.
He pissed me off in the way he replied, as if I was a moron. He wasn't very good in explaining in layman's terms because I think he was trying to prove how smart he was. The general reply suggested the medicine in the trichomes was certainly not going to 'conceal' nutrient salts. It was suggested the plant matter will use whatever nutrients it has taken the time to escort to the cells. The general suggestion that flushing a plant, according to this nice fellow, shows the ineptitude and lack of proper biological education to be growing anything!
I kid you not.
All that being said: the practice of flushing plants is known worldwide. Personally, I have never flushed a plant grown hydroponically and probably never will. I have never noticed anything remotely suggesting a 'chemical' flavor or aroma. I've never been told my smoke is harsh or distasteful, on the contrary. Most people comment on how smooth and tasty it is.
I'm not a closed minded individual whatsoever and welcome a scientific study on the matter. If there's one out there, somebody please point me to the papers.

 

[LostTribe]

I flush atleast 3 days but normally 7-14. You get a lot better burning weed that way.

 

[MostlyMe]

I've had plenty experience with harvests, I was just curious what other people thought about how it looked maturity wise. This is the longest I've had to take a plant into flower so it's nice to get some input from folks that have been there, appreciate it, thanks!

Sativas like this don't follow the same rules as your typical strains. With most you can wait an eternity for all the pistils to die, and amber trichs don't happen at all (although I've seen some similar discolorations, like a golden hue for example). The harvesting window is basically from when the majority of pistils are dead to beyond where you are now. It takes some experimenting to find out what timing you like.

I grew the purple haze thai btw and got an equally purple pheno. It didn't have those gorgeous orange dead pistils though. The high was dreamy and comfortable.

 

[PoweredByLove]

I almost hate to even ask this because I know what kind of shit-storm it can start in some circles but....
What do you feel the flushing does for your plant?
I have my own opinion and most of the time people don't agree with me.
I posed this question to a very reliable, educated biologist. I told him there is a belief that by providing simply water to a plant that's been grown hydroponically in it's last couple weeks will help remove some of the build up of nutrient salts that may exist in the plant.
He pissed me off in the way he replied, as if I was a moron. He wasn't very good in explaining in layman's terms because I think he was trying to prove how smart he was. The general reply suggested the medicine in the trichomes was certainly not going to 'conceal' nutrient salts. It was suggested the plant matter will use whatever nutrients it has taken the time to escort to the cells. The general suggestion that flushing a plant, according to this nice fellow, shows the ineptitude and lack of proper biological education to be growing anything!
I kid you not.
All that being said: the practice of flushing plants is known worldwide. Personally, I have never flushed a plant grown hydroponically and probably never will. I have never noticed anything remotely suggesting a 'chemical' flavor or aroma. I've never been told my smoke is harsh or distasteful, on the contrary. Most people comment on how smooth and tasty it is.
I'm not a closed minded individual whatsoever and welcome a scientific study on the matter. If there's one out there, somebody please point me to the papers.

based on my understanding of soil like media and plant physiology, soil is like a sponge and a plant is like a wick. you water the soil which creates a boggy marsh like atmosphere at the roots the plants use to wick up water which has dissolved minerals in it. when the plant is done growing it will still have mineralized water trapped in the cell walls that has not been converted to chlorophyll. the stuff that makes plants green. when you flush you are diluting the remaining minerals stored in the media and the plant is using it like normal to make chlorophyll(food) and grow. when the food gets low or runs out the plant will start using up whatever food reserves it has (like fat being eaten by your body when you are underfed) and start to cannibalize itself to keep growing. when you flush and wait till your plants start showing deficiencies before you chop you are just ensuring that theres no more or very little minerals trapped in the cell walls when you dry so that when you burn the plants since you don't have a buildup of minerals in the dry plant tissue, it won't pop and spark or burn black ash and refuse to stay lit. curing further beyond a basic drying will allow the rest of the chlorophyll in the buds (stuff that makes plants green) will break down some more making the smoke smoother like a hookah vs smoking a stogie or something. curing also makes the smells and flavors pop more.

that's my reasoning for harvesting only the ugliest looking plants.

 

[Rocketman64]

Okay, so I'm getting the general idea the crowd at large uses the flushing technique with success. I'm wondering if my palette and sense of smell at my age would even pick out the difference between a flushed plant vs. non-flushed. I would love to do a blind test on myself to see if I could pick out which is which.
One thing I do notice is a better burning smoke when the plant is left to cure for long periods. It naturally occurs for me because I don't smoke that much so, plants I pick for myself tend to stay in the curing state for quite sometime. The first stuff I smoke is usually okay but not nearly as good as when I get to the middle of the jar or towards the end. Sometimes that stuff sits in a jar for over 6 months before I get to it.
When I grow hydro, I use a nutrient regimen only requiring aprox. 600ppm total nutrient solution. As I get towards the end of the plant's life and notice it just isn't packing on the weight anymore, I taper down my nutrients to below 300ppm. I only do this because it saves a little money in the long run and just seams silly to continue to feed a plant that's dying. So, I guess in effect, I do kind of flush. By the end of the plants life, I'm usually at the point where I don't care what happens to the plant and end up just keeping it wet and not fed.
Thanks for all the input everybody. I'm constantly learning stuff on every crop. This one was no exception.

 

[dubi]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=64989&pictureid=1559129 I totally screwed up the calculations on how long this has been in flower. I had it confused with another plant I put into flower on September 29, 2015. The actual light cycle switch for this plant came on September 9 making this the 21st week she's been in flower.
As you can see, she's just about had enough. All the leaves have turned deep purple and most of them are dying or dead. Trichomes are about 80% frosted and the majority of the white pistils are now dead and brown. That being said, there are some branches still showing new, bright white pistils but not with the vigor she once had.
Anybody see any reason to keep her going? I'm not sure another week or two buys me anything accept degrading THC levels. I'm open to opinions and suggestions. Enjoy!

I'm enjoying a lot your pics. What a beautiful contrast between the purple colored flowers and the mature orange pistils.

Looks like she is producing a new wave of flowering (at least in some parts of the plant, probably in the upper parts) so the plant still has the potential to produce more cannabinoids and terpenes.... if you find the effect too racy then i would let her mature at least 2 weeks more since the moment of taking the pictures in the first post.

If the plant is maturing irregularly then maybe you can harvest flowers at different maturation time ... you will only know what was the best moment to harvest (based on your personal preferences) after a good curing and by comparing the samples harvested at different moments.

If you keep clones of her you can grow her again in the future and let her mature until she reaches your preferable moment of ripening.

Thank you very much for sharing your experience, it's one of the most beautiful purple haze hybrids i've seen lately.

Best regards!

 

[Lester Beans]

Yes, flushing in hydro makes a huge difference. Let me guess, you don't believe in weekly res changes either?

Beautiful plant. I am going to guess it will be racy no matter when you harvest.

 

[Rocketman64]

Yes, flushing in hydro makes a huge difference. Let me guess, you don't believe in weekly res changes either?

Beautiful plant. I am going to guess it will be racy no matter when you harvest.

You're right! I don't believe in res changes only because I don't need to do that in this tiny system. I have one 5 gallon reservoir feeding multiple plants. My passive wicking system uses a very small (less than 1 gallon) reservoir for each plant to wick from. Overflow from each of those reservoirs drains back to my main 5 gallon reservoir. When the plants have consumed all the nutrient solution in the main reservoir, I simply re-fill with more. There's never a time when my nutrients become stale, stagnant or weak. Depending on where in the life cycle the plants are, new nutrient solution is added to the system once or twice a week. In the early growth stages, up to 8 plants are fed for over two weeks with one 5-gallon mix.
If I were using traditional hydro, I would do res changes for many obvious reasons. This simple system allows me to leave it unattended for over a week if need be. It's extremely stable and very consistent.