Let's Do Some LST

    Dry/Cure Goals Week of Harvest ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ 🚜 Wet Trim the Buds 🚫 No Direct Air Movement on the Buds ⬇️️ Maintain Drying Room Temperature to 65°F / 18°C ⬆️ Maintain Drying Room RH to 60% ⏱️ Hang Buds for about 11-12 Days ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾       🚜  A Diary Week Dedicated to the Dry and Cure    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ Drying and curing is the most critical step in my opinion. Absolute fire buds can be destroyed by a bad dry/cure. A friend of mine worked on a trimming crew one season in northern California, and these veteran outdoor growers cede total control of the drying and curing process to these trimming crews. That is a lot of trust for a year's worth of hard work. This also demonstrates how important the dry/cure process is. For this reason I am dedicating another diary week to drying and curing.       🚜  Wet Trimming    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ Since I control the drying room conditions, I can afford to wet trim the flower. I love wet trimming because there is less damage to trichomes, and the trimmed leaves retract into the bud once dried which is good for bag appeal.   A secret of professional trimming crews is using cooking spray to clean the trimming scissors. Rubbing alcohol is out of the question. Here in the US, we have Pam brand cooking spray which contains oil + lecithin in the spray (some sprays just have oil). This is the first time I have used this trick, and I can report that it works great. I can slide the tip of my trimming scissors into the bud with ease. Sticky scissors tend to "tear" the flowers and trichomes a bit. I recommend upgrading to a cloth towel to wipe the excess spray off.   Do you have an ugly resin stain on the sink, countertop, or floor? Cooking spray will take that out in a few seconds.        🌦️  Drying Room Conditions    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ I have specific temperature and RH goals when converting the Lung Room into the drying room. You will need a combination of high humidity and cold temperatures. A properly sized A/C for the room will not achieve the high RH needed. When running at colder temperatures, a properly sized A/C will remove far too much moisture. You may need to add a few humidifiers plugged into a humidity controller.    For an oversized A/C, the humidity will be higher at low temps. This is because an A/C must cool for at least 5 minutes before it can start removing moisture. An oversized A/C will rapidly cool the room then shut off before that 5 min mark. A common example is if your home has central A/C and you are experiencing high humidity throughout the day, then the A/C is likely too large for your home.   Temps at 65°F / 18°C       RH at 60%    🌦️  Use a Dehumidifier for Days 1-3    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ During the first three days of drying, I run a dehumidifier to maintain a 60% RH as the buds are shedding the bulk of their moisture during this time. All air movement should be subtle and INDIRECT. Multiple small oscillating fans are great. Now is the time to start your massive fan collection. I actually prefer air movers placed next to a wall and pointed towards the ceiling. Air movers are also great for circulating cold air from an A/C up to the ceiling.    Air Mover    https://a.co/d/5KYmxn3         🌦️  Use Humidifiers for Days 3-12    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ After day 3, humidification will need to be added depending on ambient humidity of your home. The buds will certainly dry out too fast if RH is not maintained at 60%. From here, slowly dry over the next 9 days. During this time, the inside of the flower is still quite moist, but outside has dried a bit. A wicking action is what moves the core moisture out of the buds. This process is slow and the 60% RH room will act as a humidity buffer to prevent rapid drying.    Chlorophyll and other undesired compounds require a bit of moisture present in order to degrade. This is why fast dried buds taste like lawn clippings. The cooler temperatures and slight moisture slow the rate of terpene degradation, while allowing time for the chlorophyll, etc to break down.       🚜  Hanging Rack    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ I use a roll around restaurant style wire rack to hang my flower. Binder clips are used to hang the buds from each shelf. No more sagging clothesline where all of the buds slam together! I can hang a lot of bud on each shelf, the height adjustable shelves are great for monster branches, and I can easily roll it around to adjust for optimal (indirect) air movement.    growdiaries.com/diaries/165223-grow-journal-by-negotiatebubble#gallery=7096967     🌦️  Moisture Meter    ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ I am trying out something new this grow. I have purchased a cheap pin-less moisture meter to determine when the buds have reached 12-13% moisture content before moving them into the curing jars to a final 11%.     Moisture Meter   https://a.co/d/2Q1wjjr Once the buds have cured for at least a week, I will finalize this diary and will report on the final product. I am currently looking for a lab to get my flower tested. Hopefully I will have potency and terpene percentage numbers for you.      ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________      Fabric pots to prevent root binding.   I am taking the Syn-ganics approach. Using soil with microbes + mycorrhizae added to the nutes. Mycorrhizae will be phased out during flowering as the high phosphorus environment halts fungal germination (Teaming with Fungi: The Organic Grower's Guide to Mycorrhizae by Jeff Lowenfels)   Enzymatic (Sensizym) will assist in breaking down dead root material in the soil. Any brand enzymatic that can break down cellulose will do just fine.   Agsil16H Potassium Silicate is pre-mixed at 148g per 1 gallon of water. Silica will aid plant strength/structure and also make the plants taste terrible to pests. As a side note, plants with too much nitrogen input taste sweet and delicious to pests!   Bacillus Thuringiensis subspecies Israelensis (Bti) (aka Mosquito Dunks) solution is added to the nutes to kill any larvae based pests such as gnats. Mixing Mosquito Bits into the soil is also a great idea.   Seaweed Bottled Mix Ingredients (NOT an endorsement. I purchased this with my own money) ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾ - Ecklonia Maxima Kelp - Fish Hydrolysate - Blackstrap Molasses - Humic Acid / Fulvic Acid - Select Amino Acids (L-Alanine, L-Arginine, L-Aspartic, L-Cystine, L-Glutamic Acid, L-Glycine,   L-Histidine, L-Isoleucine, L-Leucine, L-Lysine, L-Methionine, L-Phenylalanine, L-Proline,   L-Threonine, L-Serine, L-Tryptophan, L-Tyrosine, L-Valine) - Calcium Phosphate - Arcanite - Sugars - Yucca Extract - Tryptic Soy Agar - Plant Hormones, Plant Growth Stimulators and Vitamins (Auxins, Cytokinins, Gibberellins,   Abscisic Acid (ABA), Adenine, Indole Acetic Acid (IAA), Adenosine, Zeatin, A (Carotene),   B1, B12, C, D, E, K, Biotin, Niacin, Choline, Pantothene, Folic Acid, Folinic Acid) ________________________________________________________________________________    I Build My Own Custom Grow LEDs https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165481-grow-journal-by-negotiatedbubble   Custom Built Modified Grow Tent Frame https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165474-grow-journal-by-negotiatedbubble   Custom Built Watering Table https://growdiaries.com/diaries/165482-grow-journal-by-negotiatedbubble   VPD Chart and Calculator spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Dta8AptwIIgo728nAu4l9acrWYWPdrljjV4uzXwGJ0Q/edit?usp=sharing   My Custom Nutrient Spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1grolLVrJLQVSdK7sdnR7dS86axWIzDgW1iWWZIFHhiA/edit?usp=sharing