11/30:
I harvested the first 6 today, flushed 5 more for the second time, and fed everybody else for the last time.
I washed all the branches using the 4-step method ascribed by Doc Bud at High Times/420magazine and many other notable cannabis connoisseurs, with slight modifications:
4 x big plastic totes/bins
8 x ounces of 12% hydrogen peroxide (or 32 ounces of 3%)
2 x cups of concentrated lemon juice
2 x cups of baking soda
10 x gallons of water in each bin
Unless your tap water stinks, you're safe to use tap water for the procedure, but I used an inline carbon hose filter to fill my buckets.
Bin #1 - 10 gallons of water mixed with the hydrogen peroxide
Bin #2 - 10 gallons of water mixed with the lemon juice and baking soda
Bin #3 - 10 gallons of water as hot tap water
Bin #4 - 10 gallons of cold tap water
I was mainly concerned about removing as much lint and cat/dog hair as possible, but also rinsing off any residue left from all the various foliar applications of humic/fulvic acid, kelp, axiom, big bloom, and tiger bloom I did. First, I put my leaf blower on low speed and blasted my plants thoroughly, one at a time, replicating 50-60mph winds for about 10 seconds and watched as a whirlwind of debris and hair flew out the back door.
Bud-washing:
Pluck any necrotic plant material and any old fan leaves off while they're still on the plant. Then, take a handful of branches and submerge them in Bin #1 for about 30 seconds, agitating it, removing from water, submerging again, agitating, etc...then remove it and let it drip out for a few seconds...then repeat the process with Bins #2-4. Let it drip dry overnight with a little bit of airflow, then dry as you normally would...baskets, boxes, etc..
I hadn't watered these plants in a few days, so they were almost in draught, but after doing this procedure, they were fully hydrated(turgid) and seemed to have brighter colors than before. Nice!😍
12/1:
The bottom part of the closet seems empty with only 9 plants in there.. 😟
I cut the harvested plants up and put them into drying baskets in the top of my closet with a small oscillating fan on. I've got the temperature fluctuating between 68f and 75f and the RH is staying between 48% and 52%.
To do that, I had to take down the small light in the top of the closet to fit the drying baskets up there. So, I moved the 3 shorter plants still up there down to the bottom and put them on top of buckets. Now the bottom of the closet looks full again!😃
I'm anxious to finish up this grow so I can get busy growing the Fastbuds Fast Flowering Photo Testers!!! When I harvest the next 5, I'll flush the remaining plants really well and that will be all the flushing they'll get..I'll let them dry back out for a few days and harvest them. I've got to make some minor improvements to the garden (adding UV, blue and red/far red booster panels and intake fans) That should put me on track to start germinating them by mid-December if all goes well.
12/3:
...early a.m...
The harvested plants are already dry!?!?? And have excellent texture??? Wow..bud washing is for real..roughly 48 hours after I hung them to drip dry, and 40 hours after I put them in baskets in 50% RH/70f conditions with moderate airflow...usually takes 4 or 5 days to get a good slow-dry in the same conditions, so I'm convinced that this must be attributed to the bud-washing procedure. I'm sold!
Here's the talley so far:
plant #1 - 115g (plus 13g larf) - Candy Cane [F2]
plant #2 - 108g (plus 18g larf) - Candy Cane [F2]
plant #3 - 119g (plus 15g larf) - C4ndycaine [Candy Cane x C4]
plant #4 - 92g (plus 6g larf) - Candy Cane [F2] - the smallest plant in the main area
plant #5 - 112g (plus 22g larf) - Candesia [Candy Cane x Amnesia]
plant #6 - 75g (no larf) - Candesia [Candy Cane x Amnesia] - grown in upper area under 200w
...afternoon:
I flushed 6 of the last 7 plants for the first time today and harvested 4 more of them. I washed them and hung them to dry.....my dripping wet bathing beauties!😍