🚂 8×8 Adventure — Cash Express by Zamnesia | Pheno A 🌸 🌿 Final Harvest & Post-Harvest Report — Part 2 💚 From a Difficult Setback to a Beautiful Final Harvest! Welcome back to another chapter of the 8×8 Adventure, my friends! 🌱💚 And here we are! After documenting the harvest and the beginning of the drying process in Part 1, it's finally time to continue the story of Cash Express Pheno A. We've now completed the drying stage, finished the trimming, and transferred the flowers into Grove Bags for the next chapter. And there's quite a bit to talk about! We have the final photographs, the drying comparison, the trimming session, the final appearance of the flowers, and, of course, a little reflection on how this girl performed throughout her journey. Before we begin, I strongly recommend checking out the previous reports if you haven't followed this diary from the beginning. There's quite a story behind this harvest, including one unfortunate setback that changed the way we remember this particular phenotype. But let's not let one difficult moment take away from everything else she gave us. Cash Express deserves her spotlight. 🚂💚 ──────────────────────── 🌱 A QUICK RECAP — HOW DID WE GET HERE? For anyone discovering this diary for the first time, welcome to the 8×8 Adventure! This project is our full 12/12-from-seed experiment, documenting different genetics and individual phenotypes sharing the same general environment. One room. One shared lighting ecosystem. One overall environmental approach. Different genetics, different expressions, and individual stories. Cash Express Pheno A has been part of this adventure from the beginning, and we've followed her development week after week. Overall, she was a fairly normal girl to grow. Nothing particularly complicated about her general development, and she didn't demand anything extraordinary from us. However, there was one important exception. 💔 We lost her main cola to bud rot. We caught the issue, removed the affected flower, and no other colas were affected by that incident. It was a real pity, especially considering how beautiful that main flower was. And while the rest of the plant continued through the run, this experience revealed something important about this particular phenotype. Her resilience was not her strongest characteristic. We'll come back to that in the final rating. For now, let's appreciate what made it through to harvest! 🌸💚 ──────────────────────── 🌸 THE FINAL FLOWERS — STILL PLENTY TO APPRECIATE! Despite the setback, Cash Express gave us some lovely flowers. The final photographs show the remaining harvest in all its detail, from the overall flower structure to the closer macro views. And that's something I particularly enjoy about these final reports. We've spent weeks looking at these plants while they were developing. Now we get to appreciate the finished result. The flower structures, the colours, the resin-covered surfaces and all those little details that make each phenotype worth documenting. She may have lost her main cola, but there was still plenty of beauty left to photograph! 📸🌿 And naturally, we couldn't finish this girl's journey without giving the camera one more opportunity to do its thing. 😂 ──────────────────────── 🌬️ DRYING REPORT — APPROXIMATELY EIGHT DAYS! Now, let's talk about the drying stage. This was particularly interesting because Cash Express dried relatively quickly compared with what we might have expected. The drying period was approximately eight days. And yes, that was FAST! The general conditions during this period were approximately: 🌡️ Temperature: 20–21°C 💧 Relative Humidity: Around 55–56% ⏳ Drying Time: Approximately 8 days These were the general conditions across the drying area for the plants during this period, rather than conditions specific to Cash Express alone. As always, the actual drying process depends on the flower material and the conditions it experiences. Eight days was our observation for this harvest, not a universal target or a recommendation to rush the process. The important thing is that we documented what happened rather than assuming every plant would behave identically. And now, with the drying stage completed, we can move on to the next part of the journey. 💚🌬️ ──────────────────────── THE DRYING EXPERIMENT — DRYFERM BAGS VS. DRYING RACK This is probably one of the most interesting parts of this post-harvest report! As mentioned in Part 1, we're conducting a side-by-side comparison between DryFerm bags and the traditional drying rack. And we're doing it using material from the same plant! The idea is to compare flowers of similar size and from the same phenotype, separating the material into two groups: 📦 One portion dried inside DryFerm bags. 🌿 Another portion dried outside the bags, using the drying rack. Why? Because we want to observe the differences for ourselves. We're particularly interested in the final aroma and terpene expression, and whether we notice any differences between the two approaches once the flowers have been dried, trimmed and stored. We're not going to declare a winner based on assumptions or marketing claims. We want to experience the results. And that's something we'll explore more carefully in the dedicated Smoke Report. For now, both portions have completed their drying stage, and we've kept the comparison as part of the documentation. Same plant. Same phenotype. Similar-sized flowers. Two different drying approaches. Let's see what the flowers have to tell us! 🔬💚 ──────────────────────── ✂️ TRIMMING DAY — TIME FOR THE TRIMBIN! Once the drying stage was completed, it was time to get the scissors ready! And, as usual, we went with hand trimming. There's something satisfying about finally sitting down with the finished flowers after spending so many weeks looking after the plants. We used our TrimBin to keep the trimming session organised and collect the loose material while working through the harvest. For anyone unfamiliar with it, the TrimBin is a dedicated trimming workstation designed to make the process more convenient. It provides a working surface for the flowers and helps collect the small pieces that come loose during trimming. A simple piece of equipment, but a very useful companion when there's a harvest waiting to be processed. And after all that work, we finally get to appreciate the finished flowers without all the extra leaf material surrounding them. The difference is always satisfying! ✂️🌸 ──────────────────────── 📦 GROVE BAGS — THE NEXT CHAPTER BEGINS! After trimming, it was time to transfer the flowers into Grove Bags. And I think this is a good opportunity to explain what these bags are designed to do, because they're not simply ordinary plastic bags. Grove Bags use their TerpLoc technology, a specialised multi-layer packaging film designed for curing and storing dried flowers. The system is designed to help manage the internal humidity and gas exchange, while also offering protection against light, static and external odours. The idea is to help maintain a more stable environment around the flowers during storage and curing. But it's important to understand what they are — and what they aren't. 🌿 WHAT GROVE BAGS ARE: • Purpose-designed packaging for curing and storing dried flowers. • Built with a specialised film intended to help regulate the internal environment. • Designed to limit unnecessary oxygen exposure and help preserve aroma and terpene expression. • Lightweight and convenient compared with traditional glass containers. • Designed to reduce the need for manually opening and closing containers during curing. 🚫 WHAT GROVE BAGS ARE NOT: • They are not ordinary plastic storage bags. • They are not vacuum-sealing bags. • They are not a replacement for proper drying. • They cannot magically correct flowers that are too wet or improperly dried. • They cannot guarantee that mould or other storage problems will never occur. This last point is particularly important. The flowers need to be properly dried before entering their curing and storage stage. The bags are designed to support that next stage, not to rescue a drying process that hasn't been completed correctly. One advantage is the convenience of having a purpose-designed packaging system that manages humidity and gas exchange without requiring the same routine as traditional glass jars. But, as with any system, it's important to understand its limitations and use it appropriately. For us, this is another part of the post-harvest process we're documenting and exploring. And now Cash Express is safely packed away, ready for the next chapter! 💚📦 ──────────────────────── 🔬 WHY THE DRYING COMPARISON MATTERS I want to highlight something here. Although we're using the same general post-harvest approach for the whole harvest, the DryFerm comparison is a separate experiment from the final Grove Bags storage stage. We're comparing two drying approaches: DryFerm bags versus the drying rack. Once that stage is complete, the trimmed flowers are transferred into Grove Bags for curing and storage. This gives us an opportunity to explore the different drying experiences while keeping the later storage stage consistent in our documentation. And, more importantly, it gives us something interesting to investigate when we get to the Smoke Report. Will the aroma be different? Will the terpene expression feel different? Will one group retain a more noticeable part of its original profile? Those are precisely the questions we want to explore. We're not going to answer them before we've actually compared the flowers. 😂🔬 For now, the experiment continues. And Cash Express has become another valuable part of our ongoing post-harvest observations. ──────────────────────── 🚂 FINAL STRAIN REVIEW — CASH EXPRESS PHENO A Now, let's talk about the overall growing experience. Cash Express was, in general, a normal and fairly easy plant to grow. She didn't present us with particularly complicated demands throughout her development, and there were plenty of enjoyable moments along the way. However, the unfortunate bud rot incident affecting her main cola cannot simply be ignored. Losing such a prominent flower was disappointing, and it also revealed a weakness in the resilience of this particular phenotype. The remaining colas were unaffected by that incident, and we were able to complete the harvest. But when evaluating the entire experience, resilience is an important part of the picture. We want to be honest about the good and the not-so-good. She was a nice plant to grow, but this particular phenotype didn't demonstrate the resistance we'd have liked to see. And that's something worth recording for anyone following this cultivar. ──────────────────────── ⭐ FINAL RATING — 6/10 Why six? Because although the general growing experience was perfectly manageable, the loss of the main cola was a significant setback. Her overall development was fairly normal, but resilience was not her strongest characteristic. We're not giving her a low rating because of one small imperfection or because the harvest photographs aren't beautiful. We're considering the complete experience. The development. The overall ease of growing. The setback. The resilience shown by this particular phenotype. And the final result. Cash Express still gave us flowers worth appreciating, and we're looking forward to exploring her aroma and flavour in more detail. But we also believe that an honest review should reflect the weaknesses as well as the strengths. ⭐ Our Final Rating: 6/10 🚂💚 ──────────────────────── 📸 ONE LAST LOOK THROUGH THE LENS And, of course, we couldn't finish this report without another little photography session! The final flowers gave us plenty of opportunities to explore their structure and details. From the overall appearance to the macro photographs, there's always something interesting to discover when we get closer. These photographs are also a way of preserving the final appearance of the harvest before the curing process continues. Every stage has its own character. The flowering photographs document the living plant. The harvest photographs capture the flowers at the end of their development. And the macro photographs allow us to explore details that might otherwise go unnoticed. That's why I enjoy documenting these stages separately. The grow is one part of the story. The photography is another. And together, they give us a much more complete record of the journey. 📸🌸💚 ──────────────────────── 💭 FINAL THOUGHTS — A LITTLE HARD MAMA! Well, my friends... Cash Express Pheno A has officially completed her harvest and drying journey. And despite the unfortunate incident with her main cola, I don't want this diary to end on a negative note. She was still a nice plant to grow. Her general development was fairly straightforward, and the remaining flowers gave us a harvest worth documenting. The bud rot incident was a disappointment, and it showed us that resilience was a weakness in this particular phenotype. That's why we're giving her a 6/10. But there's still plenty to appreciate. We've completed the harvest. We've documented the drying process. We've compared DryFerm bags with the drying rack. We've finished the hand trimming. And the flowers are now safely stored in Grove Bags. The next chapter is where things get particularly interesting. Because we still have the Smoke Report ahead of us! And that's where we'll explore the final aroma, flavour and overall experience, including our observations from the drying comparison. So, Cash Express... You might have been a little hard mama, and that main cola is certainly going to be missed. 😂🚂 But you still gave us a story worth sharing. Thank you for the journey! ──────────────────────── 🙏 A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE! First, a big thank you to Zamnesia for the Cash Express genetics and for giving us the opportunity to document this individual phenotype. 💚🌸 Thank you to Plagron for supporting the nutritional side of the 8×8 Adventure. 🌱 A massive thank you to Future of Grow for the Black Series lighting and especially for supplying the additional fixtures that expanded our lighting ecosystem. 💡☀️ Thank you to LumiFlora for helping illuminate the deeper parts of the canopy. Thank you to TrolMaster for the technology and environmental control supporting the room behind the scenes. Thank you to Zamnesia for the Herb Drying Rack, which has been part of our post-harvest setup. And a special thank you to DryFerm for giving us the opportunity to test their drying bags and include them in our side-by-side comparison. Thank you as well to Grove Bags for the packaging we're using during the curing and storage stage. And, of course, a massive thank you to the GrowDiaries community! Your comments, questions, observations and support make these diaries so much more enjoyable. Every person following the journey, sharing an opinion or taking the time to look through the photographs is appreciated. 💚🙏 ──────────────────────── 💚 COME JOIN OUR DISCORD COMMUNITY! If you're not already part of the DogDoctorOfficial community, you're more than welcome to join us! 👉 https://discord.gg/dogdoctorofficial We've built a place for growers and enthusiasts to connect, share experiences, exchange knowledge, discuss projects, and enjoy the community side of this hobby. We also have dedicated sponsor channels, photography discussions, community activities, and two giveaways every month, alongside contests with prizes! But above all, it's about the people. The conversations, the friendships, the shared experiences and the good vibes. Come say hello! We'd love to have you with us. 💚🤝🌱 ──────────────────────── 🌱 GROWERS LOVE, MY FRIENDS! That's another important chapter completed in the 8×8 Adventure. Cash Express Pheno A has gone from seed to harvest, from harvest to drying, and now into the curing stage. One unfortunate setback. A valuable lesson. A beautiful collection of photographs. And another individual story documented from beginning to end. We'll be back with the Smoke Report, where we'll give her the final evaluation and explore what the flowers have to offer. Until then, keep growing, keep observing, keep experimenting, and always remember: A good grow diary isn't about pretending everything went perfectly. It's about documenting what actually happened. The successes, the setbacks, the discoveries and everything in between. Growers Love, everyone! 💚🌱🚂 See you in the next chapter of the 8×8 jungle... LET'S GROW! 🌸💚 🚂 8×8 Adventure — Cash Express by Zamnesia | Pheno A | Final Harvest & Smoke Review 🌸💚 🌙 The After-Dark Express! A Heavy, Skunky Ride with a Peppery Twist 🚂🔥 Hello everyone, my friends! 💚🌱 And here we are, back with the final chapter of our Cash Express journey! This time, we're putting the spotlight on Cash Express Pheno A, taking a closer look at the finished flowers, the post-harvest process, and, most importantly, how she performs once it's time to enjoy the final result. She certainly gave us a little adventure along the way. Unfortunately, we lost her main cola to bud rot during the run. A real pity, especially when you consider what that flower could have become. We caught the problem, removed the affected material, and allowed the remaining flowers to continue developing. We're not going to pretend that setback didn't happen. But one setback doesn't erase the rest of her story! And despite being a little too friendly with bud rot, she was still a nice plant to grow. 💚 ──────────────────────── 🌸 FINAL HARVEST — A QUICK RECAP ──────────────────────── If you've missed the previous updates, I strongly recommend checking out her earlier diary weeks and the first part of the harvest report. We documented the growing journey, the unfortunate bud rot incident, the harvest itself, and the beginning of our drying experiment. For this final stage, we ended up with: ⚖️ Final dry weight: 51.6 g Not a bad result considering that we lost her main cola along the way! She wasn't the most resilient phenotype in this particular run, and that is reflected in her final rating. ⭐ Final rating: 6/10 A perfectly enjoyable plant to grow, with a normal growth pattern, but unfortunately, her resilience was not her strongest quality. Sometimes genetics surprise us in beautiful ways. Sometimes they remind us that every phenotype has its own strengths and weaknesses. And that's exactly why we document these journeys! ──────────────────────── ❄️ DRYING EXPERIMENT — DRYFerm vs. DRYING RACK ──────────────────────── Now, this is one of the most interesting parts of this harvest! As mentioned in Part 1, we divided flowers from the same plant into two groups: ? One portion was dried inside the DryFerm drying bags. 🌿 The other portion was dried outside the bags, on the Zamnesia Herb Drying Rack. Same plant. Same harvest. Same general drying environment. The idea was simple: compare the results and see whether we could identify differences in aroma and, eventually, in the flavour and terpene experience. The drying process was surprisingly fast, taking approximately eight days. During this period, the general drying-room conditions were around: 🌡️ Temperature: approximately 20–21°C 💧 Relative Humidity: approximately 55–56% These were the general conditions shared by the plants during this drying period. And here's where things became particularly interesting... Even before curing, the flowers dried inside the DryFerm bags were noticeably louder in aroma than the flowers dried outside the bags, right next to them on the rack. That was already an interesting observation, but we didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet. ──────────────────────── 👃 THE DRYFerm DIFFERENCE — MORE THAN ONE TEST! ──────────────────────── After several weeks of curing, the difference was still noticeable. Even when taking flowers from the different batches without looking, I could identify which ones had been dried inside the DryFerm bags. And this wasn't just a one-time observation with Cash Express. We repeated similar side-by-side comparisons with several other cultivars, and the results were consistently pointing in the same direction. Across these tests, the flowers dried inside the DryFerm bags retained a noticeably louder aroma compared with their counterparts dried outside the bags. Now, I cannot tell you exactly what mechanism is responsible for that difference, and I'm not going to invent an explanation. What I can tell you is what we observed, repeatedly, during our own comparisons. And based on those experiences, I'm very impressed with the results! Of course, this is our practical experience rather than a controlled laboratory study. But when the same observation keeps appearing across different cultivars, it certainly deserves attention. A big thank-you to DryFerm for providing the bags and giving us the opportunity to test them properly! 🎟️ Discount code: DOGDOCTOR — 10% OFF ──────────────────────── ✂️ TRIMMING & CURING ──────────────────────── Once the flowers were ready, it was time for the scissors and the TrimBin! Everything was carefully trimmed, separating the finished flowers from the excess leaf material before moving on to the next stage. For curing and storage, the flowers were placed inside Grove Bags. And since we often see these products mentioned, let's quickly explain what they are and what they are not. Grove Bags use their TerpLoc technology, a specially designed multilayer film intended to help manage the environment inside the pouch during curing and storage. The idea is to help maintain a suitable internal humidity balance while managing moisture vapour and gas exchange, helping protect the flower's aroma during storage. But there are a few important things worth remembering: ✅ They are designed for curing and storage. ✅ They can help maintain a more stable environment inside the pouch. ✅ They are lightweight, convenient, and protect the flowers from unnecessary handling. ✅ They can reduce the need for traditional manual burping when used correctly. And what are they NOT? ❌ They are not drying bags. ❌ They are not vacuum bags. ❌ They cannot rescue flowers that are still too wet. ❌ They cannot correct a poor drying process. ❌ They are not magic pouches that automatically guarantee better terpenes! The flowers must be properly dried before going inside. Grove Bags are part of the curing and storage stage, not a replacement for doing the drying correctly. And that's an important distinction in this experiment: DryFerm was tested during the drying stage. Grove Bags were used afterwards for curing and storage. Two different products, two different purposes! ──────────────────────── 🔥 SMOKE REVIEW — CASH EXPRESS PHENO A ──────────────────────── Now, let's talk about the experience! First impressions? This girl is definitely not here to play! Her profile was a little difficult to describe using the usual flavour categories. Looking through the GrowDiaries taste options, I eventually settled on: 🌸 Flowery 🌿 Herbs 🌶️ Pungent But if I had to describe her aroma and flavour in my own words, I would say: SKUNKY, WITH A PEPPERY TWIST! That's probably the closest description I can give you. She's not particularly delicate, and she certainly has a heavier personality. There's something quite distinctive about that combination of skunky character and peppery notes. And the experience follows the same direction. 💚 EFFECTS & EXPERIENCE This is a heavy one. For me, she is much more suited to the end of the day, when everything is done and there is absolutely nowhere you need to be. Not a party-night companion. Not something I'd choose when I need to stay active and productive. This is an AFTER-DARK kind of girl! The kind of experience where you can settle down, relax, switch off, and eventually make your way towards sleep. Her effects felt strongly relaxing, both physically and mentally, and she was particularly interesting for those moments when I wanted to slow everything down. Based on my personal experience, I would associate her with: 🌙 Relaxation 😴 Sleepiness A heavy, calming experience The effects I would consider most relevant to her profile are insomnia, anxiety, depression, pain, and stress. Of course, these are subjective observations from my own experience, not medical claims or a recommendation to use her as a treatment. GrowDiaries only allows me to select a limited number of effect categories, so I have to narrow things down. For this phenotype, relaxation and sleepiness are definitely the two that stand out most to me. And one more thing... 💧 DRY MOUTH! My goodness, she is certainly a queen in that department too! Keep some water nearby, my friends. You'll probably appreciate it! ──────────────────────── 📊 FINAL PROFILE ──────────────────────── 🌿 Cultivar: Cash Express by Zamnesia 🌱 Phenotype: A ⚖️ Final dry weight: 51.6 g ⭐ Final rating: 6/10 Indica / Sativa profile: 80% Indica / 20% Sativa 🌸 Tastes: • Flowery • Herbs • Pungent 😊 Main effects: • Relaxed • Sleepy 💧 Negative effect: • Dry mouth 🔥 Personal flavour description: Skunky, with a peppery twist. 🌙 Best suited to: After-dark relaxation and winding down before sleep. ──────────────────────── 💚 FINAL THOUGHTS ──────────────────────── Cash Express Pheno A was an interesting plant to document. She wasn't perfect. We lost her main cola, and her resilience against that problem was disappointing. That's why she receives a 6/10 from me. But she still gave us a respectable final harvest, a distinctive smoke profile, and another opportunity to learn something through our drying experiments. And that's what these diaries are all about. We don't grow every phenotype to discover a champion. We grow them to understand their differences, document their expressions, and share what we learn along the way. The DryFerm comparison was particularly interesting, and I am looking forward to continuing these experiments with other cultivars. As always, the important thing is to keep observing, comparing, and learning! ──────────────────────── 🙏 A BIG THANK-YOU! ──────────────────────── A huge thank-you to everyone who makes these adventures possible! 💚 Zamnesia — for the genetics and the support throughout this journey, as well as the Herb Drying Rack. 🌱 Plagron — for being part of our growing journey and providing the nutrition that helps bring these genetics to life. 💡 Future of Grow — for the Black Series lighting and the additional 600W fixtures that allowed us to explore the lighting setup even further. 🌿 LumiFlora — for the additional under-canopy lighting. 🎛️ TrolMaster — for helping us monitor and manage our growing environment. ❄️ DryFerm — for supplying the drying bags and allowing us to carry out these side-by-side comparisons. And, of course, a massive thank-you to the entire GrowDiaries community! To everyone following the diaries, leaving comments, sharing experiences, asking questions, and supporting the journey: you are a huge part of what makes this community special. And if you'd like to join us beyond GrowDiaries, you're always welcome in our Discord community! 💬 DOG DOCTOR OFFICIAL DISCORD: https://discord.gg/dogdoctorofficial We have conversations, shared knowledge, growing discussions, photography, monthly contests, and two giveaways every month with some fantastic prizes. But above all, it's about the people and the friendships we build along the way. 💚 ──────────────────────── Growers Love, my friends! 💚🌱 Take care, keep learning, keep sharing, and never stop enjoying the journey. LET'S GROW! 🚂🌿💚 P.S. — Just a little theory of mine! 🤔🌿 I've been thinking about something regarding the DryFerm bags. We know that terpenes are volatile compounds, meaning they can evaporate and move into the surrounding air. So here's a thought: could some of those compounds, instead of simply escaping into the room during drying, remain inside the bag's enclosed environment? And could some of them eventually re-equilibrate with the flowers, helping preserve that louder aroma we're noticing? I'm not saying this is what's happening, because I haven't tested or scientifically confirmed that mechanism. It's just a hypothesis that crossed my mind while observing the differences between the two drying methods. Maybe someone with a deeper understanding of terpene chemistry or packaging technology can shed some light on this! What do you think? Could this be part of the explanation, or is something else happening inside those bags? I'd love to hear your thoughts! 💚