Afgoo - First Time Seed Grow

[Debudman]

Ugh!

You're kidding about the freezer right? Hope so!

Be sure to give this harvest a good LONG cure before doing any serious smoke reports or indulging. I cure all my bud a minimum of 4 weeks before I try it, and I will often put it back in the closet for another week or two. I like my bud smooth with no harshness and a long slow cure is the best way to achieve that!

I know a lot of first time growers with little or no stash will find it nearly impossible to resist tearing into that bud early, but it pays to wait! Some of my best bud is 18 to 24 months old. If you store it properly you can keep it viable indefinitely.

Sent from my iPod touch using Forum Runner

Freezer storage = (Not Good)
Yeah I have read that the best for long term storage is in your refridgerator, not the freezer. If not a cool dark place. I stored some bud in my refridge in a ziplock bag encapsilated in a dark tupperware container for over 3 months.
I took it out and it was as it was the day I bought it.

Long Cure
Yes, you want to cure your smoke like you would age a fine wine
The longer, the better. They even age premium steaks too..
There is a place over here charges 100.00 for a steak dinner.. A bit rich for my blood, but I was told it was some of the best tasting meat.

Jars
Yeah, I felt pretty good about that deal.
As far as you living in the boon docks... well sometimes you have to give up a few conveniences to gain the peace and quiet that you get out there.. Please save a place for me Goose, I may just be joining you before long.. We're getting pushed out over here, it's crazy. The population keeps getting worse and worse.. I would much rather drive a bit more to a store and live where you do then battle with the BS here in the city everyday.

PH Up/Down
You sound like a smart man Goose.
I like the way you think. Why pay the extra dollars for liquid.. In most cases you're paying a large percentage for just water.

 

[Debudman]

Oh..almost forgot

--Great Job on your Grow Aston !!!--

Hopefully now you will not have to throw any more of your money away at your local dispensery for awhile my friend.

 

[Goldengoose7]

Freezer storage = (Not Good)
Yeah I have read that the best for long term storage is in your refridgerator, not the freezer. If not a cool dark place. I stored some bud in my refridge in a ziplock bag encapsilated in a dark tupperware container for over 3 months.
I took it out and it was as it was the day I bought it.

PH Up/Down
You sound like a smart man Goose.
I like the way you think. Why pay the extra dollars for liquid.. In most cases you're paying a large percentage for just water.

Hey thanks Budman! I appreciate the kind words! I try to make wise choices whenever possible, and if I can find a way to do or get something with less work or less money, I am always interested in pursuing those leads!

Regarding long term storage of our buds...

I posted some about my preferred storage method on my journal a while back. What you basically want for long term bud storage is a good HUMIDOR, which you normally would use for cigars and pipe tobacco. If you don't have access to an actual cedar lined humidor, then you can create one using a air tight storage container and a Humidipak 72% RH two way moisture control packet!

For my long term storage containers I prefer the OXO Good Grips storage containers. I like the Good Grips cause of the pop off top that seals the container air tight with a push of the button on the lid! They come in all different shapes and sizes so you can easily find the right size for your stash! I use the 1 and 2 quart sizes the most. They are a little spendy I'll admit, but I feel that after all the time and effort I have put into growing this stuff, why would I want to cheap out when it comes to the most important part of the entire process? ... PRESERVING and AGING THE HARVEST!!

Amazon.com often has these in their Gold Box specials, and I have picked up a few of the 10 packs for really good prices over the last couple of years. The sizes that don't work for my bud storage are repurposed for their actual intended purpose and that is storing dry food items like pasta, crackers and other things that you don't want going stale on you before you have a chance to consume them!

Regarding the GH pH UP and DOWN dry mix...

Hell yeah!

While you can make your own pH UP and DOWN using things like White Vinegar and Lemon Juice, I prefer to use something measured and precise, and the GH stuff fits the bill perfectly for me! When they came out with the dry mix powder a few years back, I jumped at the chance to make my own solution as needed using the dry powder and RO water. I keep my original UP and DOWN bottles from my very first pH test kit I bought way back when and I just fill those up when needed.

Next time you need to stock up on pH UP and DOWN solution, you should seriously consider buying the dry stuff instead. It will cost you a little more up front compared to the little bottles, but we're talking about 3 POUNDS of powder here total which will make you a TON of UP and DOWN liquid!

 

[Debudman]

Hey thanks Budman! I appreciate the kind words! I try to make wise choices whenever possible, and if I can find a way to do or get something with less work or less money, I am always interested in pursuing those leads!

Regarding long term storage of our buds...

I posted some about my preferred storage method on my journal a while back. What you basically want for long term bud storage is a good HUMIDOR, which you normally would use for cigars and pipe tobacco. If you don't have access to an actual cedar lined humidor, then you can create one using a air tight storage container and a Humidipak 72% RH two way moisture control packet!

For my long term storage containers I prefer the OXO Good Grips storage containers. I like the Good Grips cause of the pop off top that seals the container air tight with a push of the button on the lid! They come in all different shapes and sizes so you can easily find the right size for your stash! I use the 1 and 2 quart sizes the most. They are a little spendy I'll admit, but I feel that after all the time and effort I have put into growing this stuff, why would I want to cheap out when it comes to the most important part of the entire process? ... PRESERVING and AGING THE HARVEST!!

Amazon.com often has these in their Gold Box specials, and I have picked up a few of the 10 packs for really good prices over the last couple of years. The sizes that don't work for my bud storage are repurposed for their actual intended purpose and that is storing dry food items like pasta, crackers and other things that you don't want going stale on you before you have a chance to consume them!

Regarding the GH pH UP and DOWN dry mix...

Hell yeah!

While you can make your own pH UP and DOWN using things like White Vinegar and Lemon Juice, I prefer to use something measured and precise, and the GH stuff fits the bill perfectly for me! When they came out with the dry mix powder a few years back, I jumped at the chance to make my own solution as needed using the dry powder and RO water. I keep my original UP and DOWN bottles from my very first pH test kit I bought way back when and I just fill those up when needed.

Next time you need to stock up on pH UP and DOWN solution, you should seriously consider buying the dry stuff instead. It will cost you a little more up front compared to the little bottles, but we're talking about 3 POUNDS of powder here total which will make you a TON of UP and DOWN liquid!

Damn Goose.. I want to go to your house and smoke your bud... You have all the fancy gadgets

But seriously, thanks for sharing.. You are teaching me all kinds of kewl things.
Those containers I actually remember seeing at Bed Bath and Beyond I think.
You can then wrap them up in some dark material and your set.

Another neat tool I saw on TV once was a vacuum sealer. It was one of those gadgets that I believe you normally see to seal foods with plastic. It also had an air hose adapter that connected to a mason jar lid I believe, that allowed you to vacuum seal mason jars.

PH up and Down...
For me right now I am just using the kit where you fill the little plastic container half way with water then you add 3 drops and shake it. Then you just match the color to the chart on the bottle. That has worked pretty well for me. The kit came with the up and down solution. I am getting a bit low though and appreciate your suggestion. I've been pre mixing my PH water in a 30 gallon garbage can.

RO Water
Have you used RO water long? What's your opinion on how your plants respond with that verses just using PH Tap water? Have you noticed a big difference in how your plants respond? I was considering adding a RO setup to my christmas list... haha.

I'm on a budget right now and any way I can cut costs I am in full support of my friend.

 

[Goldengoose7]

Damn Goose.. I want to go to your house and smoke your bud... You have all the fancy gadgets

But seriously, thanks for sharing.. You are teaching me all kinds of kewl things.
Those containers I actually remember seeing at Bed Bath and Beyond I think.
You can then wrap them up in some dark material and your set.

Another neat tool I saw on TV once was a vacuum sealer. It was one of those gadgets that I believe you normally see to seal foods with plastic. It also had an air hose adapter that connected to a mason jar lid I believe, that allowed you to vacuum seal mason jars.

PH up and Down...
For me right now I am just using the kit where you fill the little plastic container half way with water then you add 3 drops and shake it. Then you just match the color to the chart on the bottle. That has worked pretty well for me. The kit came with the up and down solution. I am getting a bit low though and appreciate your suggestion. I've been pre mixing my PH water in a 30 gallon garbage can.

RO Water
Have you used RO water long? What's your opinion on how your plants respond with that verses just using PH Tap water? Have you noticed a big difference in how your plants respond? I was considering adding a RO setup to my christmas list... haha.

I'm on a budget right now and any way I can cut costs I am in full support of my friend.

Cool! PARTY!!

Yeah...I keep my Good Grips containers in a cabinet out of the light. Thanks for mentioning that! I assumed that you guys know that it is best to store bud in a cool dark place.

I actually have a vacuum sealer that I use for food stuffs like my famous smoked salmon in the winter, but I have not considered using it to store bud. Not sure if that would be a good idea or not. Might suck too much of the moisture out in the process.

Regarding RO water... I use it in my cloner, but thats it. Fortunately for me, living up here in the Sierra means access to some of the best tap water in the country! Our water is actually a lower pH than the RO water I buy for the cloner. Ours always tests out at around 7.2 all year round, but that RO water I buy in gallon jugs is about 8.5. Only reason I use it is because I am not sure what our tap water's mineral content is. Still... we grow some pretty impressive crops up here and 90% of the time, all we give them is our unadjusted tap water.

I hear ya about trying to keep costs down! Thats why I always try to buy my stuff in bulk if I have the option to do so. In fact, I just placed a second order for more Air Pots with Calgrowers. Going to pick up some 1.5 gallon, 2.4 gallon and another half dozen of the 3.4 gallon sizes. That should hold me over for all my overwintering needs and give me some smaller pots to use for my pepper seedlings in the spring.

I'm really excited about what kind of longevity I am going to be seeing from my pepper and Cannabis mother plants now that they are going to be living in Air Pots!

 

[Debudman]

I think I am going to get me a Wide Mouth Jar Sealer off Amazon for vacuum sealing my mason jars I think the Food Saver would work great to by sealing in the bags, but could compress the bud a little more than you might want. The Vacuum sealed mason jar approach might be better.

As for the airpots, I will wait and see your results Goose before I order a batch. Maybe you can create a specific "AirPot" journal. I like the idea of introducing air to improve rooting. Also cool that you can pull it apart like you mentioned should you have to tranplant. Although I have never really had a problem with that other than when using these weird pots that weren't exactly round.

Someday i may checkup the RO scene for some clean water. But I don't like the idea of the waste factor.

What happened to Aston, did we scare him off Ahhh he's probably quick dried some of his buds and have been spending all his time smoking them...hahah

 

[Goldengoose7]

Careful with vacuum sealing bud cause you run the risk of sucking all the moisture out along with the air.

RE: Air Pots

You don't have to wait for me to see the results of Air Pots with Cannabis! Old Med Man and Ganja Arnanda both swear by them and have been using them for a long time.

I believe that OMM has started part 2 of his long running journal with a grow that uses Air Pots exclusively!

Yep! It is already firmly established that using Air Pots improves yield and overall plant health. That's why I moved on getting them so quickly because those guy's previous grows speak for themselves!

Not sure what happened to Astonr! He did say that he would soon be shutting down this journal since the grow is basically done now.

Sent from my iPod touch using Forum Runner

 

[Truth Seeker]

question!!!

my buds are pretty dry!!! like crispy dry!!! is this normal??? I have been curing now on 2 days now!!! and it has not gotten re moist!!! it feels like they are drying out more and more!!!

1 main difference i have now noticed between LST and non is that non makes fat dense nugs as apposed to LST made light and fluffy nugs!!!

anyways what do I do about the super dry cures???

 

[Goldengoose7]

question!!!

my buds are pretty dry!!! like crispy dry!!! is this normal??? I have been curing now on 2 days now!!! and it has not gotten re moist!!! it feels like they are drying out more and more!!!

1 main difference i have now noticed between LST and non is that non makes fat dense nugs as apposed to LST made light and fluffy nugs!!!

anyways what do I do about the super dry cures???

Hey man! There you are!

So... How many days did you hang dry for before putting the bud into your jars?

What kind of temps are we talking about in your drying room? I also noticed that you had what looked like plastic bag material behind your hanging buds? I wouldn't recommend having any kind of plastic around cause it will prevent even drying and can actually cause condensation around your buds which you definitely don't want!

Are you using a fan to keep good air circulation? I run mine off the same timer I have for the fans in my veg room that come on and off a few hours for each cycle 24 hours a day.

Here is the drying/curing process I used for my recent BBK and GDP harvests. I should also mention that DRYING and CURING are two DIFFERENT processes.

Drying time: 3 days

Buds should be crispy to the touch on the outside, but still be soft and pliable on the inside. The outside surface may break off and crumble when squeezed, but the bulk of the bud should have a spongy feel to it. If the bud feels like it will disintegrate into a pile of sift if squeezed, then you have let it go too long and you should put the buds in glass jars and add a few fresh fan leaves to the jars to rehydrate the buds. 24 hours should do it in most cases.

Curing process: Week 1

Once you have your buds dried sufficiently, transfer them to your mason jars. fill them half way to the top. You can go 3/4 of the way to the top but since you bought a dozen jars, you can afford to use more jars. Having more air space in the jar will help cure the bud more evenly. Seal the buds in the jars and store in a dark closet or cabinet until the next morning.

Next morning...

Open jars and pour contents onto parchment paper and let the buds rest in the open air for 20-30 minutes before returning the buds to the jars and sealing them/returning them to your dark closet. Repeat this process every morning for the first 3 days of curing. After that, tumble the buds in the jars and then open the lids and let the jars rest with the lids off for about 15 minutes twice daily. Morning and Night basically. Continue this for the remaining four days of week 1.

Curing process: Week 2

You should be looking for a nice spongy feel to your buds that is free of any snap, crackles or pops! You can begin the second week by airing out your jars like you did during the latter half of week 1, but half way through week 2 you can cut it down to once a day and depending on the feel of the buds, perhaps only for 5-10 minutes with the lids off.

Curing/Aging process: Week 3 and Beyond

Once the bud has stabilized and has taken on the feel of quality bud you have purchased from a reputable store or dealer, you can transfer the bud out of the jars and into long term "Aging" storage containers like Good Grips, or if you prefer, you can continue to use the mason jars, but you need to add a 72% RH Humidipak to each jar in order to maintain a stable humidity level in the bud. At this point you can condense you jar count by adding more bud to the remaining jars to bring them all to about 4/5ths full. Put the remaining used jars into the dishwasher and run them on HIGH HEAT/Sanitize to scrub off all the resin residue and get them ready for the next round of curing.

If you choose to use a larger storage container like the 2.4 quart Good Grips that I used for each BBK harvest, you might want to use TWO Humidipaks instead of just one.

I prefer to cure for at least 4 weeks total before I will sample my newest harvests, and I generally prefer bud that has cured for at least 8 weeks. The longer you store them with the Humidipaks the better they get!

Hope that helps and let me know if I missed anything you needed to know!

 

[Truth Seeker]

3 days??? holy shit!!! dude I was told that I have to dry for a minimum of 7 days!!! what the shit!!! so thats why they are super dryness now some fresh fan leaves??? so does that mean I have to pull some fresh leaves off of the indoor plants?? I have none from the Afgoo, they all went into the butter!!! yea I used black plastic on the back and the front, drying did just fine as you can tell!!! I left the front part of it loose for air to go in and out, and I propped up the plastic on the front so that air could move in and out easily!!!

 

[Steve McStoferson]

yeah i never have dry buds in 3 days, depending on how I dry, it takes anywhere from 7-14 days until I jar them.

I always fully trim my buds right after they are cut down, then I lay them in a paper bag. If the bag is in a closet, it takes about 14 days to dry out, if its in a room, about a week.. I find the slower it dries, the smoother it smokes.

The curing process posted above is pretty much what I do though

 

[Steve McStoferson]

not sure why i didn't see this earlier, but really nice job on that last plant you chopped, she looks really tasty

 

[Blue Planet Nutrients]

Oh yes...very tastey looking indeed

 

[Goldengoose7]

3 days??? holy shit!!! dude I was told that I have to dry for a minimum of 7 days!!! what the shit!!! so thats why they are super dryness now some fresh fan leaves??? so does that mean I have to pull some fresh leaves off of the indoor plants?? I have none from the Afgoo, they all went into the butter!!! yea I used black plastic on the back and the front, drying did just fine as you can tell!!! I left the front part of it loose for air to go in and out, and I propped up the plastic on the front so that air could move in and out easily!!!

Well...You of course need to go more by the look and feel of the buds than by holding to a literal number of days someone else recommends!

Based on your description though, it sure sounded like you let them go too long before jarring them up! As I laid out in my previous post, I generally have mine ready for the curing jars in three days. The relative humidity in my drying closet averages between 35% and 45% and I keep a fan going in the closet on and off 24/7.

Oh! Forgot to ask... Did you STOP watering your plants four days before the chop?

I always do that and it has a BIG impact on how long it takes to dry your buds after harvesting. If you don't do this, then you basically need to add four to five extra days to the 3 days I suggested.

One thing I forgot to mention as well... I have NEVER held to that common suggestion that you wait until the stems SNAP. In my experience, if you wait that long your buds are TOAST!

For rehydration... ANY fan leaves will work, but if you don't have any living plants, a thin slice of Apple in each jar will accomplish the same thing, but you have to watch it closer cause you don't want any mold starting! 24 hours or less is all it should take.

My buds always turn out great with a smooth/mellow finish and no harshness at all, even in my Vapor Brothers vaporizer which tends to bring out harshness if there is even a hint of it! Curing for a minimum of 4 weeks also helps with mellowing the bud and making it nice and smooth.

 

[Truth Seeker]

not sure why i didn't see this earlier, but really nice job on that last plant you chopped, she looks really tasty

Oh yes...very tastey looking indeed

it is!!! it is very tasty!!! I had to try some out last night while I was doing a burping, the smell is already coming along nicely in Afgoo 2!!! Afgoo 1 just started coming around this morning when I popped open for another burping!!!

Well...You of course need to go more by the look and feel of the buds than by holding to a literal number of days someone else recommends!

Based on your description though, it sure sounded like you let them go too long before jarring them up! As I laid out in my previous post, I generally have mine ready for the curing jars in three days. The relative humidity in my drying closet averages between 35% and 45% and I keep a fan going in the closet on and off 24/7.

Oh! Forgot to ask... Did you STOP watering your plants four days before the chop?

I always do that and it has a BIG impact on how long it takes to dry your buds after harvesting. If you don't do this, then you basically need to add four to five extra days to the 3 days I suggested.

One thing I forgot to mention as well... I have NEVER held to that common suggestion that you wait until the stems SNAP. In my experience, if you wait that long your buds are TOAST!

For rehydration... ANY fan leaves will work, but if you don't have any living plants, a thin slice of Apple in each jar will accomplish the same thing, but you have to watch it closer cause you don't want any mold starting! 24 hours or less is all it should take.

My buds always turn out great with a smooth/mellow finish and no harshness at all, even in my Vapor Brothers vaporizer which tends to bring out harshness if there is even a hint of it! Curing for a minimum of 4 weeks also helps with mellowing the bud and making it nice and smooth.

4 days no!!! no I didn't, I was on day 3 when the rain decided to water them through the buds!!! and the soil!!! Afgoo 1 was just starting to droop when the rain came along!!!

I have fan leaves from my indoor, so I will get some big leaves in there!!! the stems didn't snap, they bent all the way then snapped, like a halfer!!! not a full snap!!! so there is still moisture in the stems!!! but it no come out to the buds!!! after trying some out last night, I noticed that all the way in the middle of the nug, it still has it in there!!!

 

[Truth Seeker]

how long do I leave the leaves in the jars for??? 24 hours???

 

[Goldengoose7]

it is!!! it is very tasty!!! I had to try some out last night while I was doing a burping, the smell is already coming along nicely in Afgoo 2!!! Afgoo 1 just started coming around this morning when I popped open for another burping!!!

4 days no!!! no I didn't, I was on day 3 when the rain decided to water them through the buds!!! and the soil!!! Afgoo 1 was just starting to droop when the rain came along!!!

I have fan leaves from my indoor, so I will get some big leaves in there!!! the stems didn't snap, they bent all the way then snapped, like a halfer!!! not a full snap!!! so there is still moisture in the stems!!! but it no come out to the buds!!! after trying some out last night, I noticed that all the way in the middle of the nug, it still has it in there!!!

Hmmmm...I forgot about the rain you had to deal with. Obviously, this is not an A-typical harvest, so your drying/curing times are not going to be A-typical either.

Since you were not able to let the plants go without water for four days before the chop and on top of that, the plants got physically wet on top of everything else, this will obviously upset the apple cart so to speak.

You are just going to have to wing this drying/curing process in terms of the time frames. As I mentioned before... the bottom line with any drying/curing process is to let the buds dictate how long you keep them in each stage of the process.

24 hours is usually as long as you need to leave fresh fan leaves in a curing jar to rehydrate buds that have gone TOO FAR over the line and dried out too much. Fortunately most over drying can be reversed by this technique and no harm will come to the bud's quality or potency.

 

[Debudman]

question!!!

1 main difference i have now noticed between LST and non is that non makes fat dense nugs as apposed to LST made light and fluffy nugs!!!

I did LST on my plants and my buds are fat and dense.
But in theory I believe that if you have just a few main colas
verses several colas the plant can focus more energy building bigger buds.
But this doesn't mean you can't grow big dense buds doing LST either in my experience.

It's like pumkins, I had a friend that grew award winning pumpkins. What he did was pick the biggest healthest pumpking growing on his vine and cut all the other pumpkins off. This allowed the vine to focus full energy on the one pumkin.. He ended up with like a 800lb pumpkin... Or something like that.

As for drying, some allow their plants to dry up to 7 days and other less. I think it all depends on the the temperature, humidity, air circulation and other factors. The thing is like Goose said you want to make sure you still have a reasonable amount of moisture in the bud before you end up curing. If not you will end up with dry buds. They recommend in the first couple days to dry more aggressively and then back off as the days go on. This means you give them more air circulation and ventilation at first and then start decreasing both as the days go on. I wait until I can bend the stem a little before it snaps. Then I know there is still an adequate amount of moisture in the bud before I cure.

One other thing to point out.
When you are drying, some buds dry faster than other buds.. This is why some people add yet another step to the process.. The first dry, then go to what you call an equalization process. What you do is you use a big dark tupperware bin or even a dark garbage can. The idea is to be able to put all the branches in the container and allow the moisture level in the branches to equalize. This means that the buds that were very brittle and dry will now begin to absorb the moisture tha twas left by the branch that didn't snap and it was still soft. It will make it so tha tthe small variance in each plant balances out. This is very important for making a consistent product. You leave the branches in the container for 2-5 dyas to create the perfect balance. Once equilized and the moisture level is balanced, then you place in the mason jars.

Again, not everyone does this .. but I think it an important step to maintain the perfect balance... Gooses idea of the Humidipaks is a great idea to maintain this balance for extended periods of time.

 

[Truth Seeker]

Ok thanks Guys for the advice

 

[big rich]

just read your diary astonr & a big well done mate.wish we had sun like that back in the bleak uk.about the curing i fined it best to let them hang the way u did but i leave mine hang for at least 10days & then jar up & burp the jars once a day for another 10 to 14 days & store in a dark room.strange how yours dry so quick.keep up the good work & well done mate.