Help finishing off my first grow please

[kirkyboi]

Hiya all

Ok to start with i started my first ever grow 12 weeks ago and now i am coming to the end, while i have learnt so much from all this i am stumped a little with the final stages, please have a look at my signature for my journal.

I am thinking of keeping my girls in the same stage they have been thru out most of the grow for 1 more week and next wendesday start to flush them for a week.

here are my questions which please please please help me with:

1st: should i use just water or water with a little canna A+B? for that week of flushing?

2nd: then after that place them in complete dark for 1 more week just have the fans running and not watering at all (is that the right way to do it?)

3rd: then after that week chop them at the bottom stem where they start to come out of the soil and place them hanging upside down from the roof of the tent for one more week with complete dark and no fans etc running (again is that right to do?)

If this was your crop how would you's go about the finishing stages, please i could do with a little help here as a newbie i need a little crash course.

Thanks again
Kirkyboi

 

[Dayzt]

Hey there K-boi - first off, congrats on making it to your first harvest!! Nothing beats the HG... I'll try to break down your 1-3 questions in the way that I handle harvest time...

1. Your flush should be plain water only - some people like to do it gradually by having the first few flushes contain a small amount of nutes, but it really isn't necessary. Make sure your flush water is pH adjusted down to around 6-6.5 before you begin though, and if you're using tap-water, leave it sit out overnight to burn off any excess chlorine - basic stuff.

2. I've tried doing the darkness period at the end of the flowering cycle a few times, and haven't noticed quite enough of a difference to really make it worth it - to each his own I guess. For an extra effect - if you decided to use the dark period - use some extra-cold flush water too help push out more resins during your flush week(s).

Don't change your fans around - leave them the same during the dark period. You really only need 2-3 days max of darkness for this effect - 1 whole week is overkill, and will not make a difference.

3. When you chop, do it before turning on any lights - harvest is best done in the dark to ensure you don't degrade your potency in the long run. The dark during harvest will also prevent the plants from drawing up any moisture into the plant from the roots during this process...

You probably don't want to invert-hang your plants for more than a half-day or so after the chop. Plan it so you have a day or so to do your initial trimming the same day as your chop. Some people like to just trim the large fans and leaf-branches on the day of chop, and then hang dry for 7-10 days before doing the close-up trim/manicure, but I like to get it all done at once... try to plan a full day to 'chop/trim/hang to dry' - then after the 7-10 day drying period is over, you just have to seperate the buds from the branches, weigh it all for you total 'dry weight', and jar up the buds to start the curing process.

One more quick tip... make sure your drying area is: completely dark, cool temps (65-70 or even lower is ideal), and has good ventilation/filtering. Put a small circulation fan in the dark room, but make sure it's not pointed at your hanging bud..this will dry it too fast and you'll end up with crusty buds..

Hope this helps! Good luck and enjoy the rewards of your hard work!!