Natural Flavourings Reviews & Attempts?

[HigherTheHigh]

So for the past 4+ year iv grown my end product has always ended up or slightly close to tasting the same after a 8-16 week cure, so I'm looking for help on what I can or can't add in Flower to help taste.

So I know a lot will say its the drying time and cure but I give my buds the best possible attention, prep and storage I never get the taste that its supposed to have.

Me and a friend have spoke about this with the likes of big branded cannabis cultivators that also grow coco/hydroponically grown bud and give usually a 4-8 week cure and there buds taste completely different and taste like what there supposed to taste like, so what are they doing?

My Feed Schedule for my next set of plants is:

Water 60ppm

CalMag 180ppm

Megacrop

Sweet Candy

Botanicare Sweet Berry

Great White & Orca

So what can I add to help like a fruit flavouring maybe or am I just thinking completely out the box?

I'm also using a Berry Flush too.

Any help I'd be very grateful of and I'll keep updating this post as time goes by, I'm currently growing White Widow, Amnesia, Bruce Banger and Sweet Skunk, the Sweet Skunk I'm growing an extra 3 weeks on top of what they state.

 

[Rosti]

Well I see your using sweet candy in tandem with MC... that should do the trick for including an additive that should help the taste of the final product. If your not seeing the results you like with sweet candy you could try a different additive? Both sweet candy and Bud candy from AN works well for me.. I’ve also heard of people using blackstrap molasses... with all
that said, I can use zero additives for flavor and my buds still come out tasting good. When you say the buds don’t taste the way they should what are you referring to? What flavor are getting, and do ALL your plants taste the same even though they are different strains?

 

[SmokingWings]

If you are adding something that is supposed to taste flavorful to the soil or hydro system so that the end product will taste sweet or flavorful it will not work that way. Example being adding orange juice or molasses as part of the watering /feeding process will not produce buds or dried and cured smoke that has an orange taste or a molasses taste.

Adding the sweet stuff to the feeding & watering schedule is for improving the way the soil or hydro system is able to improve the way the plant grows and increase the size and the natural taste of the product. It is in the last half or so of the flowering process, those last 4 to 6 weeks, that help to determine what the smoke will be like after it is dried and cured.

Not sure if that is what you are asking. But, it sure would be nice if we could influence the flavor of the smoke by adding orange juice or grape Kool-Aid.

Good luck.

 

[Emilya Green]

I had a period of several grows where all of my pot tasted the same. It was unremarkable and I got none of the berry or other flavors that the varieties advertised.
What I realized was that my plants were not finishing out correctly... I was not supplying enough P and K at the end and I had no idea about the additional vitamins and amino acids that could help prop up the flavor profile, either. Once I started using Terpinator at the end, as well as other finishing products to add in extra stuff, my pot started having distinct flavors again.
I would never consider adding an outside flavor to my pot by adding something smelly to my watering... with my luck that smell would combine with the plants natural flavors and would taste like death.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

Hello all, so iv used molasses but I'm not interested in ever using that again after previous experience and iv used bud candy too and I didn't mind it but even that some times never worked out.

Yes it seems every strain tastes the same for me and iv no idea why, first few grows tasted okay bit my water did change and it tastes not the greatest now.

So using the Sweet Candy up until a week before harvest should work out then as thats high in both p&k?

I was thinking the MegaCrop, Bud Explosion, sweet candy and 1 or 2 addatives as that's quite a mix of high numbers.

 

[Emilya Green]

Hello all, so iv used molasses but I'm not interested in ever using that again after previous experience and iv used bud candy too and I didn't mind it but even that some times never worked out.

Yes it seems every strain tastes the same for me and iv no idea why, first few grows tasted okay bit my water did change and it tastes not the greatest now.

So using the Sweet Candy up until a week before harvest should work out then as thats high in both p&k?

I was thinking the MegaCrop, Bud Explosion, sweet candy and 1 or 2 addatives as that's quite a mix of high numbers.

I have realized that the sweet candy has been made for the soil grower with lots of extra additives, whereas the BE is more a clinical addition of PK without all the other nonsense, probably more for hydro grows. Using both together is probably one of the problems I had in my last grow. Thats my current theory anyway...

 

[Rosti]

Hello all, so iv used molasses but I'm not interested in ever using that again after previous experience and iv used bud candy too and I didn't mind it but even that some times never worked out.

Yes it seems every strain tastes the same for me and iv no idea why, first few grows tasted okay bit my water did change and it tastes not the greatest now.

So using the Sweet Candy up until a week before harvest should work out then as thats high in both p&k?

I was thinking the MegaCrop, Bud Explosion, sweet candy and 1 or 2 addatives as that's quite a mix of high numbers.

Ya I’ve never used molasses, the only thing I’ve ever used and cared to keep using was bud candy. It does work. Like mentioned above, these additives don’t ADD flavor, they just help the plant increase its natural terpene and flavonoid content which can result in better tasting buds... but like I said weed should taste great by itself and doesn’t need those flavor/Trichome enhancing additives... Not feeding your plants correctly will definitely have an effect on your buds but even a poorly grown plant will still show its own characteristics in its flavor profile.. different plants/different strains all tasting the same... I’m smelling a problem here lol You said they taste “bad” right? Describe bad.. Also do they smell bad as well or do they smell proper? ... im just going to jump to the most obvious conclusion, and that would be your drying and curing.. which I know you said is dialed in but would you care to explain your drying/cure method so we can eliminate that from the list of possible suspects?

 

[HigherTheHigh]

I don't consider it a bad taste it's just not a taste, almost like breathing in fresh air every but tawards the end of the joint its harsh tasting.

I use a doctored feed journal that's made by Cultivator however I'm changing to Greenleaf Nutrients.

Mabies is my drying but iv only ever dried how Cult and a few others taught me, it might be me as I'm sure there's another Grower or two who also can't taste weed .

 

[Rosti]

Ya I don’t know those people, but if you got it then you got it my man. Have you always been plagued with a bad palate ? Lol .. have you ever had tasty weed before? I’m curious because you said you’ve been having the same tasting weed for 4+ years no matter the strain... have you always dried and cured the same way? Maybe try a different way and see if it changes the outcome, ya know.. for science.

 

[HigherTheHigh]

Yeah iv had some beautiful tasting bud in the past and it does get to me I can't get that taste, however I still remember I got one drag and it tasted like the beautiful stuff and nothing after that and in sure it's because I pushed it a few more weeks than it should of had.

I'm going to try this new feed schedule and as @Emilya said feed a lot of pk in late flower so atleast I have the Sweet Candy and the Bud Explosion high P&K numbers.

I am going to also use the Berry flush, I can try it and if it doesn't work at least iv tried, like you said for science, I do try and go on reviews but I'm sure some people over exasagerate .

 

[Rosti]

I agree, sounds like a good plan. I hope it works out because personally one of the best things about growing is being able to enjoy all the great aromas and tastes from all the different strains. Happy growing friend

 

[HigherTheHigh]

The last two times I did put on a dry rack but this next time I think I'm going to hang dry and go from their it's just the Scrogs iv been harvesting it's been taking two 4 rack dry nets so space is a bit of a push especially with running two tents.

 

[Rosti]

I hear you, we gotta work with what we got. There is all sorts of ways to dry our buds. I have only ever hung dry mine in tents and it’s always worked great so I never tried anything else lol but I’ve been reading into different ways, like the fridge method for example seems promising but I can’t say whether it’s good or not until I try it

 

[multiVortex]

Sweet Candy as well as molasses is for soil, not hydro. Please, for the love of your res, don't use that stuff in it. The use of those is for soil and targeting the microbes in the soil. All it's going to do is add organics to your water which will have nothing to do but die off and goop your drink up good.

I've been adding Terpinator in my last couple grows, and I've been impressed with it so far. I run 5ml/gal in veg, and 10ml/gal in flower. Not their full strength, but within their recommended amount. I'd add more, but if this is showing results, then I'm fine with that. I'm also fine with it because twice as much would double the cost.


There are "flavoring" products out there, but they're just targeting the natural terpene production of the plant for whatever flavor is supposed to be there. So if it's supposed to be fruity, you get a fruity additive. If it's berry, you get a berry additive. These aren't just like adding kool-aid to water. They just help increase the natural terpine production. That being the case, terpinator (or purpinator) is just as effective. It's also good across the entire flavor range, thus you're not buying 10 different bottles for 10 different flavor profiles.

 

[Rosti]

Sweet Candy as well as molasses is for soil, not hydro. Please, for the love of your res, don't use that stuff in it. The use of those is for soil and targeting the microbes in the soil. All it's going to do is add organics to your water which will have nothing to do but die off and goop your drink up good.

I've been adding Terpinator in my last couple grows, and I've been impressed with it so far. I run 5ml/gal in veg, and 10ml/gal in flower. Not their full strength, but within their recommended amount. I'd add more, but if this is showing results, then I'm fine with that. I'm also fine with it because twice as much would double the cost.


There are "flavoring" products out there, but they're just targeting the natural terpene production of the plant for whatever flavor is supposed to be there. So if it's supposed to be fruity, you get a fruity additive. If it's berry, you get a berry additive. These aren't just like adding kool-aid to water. They just help increase the natural terpine production. That being the case, terpinator (or purpinator) is just as effective. It's also good across the entire flavor range, thus you're not buying 10 different bottles for 10 different flavor profiles.

I used sweet candy and did not see any goop in my res... but I also feed much lighter then most people.. I still don’t recommend it.. Bud Candy has been my go to for awhile now if I even feel the need to add something like that. Usually I do not add any kind of flavor/terp enhancers.. I did use true plant science’s signal when my ladies we’re getting ready to finish up on this last run and I couldn’t tell a difference with it. I’ve heard good things about terpinator...maybe I should give it a try one of these times.
Edit: Im unsure about having to buy ten bottles of flavor enhancements lol Ive added bud candy to a lot of strains and I only notice that it helps bring out that strains natural flavor more, whatever flavor that may be.

 

[multiVortex]

Edit: Im unsure about having to buy ten bottles of flavor enhancements lol Ive added bud candy to a lot of strains and I only notice that it helps bring out that strains natural flavor more, whatever flavor that may be.

That was more of a reference to botanicare and their quest to have a product for every flavor out there.

 

[Rosti]

Ohh ok gotcha

 

[HigherTheHigh]

Well up to now my buds smell lovely, some smell like perfume which is a first for me, I usually end up with a citrus smell.

Noticed an increase in trichone production too, not a great deal but more noticeable which may have something to do with the sweet as it does say it helps with terpene production, much more root growth too, noticed on my white widow that there was loads of new root growth coming through the coco top.

 

[TysonOG]

Everybody is different but in my experience, increasing drying time as much as possible as drastically improved final taste and smell. I went from 3 days to 6 days to 9 days and it has made a world of difference. I now leave most of the fan leaves on when drying and try to hang as big branches as possible to increase water retention. I also keep the drying tent at 64% humidity and decrease by 1% every 2 days, ending around 59%

 

[indochronic]

Im on the same boat. when it comes to taste (mainly) terps are lacking. The bud i grow looks great smells great before chopping and i follow all ''pro'' tips and ways for drying curing etc. but the outcome bud sometimes has a good smell or its just a green kinda smell. Iv had the american growen stuff as we europens call it, and thats the best tasting iv had period.
Iv been trying a couple different small changes, but i always think it could be my lights not bring out full potential, bad seed genetics, not enough nutes..etc etc
next step is try an compost tea with molasses, with some soil and foil feedings and see how that goes
Intrested in this topic tho
Happy Growing