Hello Everyone,
I decided to harvest the smallest female cannabis plant this morning at 2 a.m.
The lights will turn on at 8 a.m.
I'm a night/early morning harvester.
The magnifying glass above is a Brightech LightView Pro Flex 2 in 1: 5 diopter 2.25x.
I paid $40.00 USD and it is unbelievably nice and comes in handy for multiple purposes. I would highly recommend it, and can assure it's good quality.
In order for me to take macro photos with a KODAK PIXPRO Astro Zoom AZ421-BK 16MP $199.00 USD, I must have the camera very far from the object being photographed, and macro settings must always be on even if I'm not taking macros or the camera will not focus at all. I highly DO NOT recommend this camera, despite the fact that it takes acceptable beginner photos. I'm not a professional photographer, but this camera for the price should be able to take acceptable macros (in my opinion) and it simply does not. At its furthest zoom in point, the images will distort and blur, so the max zoom settings do not even work.
I simply place this magnifying glass between the plant and camera, try to find that sweet spot where I can get the furthest zoom, and begin taking photos.
a lot of photos...
This is 3 posts worth of photos:
...and obviously there are not even close to this many photos in a post!...
So let's check out my attempt at trichome inspection!
I don't see much amber here. A slight hue, which I will point out in a different photo, but overall I think they are milky and at maximum potency.
This photograph might be the best macro I was able to get. It's not super macro but we get a pretty good look at the condition of the trichomes displayed on that rear bud.
We also see the pistils are mostly brown with only a few wisps of white here and there.
I prefer a strong THC base, over CBD, for the psychological medicinal effects, which act both as a natural medication for me, and sometimes enhance my creative juices when the conditions are just right.
Cannabis which is higher in CBD seems to be more of a sleep aid for me, and perhaps I will harvest one of the tall plants with more amber in the trichomes. We'll just have to see how it all plays out. One of them is still mostly white pistils and I find that very shocking, plus it was a seed from the dankest bud I had, so it's probably going to be powerfully potent.
You will either see the amber or you will not. It is not obvious and not easy to pick up on if inexperienced with cannabis cultivation, but it's there, (and not a lot of it) and I caught the turn at the very beginning :)
We can see here the milky blanket of trichomes, making the bud appear almost hairy or fuzzy.
Although this is not the frostiest bud futuremind has ever grown, I am pleased with the result, and feel I am constantly learning and improving, especially because of all the professional cannabis cultivators in this amazing community and their willingness to share effective methods and techniques which they've adopted over the years.
I just like this photo :)
This is not important to me, but I took it so the viewers can get a better idea of the size of the plant.
We'll call it about 1 foot/12 inches tall :)
I do not cut at the very bottom of the stalk, because this is more plant material to hold moisture and increase drying time, which in this case is so minimal it doesn't make a difference. How do I know? well... Let's weigh it freshly cut.
I will lose at least 50% of the weight through drying, which should only take 4-7 days with a plant this small.
If I get 7 grams of dry cannabis, I will be pretty happy :)
I always sample a little bud immediately and need to "quick dry."
In this case, I'm sampling for a medicinal dose, and not so much a "taste test" because I already have a really good idea of the taste to come, which will not be terrible, but certainly nothing like a well dried and cured nug.
I chopped some flowers off at the bottom, and lowered that weight a little more.
Now I will share the futuremind express dry method.
I promise that anyone who tries it will be impressed with the result :D
It requires a heating source, like an oven.. and you might have to get creative depending on what you are working with.
In my case, I am fortunate to have an all metal toaster oven. It's a Panasonic FlashXpress Toaster Oven with Double Infrared Heating, 6 Auto Cook Options and Precise Temperature Control, 4-Slice Small Toaster Oven, 1300 Watts - NB-G110P (Silver), $169.99 USD, highly recommended.
EXERCISE CAUTION, THIS IS DANGEROUS AND COULD POTENTIALLY CAUSE A FIRE. DO NOT LEAVE UNATTENDED!
The process is simple.
I blast the infrared toaster to a medium heat, with a tray on top, and some paper towels.
For about 10 minutes I will flip the buds every couple of minutes, and then I sandwich the cannabis between the two paper towels and check every couple of minutes for about another 10 minutes, and this is about as long as it takes to get the job done completely.
Now the only thing left to do is hang this cannabis to dry, after drying is complete, I'll cure it in a glass jar for about 2 weeks, maybe a little longer depending on how well it cures up. This is an area that I am rather inexperienced with, but I am confident I can cure this bud up nicely.
I wish you could all smell what I smell.
A pungent fruity aroma with a pine like undertone, a nostril flaring, eye closing experience that every grower is familiar with :)
This is higher on the fruity than the skunky.
I think this might end up being a good day time cannabis, and I can hardly wait to find out!
I decided to leave the sugar leaves on the plant. I got this idea from @drutter, with his recent post Jarring up some sticky Reclining Buddha
I'm looking forward to the curing process, and overall I couldn't be happier with this harvest. Everything went perfect, and I was rewarded with a healthy cannabis plant, packing sugary flowers. Doesn't get much better than that!
That will do it for this harvest post. I have 3 more ladies to be harvested later, stay tuned!
Thanks everyone for stopping by and checking out the harvest!
I hope you all have a great day! -@futuremind