It has been more than two weeks since I hung the plants to dry in a tent in an unheated room. The temperature range in the room was 55°F to 70°F, and the humidity was usually in the 50 percent range. An oscillating fan on low speed was placed a few feet away from the tent so the plants were constantly buffeted by a slight breeze.
I had been traveling during most of the time the plants were drying and curing, and by the time I got back the plants had dried and cured and were ready to be manicured. One indication was the break test. Small branches near the bud broke with a snap rather than bending when twisted. This is a good sign that the buds are dry enough. Another was that the buds had only a bit of spring when squeezed, but they weren’t crisp either, which is a sign of overdrying.
Manicuring can be an enjoyable way to spend some time, especially if you are in a social circle enjoying the harvest with good company, so I decided to take a friend up on her offer to manicure the plants in return for some of the bounty.
When I harvested for the first time in April, I left some of the smaller, immature buds on the plants, hoping that the plants would regenerate by going back into vegetative growth. They would produce leaves rather than buds, and then in the fall they would flower again, producing a second harvest.
However, the buds that were left actually grew a little once they started getting nutrients that were going to the top buds, and then they matured. I’m planning on harvesting them tomorrow, then starting a second round of drying.
I hope that after this harvest, the nights will finally be short enough to induce the plants to go back into vegetative growth.
Here are the stats on the plants:
Name Weight
1.Juicy Fruit 22 grams
2.Juicy Fruit 2 58 grams
3.Candy Land 44 grams
4.Girl Scout Cookies 55 grams
5.Fire OG 22 grams
6.Purple Pineapple 32 grams
7.Purple Kush 25 grams
8.Killa Watt 52 grams
Total: 310 grams
When I showed some of the buds to some visitors they said that they were unimpressed because they were small, and although fragrant and heady they weren’t very tight. All of those observations are correct. However, I was more than satisfied because this was a winter crop started in February and harvested in April. I didn’t expect big buds, but I did produce a decent harvest using the winter sun.
TIP OF THE MONTH FROM ASK ED®
A GROWING TIP TO SAVE FOR NEXT WINTER!
The San Francisco Bay Area has mild winters. The temperature rarely dips below the mid-40s at night. But it doesn’t get warm during the day, usually hovering in the high 50s to low 70s. In areas in the southern tier of the country, where the sun is brighter and the temperature warmer, you can grow plants all winter long outdoors. The plants are forced to flower because of the long nights, but as you can see from my winter garden, the sativa plants will grow a bit even as they flower. By spacing plants closer than you ordinarily would you can have a sea-of-green garden that stays short and flowers and ripens in only 60 to 70 days.
In cooler climates use a greenhouse to keep the plants warm. If it is cloudy or overcast use supplemental lighting during daylight hours to keep the canopy brightly lit.
Enjoy your winter harvest.
