The church - flowers just before harvest

[Guest guest]

Here are some pictures of the Church just before it was harvested in its 9th week of flowering:

happy growing,

john

[maresca 85]

BEAUTYFULL!!!!MANY-MANY colas,everywhere!!HAPPY HARVEST,MY FRIEND!!!!

"harvest" with me :-)..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9eETMgkjCw

[Romeu9 491]

They are beautiful! Congratulations John!!

You know I'm a new grower, but even to me it's easy to look at these pictures and see how perfect they were "raised"

Maybe in a near future you could talk about your drying and curing techniques, John. I'm "close" to my harvesting time and it would be great knowledge to pass on here in the forum, I think.

[Anatolian 0]

look at that THC glands ho ho hooo its pretty cool man!! i bet you are having fun with this lady

[anguscr 290]

Great work John...Love your church... awesome crystals!!!!

[CHEWiTTS 0]

Some fine looking babes you got.

L00k good enough to eat...

I have some GH church growing outside (in UK) hope they look as pretty as them at the end.

[strainhunters admin 47]

lovely bro!

[franco 998]

very nice resin, looks compact & frosty.... should be dry by now!!! ;-)

[Guest superbluehaze]

I am my friend, and i light one up in honor of your all, but especially Franco and Green House. The church is a beautiful smoke, and it , like myself, gets much better with age.

to many happy harvests,

john

[Guest superbluehaze]

hi maresca,

thank you, my friend. The wheel turns and so we rejoice in harvest moon: happy harvest moon, john

[Guest superbluehaze]

Thank you, Fuzzy; I will mate,

happy harvest,

john

[Guest superbluehaze]

Thank you romeu,

drying and curing are perhaps rhe most important part of the growing process, and a beautiful crop can easily be ruined if the buds are not dried and cured correctly.

here is some words from the master himself, franco, on drying and curing:

"A cannabis grower is always taking a chance. A crop means months of hard work, from the selection of the genetics down to vegetative growth, flowering, the ripening of the buds and the harvest process. After all the effort, commitment and waiting, the final stage has come. And now?

After months of risk, commitment and hard work, the crop has been harvested. It’s too late now to correct any mistakes done during the flowering, but it is never too late to improve the flavour and the high of your buds by implementing a controlled drying and curing process.
Drying is as important as growing, and a bad drying process can ruin even the best buds. Curing is a painfully long but necessary step towards the highest possible quality of the smoke. Most commercial growers do not cure their crop; they just dry it and sell it. But for the real connoisseur, curing is the essence of it all, the culminating moment towards the perfect result.

Drying marijuana means reducing the water content of the buds to 10-15%, depending on the desired crispiness of the final product. This can be achieved in many different ways, but the best method is to use a climate-controlled room. The room must be lit using special green fluorescent tubes (laboratory light, of the special green spectrum that does not affect plant material). The temperature and the humidity must be constantly controlled and adjusted, and the air exchange exactly calibrated to the desired volume. In an ideal situation, you want to let most of the moisture evaporate from the bud in the first 3 days, and then the process should slow down. In the first three days, a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 55% will ensure that the buds get to roughly 30-40% water content. From this moment on, the temperature should drop a few degrees down to 18 Celsius and the relative humidity should rise to 60% to slow down the drying process. This allows the chlorophyll and other substances to leave the buds through evaporation with the water. If the drying is too fast the chlorophyll will stay, and the smoke will have a bitterer taste, and a green aftertaste. The volume of air exchanged in the room is also critical. Do not exceed 10% of the total volume every hour, or it will be too fast. Use a timer and an open/closed duct-fan to regulate air intake and extraction. In total, the drying process should take around 10 to 14 days for a perfect taste.

Taste is not the only variable affected by the drying process. The longer the drying, the more THC will degrade into CBN and other cannabinoids. Therefore even in the same strain, the effect will slightly change from higher to more stoned, from uplifting to more physical. The difference between drying 10 days and 14 days is not very evident to the novice, but it is a world of difference to the connoisseur.

After drying, commercial growers package the crop. They usually like to dry the buds to 15% water content; this results in a heavier product (more water equals more money). Connoisseurs, on the other hand, like their bud between 12 and 10% water content because the flavour improves and the weed burns better. If the buds are to be smoked pure, lower water content is preferable (down to 8% for good burning). On the contrary, when weed has to be vaporized, it is best to leave a higher water content (12 to 15%) to prevent easy combustion of smaller particles at vaporization temperature. So, after the drying is finished, the connoisseurs will still dedicate a month or two to curing. Curing weed corresponds to ageing a good wine. If the weed quality is average, it is not worth the effort and waiting necessary for curing it. On the contrary, if the buds are high grade it is well worth waiting a little longer to get the best out of it.

Curing cannabis means packaging it in a wooden box or cardboard box, pressing it slightly so that some of the trichomes break and some of the resin oils and terpenes spread over the surface of the buds. Some growers like to cure their bud in air-tight glass jars, but this requires the jar to be opened for a few hours every few days (depending on the environmental factors of the drying room). After packaging it in the chosen way, leave it in a cellar-like environment (18 degrees Celsius, 50% relative humidity and total darkness) for a period of 1 to 2 months. Keep checking regularly to prevent fungus and mould formation from damaging the product. If you smell mould or ammonia, immediately open the containers and allow the bud to dry in a warmer environment for a few hours before continuing the curing process.

Curing is very difficult, and should be tried with small batches first. Once the technique has been mastered, bigger batches can be attempted.
Curing cannabis will increase the intensity of the flavour and will slowly but steadily lower THC in favour of other cannabinoids. The high of cured weed is always deeper and more introspective, almost becoming a meditation and inner-vision tool in some cases. The flavour gets much more complex and refined, gaining in depth as well as in variation of bouquet.
Cured buds always look slightly brownish and have a typical smell, one that real smokers love from the bottom of their soul. Like a very good old wine, there is something unique about a well cured crop.

Franco
Green House Seed Company"

happy harvests, my friend

john

[Guest superbluehaze]

thank admin,

the church is a beautiful plant, and soon i will be posting an indepth analysis of the church and the strain 's 3 phenotypes.

It is a vigorous and strong plant, if sometimes a little pinicky, but the little bit of money that I invested in those 10 seeds has come back to me in abundance.

It is the best investiment I have ever made.

The credit for these beautiful plants really goes to Franco and all of you at Green House, for the genetics are amazing, and without good genetics, a grower can never grow beautiful plants.

I am very proud of them, and of my efforts, but the truth is without the genetics, I would have got nowhere.

Thank you all,

happy coding, my friend,

john

[Guest superbluehaze]

hi franco,

thank you for having a look at my plants. The church is an amazing plant, and I am more than happy with it.

I can see by the videos that you have a real love for the weed; I do too.

The yield was excellent, and would have been better if I had not of burnt two of the phenotypes with fish emulsion.

The phenotype(the one that takes after Northern lights in its growth pattern), which you told me was your favorite phenotype of the stain, is now mine as well;

in the early stages it was smaller than the others, and i did not take a clone from it, because i thought the other two phenotypes would be better, but I was very wrong.

I found that particular phenotype to be the best out of the 3 phenotypes; a squat, compact well branch plant that yields, in my experience, much better than the other two phenotypes which seem to be influenced more by their sativa heritage.

They seem to be more sensitive to high EC levels as well, unlike the smaller squatter phenotype which seems to be a true indica, in that it likes a higher EC level.

The church is a beautiful plant and all of the phenotypes are high yielding, and vigorous.

The smoke is strong but not over powering.

Green House is the best, because it offers world class genetics at a very reasonable price.

the small amount of money I spent on those 10 seeds has come back to be in abundance. Thanks again for the world class genetics.

The haze 1 is coming along beautifully, and i will post some more recent pictures of her soon.

happy growing, Franco

john

[maresca 85]

Szia,John!

BEAUTYFULL SONG,MY FRIEND!!! I have prayed for You(I smoked before, one Church joint)

HalleluJah, smoke!!!

Yours CHURCH show brutal crystal productions!!! And great budstructur

Thank You, for all the informations, John!Your informations, and what I get from the StrainHunters site is GOLD!

One more time, but not last time, Thanks!

.....a week & I will start the harvest

[Guest superbluehaze]

looking great, Maresz; a song fro you.

happy harvest, my friend

john

[anguscr 290]

Maresca...Beatiful Colas!!!

John...Cool song....

[Guest simone76]

HY Super........

I have a question for you.

I have two Church in the garden.

I want grow it in outdoor and when she is good for start to flowering time i give it in the grow box at 12 hours of dark.

Well, how many time you think she must Vegging before start to the flowering time?

Bye and see you soon. Simone.

[Guest superbluehaze]

hi simone,

I veg my church for 8 weeks,

anywhere for 6 to 10 weeks is good;

take care,

john

[nirvana76 193]

Hello Super ..

What a beautiful and 'Your Church!!

Beautiful gems, well done!

I also have two churches that I am growing outdoors and now have about 5 weeks ofvegetables, and a 'more' than 70 centimeters, and the other 'left behind, a little' under-developed.

Anyway, I hope that in September there are some sunny days so 'the buds will swellwell, otherwise the end of the flowering phase' in a tent.

Hello, the next, Simo.

[Guest superbluehaze]

good luck with them, my friend.

the church is an excellent yielder.

take care, and thanks

john

[Guest delicious]

good good .... but what was the yield blue.... ( per plant )

[Guest superbluehaze]

hi delicious,

it was last year and i can not remember for sure but it was well over 5 onces a plant.

take care

john

[Guest delicious]

i would expect more from him ... n?h

[RIX 26]

Very nice and what you say about ghs is true,good genetics for a good price,I applaud that.

deliscous,there is many techniques and ways to create bigger yield with different cominations of nutes and it does some how deflect on quantity over quality,just because he thinks he got around 5 oz does not mean its not capable of 10+ and then there is the drying proces which I also applaud super for taking the time to explain,I most certainly go for as wet as possible as long as it smokes for cash crops but not for my self.