Question about chopping/drying & absence of 7 days

[WhiteWidower]

Since I have come out of lurking, and made my first post, I now feel the urge to post many more posts!

I have several questions: in December I have to leave my house for exactly 7 days. I am planning the 12/12 flowering of my White Widows to begin 11th of October and continue until 11th of December - i.e. 2 months or approx. 8 weeks.

QUESTIONS: if I must leave, can I chop the plants on that morning and let dry for a week, and will they be ok? Should I leave them hanging in dark room or room with light (i.e what is best way to prevent mold)?

Experienced answers will be be appreciated so I don't lose this crop.

 

[bombbudpuffa]

if I must leave, can I chop the plants on that morning and let dry for a week, and will they be ok?

yes and yes.

Should I leave them hanging in dark room or room with light (i.e what is best way to prevent mold)?

Dry them in a dark room with plenty of air circulation(fan). To help battle mold keep the temps higher.

 

[Runbyhemp]

QUESTIONS: if I must leave, can I chop the plants on that morning and let dry for a week, and will they be ok? Should I leave them hanging in dark room or room with light (i.e what is best way to prevent mold)?

I hang my buds in a dark room (light degrades THC). I make sure to keep the humidity below 45 % and temps around 80 F. Too much heat will degrade THC and causes the outside of the bud to dry too quickly. I also make sure they get plenty of fresh air.

If you could maintain these conditions for a week, the bud would be ready to jar and cure by the time you get back.

 

[Runbyhemp]

Sorry, musta been replying at the same time as bombbudpuffa.

 

[WhiteWidower]

I can't leave anything electrical running for 7 days - I am afraid of fire hazards, shorts, sparks, motors dying and overheating, etc.

In December it is cold where I live, approaching close to freezing, and about once per year will dip below freezing - so I can't keep the temperatures up high.

Will my harvested bud rot here with no circulation? Doesn't darkness increase manifestation of mold?

 

[Muddy Paws]

You should leave AT LEAST a fan going.

It's hard to speculate on what would happen with your buds; they are more likely mold without air circulation. The low temps make that unlikely.

I think your problem will be with them freezing before they are dry; I don't know if this will hurt it or not.

Best option is to just use a small space heater with a power strip; they are relatively safe, more so with proper precautions (stable surface, dry area, no combustibles nearby-weed excepted) and they will circulate the air a bit.

 

[bombbudpuffa]

Mold likes cool, wet, dark climates. If you hang your plants in the dark without proper air circulation you are increasing the chances of mold.

 

[HippyInEngland]

Quick dry it is an option.

 

[WhiteWidower]

...I don't know what to do - though I have time to figure something out in next two months. I can't leave any electricity going because I am too concernred of possibility of electric shorts / motor overheats, etc. and no one around to put out the fire.

What about if I leave the bud near a window sill in a paperbag with holes in it? Would the air from the breeze be ok for circulation?

I would hate to have to harvest a week early just to make certain that I could dry properly before I leave. And I would hate more to harvest and leave the bud where it could mold up and ruin.

 

[WhiteWidower]

ok, so I was thinking:

what if I allow my plants to veg an extra week to the 18th of October and then instead of cutting them down on 11th of December allow them to sit in my room near the window sill facing south (in N. Hemisphere = direction of sun) and the indirect sunlight through the shower-like-fog-not-see-clearly-through-glass window will allow a bit of natural light in its last week while I am gone, and then chop them when I return.

Since it would be winter I don't think they would require much water during this last week with the weak light on them, and I would water them and fill their trays the morning I leave.

What do you think?

 

[bombbudpuffa]

Sounds like a plan.

 

[WhiteWidower]

Sounds like a plan.

Does this mean you think it will not have detrimental effect? i.e. from experience? or are you just encouraging an idea that you have not yet tried?

 

[bombbudpuffa]

are you just encouraging an idea that you have not yet tried?

Exactly. Have you checked your triches btw? Do you know for sure when they need to come down?

 

[WhiteWidower]

Exactly means what exactly?

The plants are still in veg 24 / 0 light, sunlight + MH at night, so no trichs yet. Though the fimming I did on one of the plants left my fingers sticky after chopping off that top. So sticky so early?! Yes!

And one of the plants not yet topped or fimmed is smelling so pungent! I hope she is a girl.

 

[bombbudpuffa]

Exactly means what exactly?

Reread your first post...sorry. You can check the trichomes, or resin heads, to check how far away harvest is when you have buds lol. Cloudy trichomes give you a uppy, heady high and amber give you a more narcotic buzz. You can check them with a pocket microscope from radio shack.

 

[WhiteWidower]

Still don't understand what you mean by EXACTLY?

You quote the following and then say exactly:

are you just encouraging an idea that you have not yet tried?

So are you just telling me to do something you have not tried yourself? If so, this is not very nice.

 

[bombbudpuffa]

are you just telling me to do something you have not tried yourself?

Let me try to help you understand why i'm suggesting you do something I haven't. You asked

if I must leave, can I chop the plants on that morning and let dry for a week, and will they be ok? Should I leave them hanging in dark room or room with light

I said yes but you need circulation not just stagnant air and so did a few other members. You said.

I can't leave anything electrical running for 7 days - I am afraid of fire hazards, shorts, sparks, motors dying and overheating, etc.

Someone suggested quick dry but you never responded. I guessed you didn't want to quick dry. You said.

I would hate to have to harvest a week early just to make certain that I could dry properly before I leave. And I would hate more to harvest and leave the bud where it could mold up and ruin.

You then suggested.

what if I allow my plants to veg an extra week to the 18th of October and then instead of cutting them down on 11th of December allow them to sit in my room near the window sill facing south (in N. Hemisphere = direction of sun) and the indirect sunlight through the shower-like-fog-not-see-clearly-through-glass window will allow a bit of natural light in its last week while I am gone, and then chop them when I return.

Now, you don't want to leave them in a dark room with a fan because of the chance of fire and you don't want to leave them in the dark without a fan because of chance of mold. Seems like, imo, your last suggestion would be your best option then. I don't see how it could hurt them letting them get natural sunlight through a window the last week before harvest. Wasn't trying to be mean.

 

[WhiteWidower]

okie dokie, mr. tokey / mr. smokey!

thanks for your kind advice.

 

[WhiteWidower]

...just to clarify, the plants won't get direct sunlight. They would get indirect light, e.g. the light you get in a lit room, but not the rays of the sunshine. Does this change your opinion about whether this is good idea?

 

[HippyInEngland]

Still don't understand what you mean by EXACTLY?

You quote the following and then say exactly:

are you just encouraging an idea that you have not yet tried?

So are you just telling me to do something you have not tried yourself? If so, this is not very nice.

BBP is a highly respected member here, if BBP gives you advice on your problem, then it is advice well worth contemplating.