The first of my plants was ready to harvest this morning. Now for the hard part, waiting another 4-6 weeks before I can try it out.
Autoflower Hindu Kush from Sensei Seeds. They may be feminized. (i got 3/3 females, but that could’ve been luck.) I’m really bad at this sort of thing, but the main terpene i was picking up was grape? Like similar to dimetapp the grape flavored kids cough syrup. Will update if/how it changes through the dry and cure.
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Congrats that looks like super delicious herb 
Very well done 
I would recommend not letting the fan blow directly on the bud
If you can measure air humidity, it can help 55-65 % is recommended. The only real danger is mold. If to dry you just loose some terps
In the beginning the smell turns to more fresh cut lawn like and then they slowly come back to their good smell, but the really good qualitys comes with the curing
Pack them in glass jars or similar a bit before they’re dry and then burp them( open the jars couple times a day for like 5-10 min a day for the first 1-2 weeks and then more time between each burping session week 2-3 you can go down to 2-3 times a week as long as the moisture allows it. If the fresh cut lawn smell comes back they’re too wet and you need to burp longer and more often
After some weeks you will have a moisture stable product which mean the moisture is the same inside and outside the flower.
Do not let them get too dry as it will degrade the quality significantly.
You have to be on top of the moisture managment and your budz can be very high quality super smooth smoke
A good cure can really make it or break it
Feel free to ask if you need help and i would bet there is some experts in here that can explain this more in detail
I’m just a home grower
Best of luck
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Oh and i forgot to say dry them in the dark, you probably already know this
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I actually did not know that. Thanks for the tip. I’ll have to move them to a closet or something because I still have 7 other plants that aren’t quite there yet.
I’ve heard that a longer cure leads to a smoother smoke, and that you can cure for up to a year. Is there an “ideal” cure time? I’m assuming that as you cure for longer and longer you’re eventually going to reach a point of diminishing returns.
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In my experience there is a big diff amongst cultivars, some superstrong oily candy strains with strong fresh smells (i don’t know the sciense behind what makes em diff) but they can often go very long and again in my opinion need at least two month cure before the are at their full effect and smooth comfortable smoke
While others diminish very fast, often cultivars with less oil and milder smell, 2 week cure and they don’t get more full effect
However the very long cure brings on diff effects that in my older days I’ve learnt to appreciate more, they get nicer and smoother as long as you can maintain the right moisture and keep the gass/smell in there, if the jar get opened too much or you take out too much bud and there is too much air in the jar they will also loose their goodness
For pain meds i like to keep some not more than 2-3 weeks cure before i put them in the freezer, so i can have more hard hitting herb, i also like concentrates made before a very long cure and then rather cure the concentrate itself longer
And cold temp is key to saving terps, if you let them store in a room with 25 or more degrees they will loose some and degrade faster
I like to store them in the fridge and not take them out too long, if you live in a warm climate this might be the place to cure and store if you don’t have an constantly air conditioned room
Remember use your nose, you will develop it along with your grows, every time you will have a better feeling for things, there is a lot of focus on science and it can def be helpful but there was amazing herb around before any scientist touched herb. In my opinion in the legal market i have encountered the quality is nowhere near the specialized product you can learn to make yourself
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What signs should I look/smell/feel for too know if they’re fully cured?
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There ya go. On your way to a wonderful hobby!
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The most important is to just get rid of that freshly cut lawn smell it will diminish as the good smells develop
If you go to far too hot or too dry they will develop more of a hay smell
Usually in 2 weeks cure you wil be there
Some strains can come back to the smell you smelled in the end when before they got harvested and some strains change a lot depending on what terps are there
Some
There can be pretty big diff even amongst diff phenotypes within the same strain
Some terpenes also carries on to the taste and smell when smoking em
Does the joint taste good only the first few puffs or does it taste good all the way to your lips burning and that right there is top notch joint material for ya
I’m sure your bud is gonna be very good no matter what
And nothing beats smoking your own grown weed
Enjoy and be happy that you got there
You already have a product that is unique to your way of growing with your signature on it
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They should not crumble to dust and not be wet so the stem bends, one of the signs to look for is that the stems should start to be a lill crispy but not dry before you start curing
There are also helpful things like boveda moisture controll packs that helps keeps your weed at the right moisture content but i have never used em myself so I can’t tell you how good they are
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Enjoy it ! Its a nice memory the first harvest
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I’m honestly so excited. It’s gonna be rough waiting another 4-6 weeks before I get to try it for the first time.
Boveda packs were mentioned which got me doing a bit of research. Had anyone tried a humidor for curing/storage?
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You mean the one for cigars?
I have heard people using it but for me if thinking about optimum it’s a lill too high temp, unless you can find one that you can set temp to under 20C and lower humidity as well 70% humidity will mold your budz
If you find one made for cannabis, sure
I haven’t tried one though
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congrats on first chop 
and may you have many more 
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Autoflower Hindu Kush from Sensei Seeds.
Watermelon Runtz. An Indica dominant hybrid. My wife and I got a great deal on a few oz’s. Turns out it was so cheap because of all the seeds, so we decided to run a few.
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Nice 
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Everything you’re saying mirrors my own experience over the last two years @Nevlu
What I can say is that real-world experience is the best teacher; I spent countless hours doomscrolling through forums and sites about every little thing… in the end, I had 88–92% humidity in the tent—with three plants in 12L fabric pots—for a day and a half or two days after watering, without a single trace of mold, terpene loss, or anything like that. I stressed myself out for absolutely nothing, lol. And for anyone who might run into issues with having just one tent and staggered harvest times: here’s a tip—connect a sufficiently large cardboard box to the tent’s intake vent using an air duct and use that box for drying.
Up until now, I’ve done my curing using jars, Boveda packs, and small hygrometers, and I have to say that after a year of curing, the Biodiesel Mass is perfect in every way 
This year, I decided to try Grove Bags, and so far, it’s looking great.
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Thats a good idea with the box if space is limited. I thought of making an intake filter for dust this way, but could be used as a dryer as well just have a screen or filter on the intake to the box so it doesnt suck dust into the budz
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The cardboard box is super clever. I’m with you on the “real world experience being the best teacher.” It’s difficult to get out of the mindset of trying to do everything perfect, but I’m starting to realize that a bad harvest isn’t the end of the world.
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