Anyone know a good time to harvest?

L

lawngnome420

Member
i currently have 2 outdoor plants. i was wondering if there is a way to tell when there done besides with a microscope. any advice greatly appreciated. happy smoking :bigjoint:
 
Mazar i Shariff

Mazar i Shariff

Active Member
As buds develop, white hairs start to cluster out of the pistols. One very obvious sign that the buds are approaching maturation is the hairs on the plant changing from white to red/orange/brown. If your buds still have a bunch of white hairs, then you're prob talking mid October with another 2 weeks left to go. If your hairs have all changed color, try to pull out a magnifying glass or something so you can really get a good closeup look at the trichomes and see if they are changing at all. A plant that is not finished will have healthy, clear trichomes standing up. You can begin pulling as 60% of the trichs all over the plant develop the same uniform trait. 40% clear, 60% cloudy means you can start pulling and you will be pulling the plant at about it's highest THC content. This will continue over the next few days to a week, with more & more clouding up. From here if you choose to continue, your trichomes will now start to change amber colored and shrivel up a bit more. This is a sign that your THC levels are starting to convert to higher levels of CBN/CBD, and if you pull at this point you are now going to get a more intense body high, couch-lock. Pulling when the trichs are amber should also mean that the hairs on your buds are now very dark brown/red.

It's up to you what type of high you want to achieve. If you do go for the amber couch-lock, you will get a slightly higher yield too as they will continue to swell a bit more. But in my opinion, I like a clear, energetic head high, so I'd weight the risk/reward on stoniness/yield and prob end up pulling when the trichs are 60-70% cloudy.

Another sign the plant can show that it's naturally ending it's flower cycle, is you will notice it start to lose a lot of it's fan leaves, as it will be using them in the final stages for extra nutrients/carbos to plump up the buds.

Hope this helps!
 
L

lawngnome420

Member
thank you very much guys. this is very helpful. tops are turning like a purple color. few hairs are changing and alot of white on lower buds. 2 weeks u say??
 
L

lawngnome420

Member
when u say mid october with 2 weeks to go do you mean harvest in 2 weeks. or ill have another 2 weeks after mid oct. thanks
 
Mazar i Shariff

Mazar i Shariff

Active Member
lawngnome420 said:
when u say mid october with 2 weeks to go do you mean harvest in 2 weeks. or ill have another 2 weeks after mid oct. thanks
Click to expand...
You have another 2 weeks before you want to pull them is what I was saying. If you want, you can do one or two more feeds, however, stay away from using any slow release nutes, and if you do feed, focus more on phosphorus, potassium, and carbohydrates such as molasses, sweet, bud candy, or one of the many others ... If you feel you're all good on feeding and want to have some really tasty smoke, then it is highly recommended that you cut off nutes completely and give your plants WATER ONLY as a means to flush them. What will start to happen is they will start feeding on the remaining nutes available to them in the soil, and as those are depleted, it will begin eating at it's own fan leaves and yellowing off. This is a very natural process, and what you are seeing is the plant eating at it's nutrient, carbo, & chlorophyll stores so that it can finish adding it's last bit of weight & potency, all the same, using all those final nutes will reduce the chemical concentration within the plant and thus, increase the aroma & flavor of your buds. Just be sure to pull out a magnifying glass if you have one and get a good focused look at the thrichomes on buds from top to bottom. If 60% of the nugs you inspect show a specific trait, then you can take that 60% as a reading for the current condition of the trichs on your plant. 60% clear will still be more of an energetic head high, esp if your plant has sativa genetics. 60% cloudy will be a good balance of head & body high. 60% amber and you will be talking about a very stony, couch-lock high. Anything past 60% amber and you can be at potential risk of leaving your plant too long and THC/CBN/CBD levels actually start to DEGRADE. So again, be safe by checking it out upclose yourself. We can only tell you so much on here.

If you want additional advise, I'd suggest posting pictures with bud closeups, as that will give us a better idea of what you are looking at
 
L

lawngnome420

Member
thank you mazar you r very helpful. but now im in a predicament. my plant is being weighed down by its buds and is nearly sideways on the ground. should i cut my losses and just pull it now and save the risk of mites or disease?
 
someone else

someone else

Active Member
Mazar i Shariff said:
As buds develop, white hairs start to cluster out of the pistols. One very obvious sign that the buds are approaching maturation is the hairs on the plant changing from white to red/orange/brown. If your buds still have a bunch of white hairs, then you're prob talking mid October with another 2 weeks left to go. If your hairs have all changed color, try to pull out a magnifying glass or something so you can really get a good closeup look at the trichomes and see if they are changing at all. A plant that is not finished will have healthy, clear trichomes standing up. You can begin pulling as 60% of the trichs all over the plant develop the same uniform trait. 40% clear, 60% cloudy means you can start pulling and you will be pulling the plant at about it's highest THC content. This will continue over the next few days to a week, with more & more clouding up. From here if you choose to continue, your trichomes will now start to change amber colored and shrivel up a bit more. This is a sign that your THC levels are starting to convert to higher levels of CBN/CBD, and if you pull at this point you are now going to get a more intense body high, couch-lock. Pulling when the trichs are amber should also mean that the hairs on your buds are now very dark brown/red.

It's up to you what type of high you want to achieve. If you do go for the amber couch-lock, you will get a slightly higher yield too as they will continue to swell a bit more. But in my opinion, I like a clear, energetic head high, so I'd weight the risk/reward on stoniness/yield and prob end up pulling when the trichs are 60-70% cloudy.

Another sign the plant can show that it's naturally ending it's flower cycle, is you will notice it start to lose a lot of it's fan leaves, as it will be using them in the final stages for extra nutrients/carbos to plump up the buds.

Hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Mazar i Shariff said:
You have another 2 weeks before you want to pull them is what I was saying. If you want, you can do one or two more feeds, however, stay away from using any slow release nutes, and if you do feed, focus more on phosphorus, potassium, and carbohydrates such as molasses, sweet, bud candy, or one of the many others ... If you feel you're all good on feeding and want to have some really tasty smoke, then it is highly recommended that you cut off nutes completely and give your plants WATER ONLY as a means to flush them. What will start to happen is they will start feeding on the remaining nutes available to them in the soil, and as those are depleted, it will begin eating at it's own fan leaves and yellowing off. This is a very natural process, and what you are seeing is the plant eating at it's nutrient, carbo, & chlorophyll stores so that it can finish adding it's last bit of weight & potency, all the same, using all those final nutes will reduce the chemical concentration within the plant and thus, increase the aroma & flavor of your buds. Just be sure to pull out a magnifying glass if you have one and get a good focused look at the thrichomes on buds from top to bottom. If 60% of the nugs you inspect show a specific trait, then you can take that 60% as a reading for the current condition of the trichs on your plant. 60% clear will still be more of an energetic head high, esp if your plant has sativa genetics. 60% cloudy will be a good balance of head & body high. 60% amber and you will be talking about a very stony, couch-lock high. Anything past 60% amber and you can be at potential risk of leaving your plant too long and THC/CBN/CBD levels actually start to DEGRADE. So again, be safe by checking it out upclose yourself. We can only tell you so much on here.

If you want additional advise, I'd suggest posting pictures with bud closeups, as that will give us a better idea of what you are looking at
Click to expand...
Two of the best responses to a post I've seen today. The day is still young though. :-)

+rep!
 
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