Wierd but I was considering taking the bottom and letting the top colas ripen a bit. It seems it looks more ripe the farther it is from the light! # of orange hairs are increasing from bottom to top while Im flushing and the leaves are yellowing from top to bottom. I concluded that i will just hack it all down at once.
They say indoor plants finish from the bottom up, and outdoor opposite, but in my experience, it is strain dependent. I only take the main cola off a few different strains, usually I take the whole plant at once. Actually, to get more detailed, I go in and take all the shade leafs off while the plants are still alive in there pots, then the next day start harvesting. This helps in two ways, all the shade leafs go into a separate bag to dry. These get used for cooking. Then all the bud trim goes into another "brown paper bag" and that gets used to make oil. The second reason I do that is because I find that it makes trimming so much easier when you only have to trim the bud leafs. Some people say trimming your plant like that also puts it into overdrive so it pushes hard to produce resin during it last day....I don't know about that..But I like the process..Also some people like to not water there plant during its final days, and dry the medium out. I would think this technique would work well in high humidity areas, were mold is a concern, but, some people even say this helps to make the plant go into overdrive also....To each his own I guess. Like I said, I just think my way makes the harvest run smoother... You have made many good decisions so far, so I am not worried that you will figure out what works for you..GL