harvets...day or night?

Does it make a difference whether you harvest during the light hours or the dark hours? If so, why?

I don't think it matters but I think I have heard somewhere that in the morning the plant is at it's peak. I'm not too sure on that though. Some people also give a 48hr dark period before chopping. I don't know if there is actually a benefit in doing so but hey go for it.

Does anyone know if its true that theres a 'peak' time when its best to harvest your plants? Im outside so i cant give it 48hrs of darkness..too risky..

Thanks for the reply...mine is also outdoors so a dark period of 48 hrs is kind of out of the question, but ill remember that for my indoors this winter.....

they say the plant has the highest resin content/thc in the morning right after they wake up.. this is just what ive read from searching through these forums but i plan on in 3 weeks when the crop is done, flushing for 2 weeks then darkness for 48hrs then will wake them up at regular 7pm for harvest..

This is a post that I made a while back. Hope it answers your question: "I read a lot of stuff on harvesting before I cut my first girl down, and here's what I learned. Whether it's nonsense or not, it worked out good for me. Plants do all their work at night after storing up the suns energy all day. All the chemicals and sugars and stuff come out of the roots and travel up into the plant at night. When the sun comes up in the morning, everything goes back into the roots. So I always cut the whole thing down right at the base, and right before the lights come on, trapping all the good stuff in the plant. This makes sense to me because even after you cut it down, the plant doesn't know it's been cut and is still continues to process the sugars and whatever else it does. After cutting it down, I hang it upside down and completely manicure it. I hang it upside down because it's easier to clean that way, and for that reason only. Keep your dry space cool(inthe 70's) and keep the humidity down. I have a fan circulate the air, but not blowing directly on the plant. You don't want to dry it out too fast. When the stems break, not bend, cut the buds off and cure them. I've heard the longer you cure the better, but I cure mine for a month or so. Like I said before, this is just how I do it and it worked perfectly every time. Good Luck!"

Thanks man, that did help a lot....but that brought up one more question. When i snip the plant, can i just snip the buds right away and hang them individualy, or are you supposed to let the plant in its entirety hang?

Read my last post more closely. Many ppl do cut the branches off individually, I don't because of the reasons I explained above.

alright, thanks for the advice man.

I have read that they stop watering before they take it. Being you want the plant on the dry side.Then just chop the stem. But I don't take those small buds I leave them and then put the whole thing back into veg and it works great. Then you hang the plant for 2 days in the dark, until the stem snaps, I personally dry it for 7 days then put it in ball jars to cure for about a month, I keep opening the lids so they get plenty of fresh air. I then pump out all the air and keep it closed for as long as I can, but I must admit I open them frequently because I love the smell.Don't over stuff you jars. That all being said I have no idea why people do it in the dark but they do, maybe some one can answer that. Maybe it's because thats when the plant is already done all the work for the day and it's resting? LOL

I agree with Antman that it is best to harvest at dawn (I do it at 5;45 am) but I've been trimming branches top down just so I can get more light to the lower branches and let those buds fatten up. Plus, I have 2 strains growing. A Northern Lights cross which is maturing now and a Great White x Skunk #1 that is sitting behind it and needs a few weeks more. BTW, the NL buds I've harvested and hung to cure are averaging 22 grams dried but not jarred. So far I've cut 14 with half the crop to go. I can't wait until the GW x Skunk is ready since I have twice as many plants.