Tangerine Dream Advice

I'm a first time grower and bought 2 Tangerine Dream which I'm growing outdoors. Found when new to this, there is so much advice and ya, it gets crazy trying figure out what will work best. I decided to use instinct and I think I'm doing okay so far.
I have to admit that I'm illiterate in marijuana language so hopefully you all can bear with me. My 2 plants are in their 9th week of flowering. I've had no problems with mold, disease or pests. They smell like heaven!
I trimmed much of the big leaves and also found that the plants are very sticky. Hope that's good. I took a few photos of the very tops of the plants and am hoping that someone can help me out and let me know if they look healthy and how long do you all think until I can harvest? We're having a lot of rain and wind but it hasn't affected them. The last photo I attached is one of the very bottom of one of the plants. Those bunches where I directed the red arrows at, will they gather together at some point?
Thank you for any advice.

Why did you trim the leaves?

I can tell by your question is was not the right thing to do. And, this is why I came here. I was doing some research and I kept coming across growers that did this.
One of the main reasons I did it is because I knew I may be forced to harvest soon as frost is coming into our forecast and I was worried about the lower buds because they were completely shaded by all the leaves. I also read that removal was good to prevent mould at this point and that actively growing leaves use energy from other parts of the plant to fuel their development.
I then went to read that many had done this and gotten a bigger yield. Also, I wanted to direct more airflow to the middle and bottom of the plants.

Looking at my photos, did I do any damage and if you could let me know, do the plants in my photos look as they should.
Thank you in advance for any advice. It's really appreciated.

I doubt you are going to have time for them to finish given your location
You have weeks to go and pretty much destroyed those plants(i do that at the moment I harvest)

It's all a learning experience and the internet has more info then a Hydro stores newest brainiac

What if I harvested them today??? Will I be able to save something? Also, are you saying all the buds are just no good?
Do you see any redeeming qualities?

EllaGreen said:

What if I harvested them today??? Will I be able to save something? Also, are you saying all the buds are just no good?

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It isn't "no good"
It isn't close to its potential
Why are you harvesting so soon?
I have been pounded with rain and cold for weeks
Pulled down a few molded branches but I plan to go as long as possible
Ultimately we are just going to kill them
You'll realize the shrinkage when you dry

Leaves are what the plant uses to collect solar energy. They fuel the plant. Removing them before they have done their work {and turn yellow} is just costing you yield. When they turn yellow, then brown, by all means pluck them off. Wet dead leaves does make it easier for rot to take root.

Just keep an eye out for mold and rot. Snip away any bad buds you see. Take them as far as you can. Each week the yield and the high will improve.

Good luck.

too larry said:

Leaves are what the plant uses to collect solar energy. They fuel the plant. Removing them before they have done their work {and turn yellow} is just costing you yield. When they turn yellow, then brown, by all means pluck them off. Wet dead leaves does make it easier for rot to take root.

Just keep an eye out for mold and rot. Snip away any bad buds you see. Take them as far as you can. Each week the yield and the high will improve.

Good luck.

Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your advice.

Herb & Suds said:

It isn't "no good"
It isn't close to its potential
Why are you harvesting so soon?
I have been pounded with rain and cold for weeks
Pulled down a few molded branches but I plan to go as long as possible
Ultimately we are just going to kill them
You'll realize the shrinkage when you dry

Click to expand...

I guess I just learned the hard way. Hopefully, there will be something to smoke even it's a very small yield. Thank you for advice.

If you hang out here and recognize the true helpers on this forum, you will learn more than you can imagine.

But in the future...no more total trimming of leaves. Energy = maximum yield, and leaves store that required energy for later use.

Learning is as fun as you make it. Once you get your groove, it will be second nature.

I did the exact thing on my outdoor grow last year lol. We all have to learn at some point. Tip for next time - low stress training (LST) i.e bending and tying branches down so that they grow outwards and more flat. So then most of your branches have maximum exposure to sunlight without covering the others with their leaves. Happy growing! That bud will still be decent to smoke just not what it could have been. Those could have done with another 2 weeks or so

I've only grown indoors, hydro for years. I had 4 clones left over this year and decided to try them in soil outdoors. A lot of indoor growers trim big fan leaves to let light infiltrate to the lower buds. What I've learned this year with the outdoor grow is that the big orange ball in the sky is WAAAAYYYY stronger than my 1000w HPS so there's no need to trim fan leaves out doors until they are dying. The lower level buds still get plenty of light and as BrewersToker mentioned above, those fan leaves are like factories that produce what the plants need to grow and thrive. No biggie, you'll learn more as you go.

LST/tying/topping/FIM'ing are good ways to increase the yield. You can search those topics on this forum and learn about them so I won't bother trying to type all of that here.

FWIW Your buds look really great, and if they aren't dispensary quality who cares? It seems like you've had fun and are learning and interested in your new hobby. Besides, home-grown is always best!! You deserve applause for doing so well on your first attempt. My first attempt was crap compared to what you have. GOOD JOB!!

Get a small handheld microscope and learn how to judge your trichomes to know when to harvest. I've bought 2 of these cheapo's and have been perfectly happy with them: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005N08NXI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

In the event you haven't harvested maybe you can leave them alone and do a basic plastic sheeting cover to protect them from frost. I'm doing that today and adding some fans to circulate air to prevent them freezing overnight. Again, search those topics on this forum to learn from more experienced growers than I.

I'm learning about auto-flowering plants which are fairly easy to obtain. If you live in a colder climate and want to grow outdoors it may be helpful to try your hand at those next year. Again, plenty more info available on this forum than I could possibly impart here.

If you want to check out my outdoor grow you can find it here. https://www.rollitup.org/t/virgin-to-soil-and-outdoor-any-advice-is-welcome.997785/

Have a great day and best wishes!