Knowing when to harvest

[mike024]

Hello Everyone!
It has been quite a while since ive been able to post anything on the forums here and I have to say its great seeing all the same die hard members that helped me get into this wonderful hobby just a year ago. GreenFog, Stinkyattic and everyone else I have to say thank you Its been a long interesting journey so far and Im back yet again for another peice of knowledge. I am very close to harvest on my latest grow and wondering if anyone has words of wisdom to share about when I should harvest...

I have studied plenty about trichomes and the clarity to determine when to harvest and think i have a pretty good understanding about it, correct me if im wrong please but im under the impression that the more clear trichs i have the lighter and uplifting the high will be and as they get more cloudy and amber the more "couch-lock" the high will be. Also I have some confusion about the plant producing "oils". Is there any set time in the plants life when it begins to produce oils or is it a slow process? Also am I risking the THC levels depleting if I wait longer to let the oils develop? Basically Im real close to my crop and want some suggestions on when I should cut the girls. Due to the size of my grow I have been reluctant to post any pics but I have one that I will put up for your critisism. Thanks again to all on this site you guys Fn Rock!! Look forward to hearing some replies!

[Dutch Pimp]

...follow the trichs....is my best advice.....(with a pocket microscope)

with that many plants...I recommend harvesting 1/3 early, 1/3 primetime and 1/3 late....but that's just me. Label them accordingly.

after drying...put the main colas in the bottom of glass quart jars, with smaller popcorn buds loosely on top, until full. You can mix the plants if you like or I like to keep them separate in their own jar. Looks like happy times ahead...enjoy...you lucky dawg.....:pimp:....

[ebsters]

i agree with dutch.


this way you can smoke and get 3 different types of high, all from the same plant.

If you only harvest once, wait till the trichs are about 75% amber.

[Tomthehippie]

yea i agree to! Great idea! :)

[oliwog]

id agree too that to with that many palns it would be best but otherwise do it when they are mostly all cloudy with a few trichs amber but it depends wot sort of high u want to id just do wot they say above

[BeforeYourTime]

i agree with dutch.


this way you can smoke and get 3 different types of high, all from the same plant.

If you only harvest once, wait till the trichs are about 75% amber.

Do Not harvest when 75% amber. That would be far too late and the THC would be degraded. I would suggest, if you harvest in 1 go, 10-20% amber.

[mike024]

I think there are benefits to harvesting both ways...with Dutch Pimps method I would be able to enjoy 3 different types of high all from the same plant so Im thinking Im gonna go thru and pull about 1/3 of the smaller more matured buds with more orange hairs and cloudy trichs then wait about 7-10 more days till the bigger colas get cloudy/amber and cut the rest. on the other hand Im wondering if it would be easier to hold off on all of it and wait for the bigger buds to get cloudy and the lower buds to be more mature still giving me 2 diff highs..hhmmmm Id like to use my room to dry/cure them in also since it is now completely odor free. Still cant beleive how good that scrubber works thanks for the suggestions everyone lemme know what u think of my plan!!!

[mike024]

also as far as waiting for 75% of the trichs to turn amber there maybe some confusion between the trichs method and the pistils method...I was told early on to wait until 75% of the hairs to turn orange/amber before harvesting but I agree with 75% of the trichs amber the THC levels would be greatly depleted. either way I appreciate the posts/feedback everyone!

[freewheelinfrank]

also as far as waiting for 75% of the trichs to turn amber there maybe some confusion between the trichs method and the pistils method...I was told early on to wait until 75% of the hairs to turn orange/amber before harvesting but I agree with 75% of the trichs amber the THC levels would be greatly depleted. either way I appreciate the posts/feedback everyone!

color of the 'hairs', means next-to-nothing - they will turn brown for a variety of reasons ... variances in genetics, temperature, humidity, etc - the only true way to know the THC/CBD progress of your plant is to check the trichomes - amber trichs are telling you the THC has degraded, and your resulting CBD levels will make the smoke 'couchlock' in effect - 'cloudy' trichs indicate prime-potency for the THC :jointsmile:

[Tomthehippie]

I agree again! :)

[TheGreenFog]

Looks like you got the answers you needed. Just stopped in to say NICE freaking plants, Mike. Nice set up. That looks like a couple elbows for sure. Would love to see some harvest pics. Be cool, buddy.

Hey, did you run into any problems during your grow? If so, care to share them with us so that we may glean a little something from the mistakes of others. That's what helps us learn, eh? ;)


The Fog :rastasmoke:

[Dutch Pimp]

I think there are benefits to harvesting both ways...with Dutch Pimps method I would be able to enjoy 3 different types of high all from the same plant so Im thinking Im gonna go thru and pull about 1/3 of the smaller more matured buds with more orange hairs and cloudy trichs then wait about 7-10 more days till the bigger colas get cloudy/amber and cut the rest. on the other hand Im wondering if it would be easier to hold off on all of it and wait for the bigger buds to get cloudy and the lower buds to be more mature still giving me 2 diff highs..hhmmmm Id like to use my room to dry/cure them in also since it is now completely odor free. Still cant beleive how good that scrubber works thanks for the suggestions everyone lemme know what u think of my plan!!!

...some confusion here...

when I say harvest 1/3 early...that means one whole plant.

if you had nine plants...harvest 3 plants early, 3 plants primetime, 3 plants late....comprende?

follow the trichomes....:thumbsup:...

[mike024]

oh yea dutch pimp i understand ur method and I think its a great idea...If I can make it happen that way Im going to go for it because I think it will be nice to have 3 diff kinds of bud to enjoy, my only concern is if I cut 10 plants (1/3) I will have to dry them in some kind of box and I hate doing that because there isnt enough airflow and it makes the room i do it in stink worse than the whole grow so theres just some logistics i need to work out with that im with ya 100% when u say follow the trichs buddy.

GreenFog, I ran into a couple different issues as i went along mainly because this is only my second grow with this system and the largest ive done ever yet. Any problems I ran into i have to say were caused by me and $$ restraints. I intended on doing 36 plants in a 4x4 ebb and flow table and forcing flower a day or 2 after I transplanted keeping the plants short with one main cola....my stoned ass never made sure I flipped the switch on my timer to the timed intervals rather than 24hr...so I ended up with 9 days of veg which forced me into a height problem. it also became apparent that 1000 watts stationary was not going to cover 36 girls so i scrambled for another light and then halfway thru flower got my hands on a light mover (a must have for any larger grow)...other than that the only other issue i had was that i overfed them...i know its terrrible but my stupid tds meter was off by 550ppm!! and i had no clue until someone said hey whens the last time u calibrated that thing? overall i am very happy with the ease of use in the ebb and flow table and now i have learned some very small but very key points to watch out for going forward. Im just glad i didnt do any serious damage to the girls and hopefully harvest will be a beautiful thing for me, Ill def put up a couple pix of the girls drying just cuz i love seeing that lol thanks again for postin to the thread everyone i really appreciate it!!