How should I harvest?

[darockard999]

Hi All,

This is my first post so let me start by thanking all the members for sharing their experiences. My plants have encountered their fair share of ordeals (from heat burn to thrip attacks and all kind of deficiencies) but have somehow made it to week 8 of flowering, and never would have come this far without all the information available on this site.

Just for the record, I have 4 NLs grown from Dutch feminized seeds (I forget the brand) in Biobizz Allmix soil using Biobizz organic nutrients. As I said it's been a bumpy ride but they are looking and smelling good now (I'll post some pics when everything's wrapped up and I'm feeling slightly less paranoid).

From reading grow logs I have seen that different people harvest in different ways. My question is this: what is the best way to harvest the most and the tastiest bud from my plants? I have heard of leaving them in the dark for a while before harvesting? how about cutting them: should i snip off each branch or the plant as a whole? And drying: do I want as much fresh air and drying time as possible or do I want to keep some moisture in the buds?

I just think that after so much effort they (and I) deserve to meet their full potential. Thanks to anyone who can help us!

Peace

[Lit Up]

The darkness method is up in the air, some ppl do it and others don't. Some folks will take the top half of the plant and then leave the bottom for another week or 2. Because sometimes the top will be ready but the lower buds still need some time. If you have a microscope, this is how to do it.

When I harvest, I usually cut the top cola at the point where the branches started growing out, then cut the branches off.

When drying, have a fan circulating air, but not directly on the buds, (blowing toward a corner or something. One tip that I just tried last round was when you hang your buds to dry take a razor and lightly shaved off the first layer of the stem, this will help cut drying time down. Dry until the branches "snap" when you bend them.

They may seem to be too dry when you are hanging them but when you put them into jars they will get moist again. So make sure them stems snap nice and good before you put them into jars. If they aren't fullly dry when you put them in then you have mold issues and curing will take longer also.

Hope this helps, I kind of half-assed it.

[darockard999]

Unfortunately I don't have a microscope...
It seems like my plants are maturing from the bottom-up so I'm just waiting for the top colas to look fully mature. I'm just trying to go off the pistils, they're about 30% brown on the bottom, working up to completely white on the top.

I was under the impression that it was better to hang the plants as a whole to dry to get the most resin out of them - is this complete fiction?
The razor technique sounds great, does anyone else have experience with this or have more info on the darkness method?

Again, thanks.

[wman44]

my first indoor grow was also NL.
it seemed like it took FOREVER to finish...like 90 days, i think it was because i didnt have my temps totally under control (getting too cold during the dark cycle). since you dont have a microscope i would suggest waiting until at least 95% of your pistils are brown or red. you will be highly disappointed if you cut too early........

[Revanche21]

Unfortunately I don't have a microscope...
It seems like my plants are maturing from the bottom-up so I'm just waiting for the top colas to look fully mature. I'm just trying to go off the pistils, they're about 30% brown on the bottom, working up to completely white on the top.

I was under the impression that it was better to hang the plants as a whole to dry to get the most resin out of them - is this complete fiction?
The razor technique sounds great, does anyone else have experience with this or have more info on the darkness method?

Again, thanks.

microscope is about 6$ at radioshack or somewhere similar

I would recommend you get one :) I have a thread devoted to the darkness period currently up

let me link you...
and here you go

http://boards.cannabis.com/advanced-techniques/166621-24-hour-dark-period-before-harvest.html

[darockard999]

Wman thankx for sharing the info. My first grow was White Pearl. The smoke was pretty sweet despite the plants having had a messy ride. This is my second and I've gone for NL cos the manufacturor said flowering time was 6 weeks... im nearing week 9 and they don't really look done despite some browning... Hope im not going for 90 days like you :S.
I'm not sure about waiting for 95% browning though as you say? Sounds a little too much, no? Is it not visible by eye when the trichomes are ambering?

Revanche thanx also for the info and the link. My problem is that even in your thread which tries to clear things up once and for all, there are mixed opinions. I might just try it considering there's not much to lose. Or maybe I'll do it for two of them and just cut the other two straight away to see if it makes a difference.

Can anyone tell whether its best to hang the entire plant up to dry or each individual branch? Again It's unclear from what I've read in the forum... Cheers!

[Dutch Pimp]

:)....http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-faqs/60954-drying-curing-your-buds.html

[httphonda]

^ I dont hang each branch or bud because that kind of a pain. Do you have some old magazines? I Put the buds on some magazines and put them in an old (clean) cedar shelves that my grandpa made back in the day. I leave the cabinets mostly open and put a fan on the outside. And whenever I'm down there I flip the buds. Wait until the stems snap like everyone said. Also i put them in some canning jars. But even then, you have to open the jars for about 10 min. every few hours. or about an hour a day for a couple days. When you open then to air out you'll see why, you can sometimes smell the moisture coming out of them. and that can equal mold.
hope that helps.