When to Harvest

[GigZ-16]

When to Harvest
by: GigZ-16

When to Flower

When and how you harvest your female cannabis buds determines the taste, smoothness and type of high you get out of the final product. Harvesting should be done at the time when the plant is it's most ripe. The window for harvest begins as soon as the plant has ripened fully and it ends after two weeks when the plant becomes over ripe. If your harvest your plant around the beginning of the window for harvest the bud will produce more of a head high, while harvesting at the end of the window for harvest produces a body high. A head high is more of an upper psychedelic high, while a body high is more narcotic-like couch-lock. Also, a Sativa produces more of a head high and Indica produces more of a body high. Take this into consideration when deciding what strains to grow and when to harvest. For instance if you like a strong depressant type high grow an indica and harvest late. If you want a trippy high grow a sativa and harvest early.
Knowing when to harvest is essential in producing the plants maximum yield. Buying seeds online and knowing the strain is helpful as it tells you the strains flowering time. If you are growing from bag seed and dont know the strain, you can tell by the leaves of the plant if it is more indica or more sativa and estimate the time. You can harvest when the calyxes swell and 75% of the pistils have gone from white to reddish-brown, or by watching the maturity of the thricomes.
Trichomes are tiny glandular stalked growths that begin growing in the third or fourth week of the flowering stage. They grow on the surfaces of leaves, flowers, bracts and stems. They cannot be seen with the naked eye, only with something like a pocket microscope(very cheap). Trichomes hold resin, which is why bud is sticky. When trichomes first develop on Cannabis they are clear. As soon as they begin to turn milky is when the window for harvest begins and the bud possesses the head high. The last stage of amber trichomes is the end of the window and possesses the body high.


as always, if anyone has anything to add, just post it and I'll add it.

Hope I helped someone.

[Zeeb]

I'm growing some bag seed, they are about 15 days old, when is the soonest that I can flower them? I'm def not looking for a max yield but I want to smoke something that I made.

[smashio]

you can induce flowering at anytime bro

[TToken]

when it puts the lotion on the skin

[Zeeb]

Originally Posted by smashio

you can induce flowering at anytime bro

Well I want some yield.

[smashio]

dude, you will get a yield 12/12 from seed...look it up on the forum.

[Zeeb]

Really? Could I get a link please?

[Zeeb]

Ok I found some guides, quick question about transferring plants though, should I water them right after transfer? I watered them like yesterday.

[Boogy Blunt]

what about if you grow an indica and harvest early? would it be kinda a combination head-body high?

[GigZ-16]

Originally Posted by Boogy Blunt

what about if you grow an indica and harvest early? would it be kinda a combination head-body high?

Yeah you would get an in between mix high.

[GigZ-16]

Originally Posted by Zeeb

I'm growing some bag seed, they are about 15 days old, when is the soonest that I can flower them? I'm def not looking for a max yield but I want to smoke something that I made.

I would wait for like their 30th or 40th day at least.

[GigZ-16]

[RichardDean]

this is straight from Mandala Mike's website and he knows his shit!!!!!

• How can I tell when to harvest?
The general consensus among growers is that the trichomes don't have to be clear, cloudy or amber in a certain percentage to be ready for harvest. You just have to go on your personal choice of more amber if you require a more couch lock stone, or more clear and cloudy if you require a more heady high. The trichomes are one indication, but even more importantly is watching the flowering growth. Once it makes a significant drop it's time to start harvesting the ripest looking buds/plants. Our harvest dates are a good milestone.
Clones tend to ripen faster than seed plants.
Sativas like Satori and Kalichakra can ripen from top to bottom; the flowering parts closer to the light source will be riper than those in the shade for example. Consider harvesting the tops in that case, and letting the light pass through to the other buds so that they can catch up. In progressive harvesting don't wait too long to start with the first batch of harvested buds. If a strain such as Kalichakra has a max. 75 day flowering period you need to deduct at least 5-6 days from this period for the start of your harvest, so that the bottom shoots have time to catch up and are still harvested within the preferred time frame for best THC levels.
We go by bud growth since our strains retain clear/cloudy trichs far into flowering. Our preference is to harvest before flowering comes to a dead end... as in no fresh pistils at all. This retains the balanced high and max. potency.