In between the rolling eyes, shaking heads and chuckles that I'm sure this post will bring, I'm hoping that I can get some advice about my first plant, and when I should harvest it. Here's what I can tell you about this, my first plant: It's a Mongolian Kush that was purchased as a clone. It's been growing in Happy Frog, so it had some food in the soil to begin with, but other than that I've only given it (liquid) nutrients a couple times over its lifespan, so it's been grown pretty much nute-less. It's a sad looking plant, I know. I let it veg for too long under the T5 and it got pretty tall before I started the 12/12 cycle on it (I didn't know plants would still grow taller in flower.) Because of that, I had to bend the main cola over so it wouldn't get too close to the 400W MH light. Overall though. the plant has been doing okay. No mites (thank god), no fungus, and a bunch of halfway decent buds all around - just no monsters. I never kept track of when I switched it over to flower, but I'm sure it's been two, maybe three months now that it's been in flower. Here's a closeup of one of the typical buds near the top of the plant: I have a 40x magnifying loupe and I've been checking the trichomes every couple days, on different buds throughout the plant, but they're still clear and kinda small. I'd post a pic of what I'm seeing there, but I can't get a decent shot with my camera & magnifier together to upload. I don't see any cloudy trichomes though, and definitely no ambers, so I don't want to harvest the plant yet. Now for my questions: Because it's hardly ever had nutrients, will the trichomes ever full develop into amber at all? Is there a point (number of weeks) that I should just cut my losses and harvest the plant because it'll never get any more mature or darker in trichome? Or should I just be patient and keep checking the trichomes every couple days, even if it goes on for another month or two (or more)? I think I'll name this plant 'Lucky' because it's been luck, not competence, that it's stayed alive and flowering to this point. I just put three plants into flower a few days back (while they were short enough that they won't grow into the light this time), and those ones are going on a regular nute program (in addition to the HF soil), so they should come out healthier and less haggard as my first plant. That is, if I can keep better organization and record keeping on these than I did on that. We'll see.
If 50% of the pistols have turned red then its ripe. you might wait week or two but piss on looking at trics color, they will come around in time. Take that bitch any time you like. It looks like you can do no wrong at this point it looks good as is.
Looks ready to me..fuck amber trichomes honestly..When I first start seeing amber is when I harvest. Cloudy trichomes indicate peak THC potency and I'm sure that you have mainly cloudy trichomes by now. I like aiming for mostly cloudy..love the heady high. Edit: If you let it go one more week you should definitely start seeing some amber appear. Also read that you didn't use any nutes..that's pretty impressive. Should be some awesome smoke
This is great news, thanks! I'll start getting into chop mode - I'm definitely looking forward to it.
Thank you! I meant to use nutrients but I got distracted (as I typically do) and eventually I felt like "hell, it looks like it's growing just fine with only water and soil, so lets see what happens". Plus I won't have to go through the whole flush routine on this one when I harvest. I'm definitely using nutrients on my next ones, though - I want to maximize output and get some bigguns next time.
wait! what??? does this not go against most other posts about waiting for the trichomes to go some amber before harvesting? I am in the very same boat here, in that the plants I have seem to be running out of time but still just see clear. I have stopped feeding and am targeting about 2 weeks from now (last feed was about a week ago) But I was thinking the same thing as the subject of this post, is that it seems like the trichs are staying clear, and I wish a saw bigger balls on the stems, as the round heads are only slightly larger in diameter. I read driving the humidity down might enhance production ... anything we can do to help the plant finish in it's last week or 2? (aside from letting it use up it's stored nutes)
Opinions vary. I definitely harvest based on trichome maturation. I DO NOT like "racy" herb, which is what you get if you harvest too early, which many NEW growers do... You be the judge... http://www.clear-uk.org/the-importance-of-matured-cannabis/ Check out the above link... Although I have not employed this technique myself, I have read on several occasions that stubborn long lived sativas are helped along by increasing the dark cycle even more, like to 10/14 light/dark from 12/12.
Probably needs more time..let it mature a bit and harvest when you see cloudy and some a little amber. It all depends on preference..if you like a couch lock wait until at least half are amber..if you want a more sativa high aim for mostly cloudy trichomes.
Thanks for that link - it validates a lot of what I've been reading around regarding the color of the trichomes indicating overall harvest readiness. I tried again (in vain) to get a decent photo to post, but I just verified that the trichomes aren't cloudy yet - if there are some, they're very few. Overall, the color seems clear. I'm not looking for a speedy high either - I like it more mellow - so I'm hoping to see cloudy overall. I think I'll give this plant a little while longer. Hopefully I'll see some results in a couple weeks.
FWIW, I have a hard time discerning between "clear" and "cloudy". And I remove bud material to look at under a microscope (my vision is pretty shitty)! I truly think that it has a lot to do with the amount of light/angle shining through or being reflected through the trichome. That's why I wait for the amber to show up. There's no mistaking that color difference. If you are using a "jewelers loop" (essentially a small magnifying glass), try changing the angle of view in relation to the light that is shining through the trichome. Essentially don't change anything OTHER than the angle of how you are holding the test specimen. I DON'T look at trichomes when still on the plant. I take a very small sample, and look at that under the scope. Especially at what was the "inside" of the bud sample. The trichomes on the inside of the bud generally do not get damaged as much during removal... I know that it sucks, but be patient. As you may remember from the content of the link that I posted, "manufacturers" recommended harvesting times are notoriously short by at LEAST two weeks. This most likely is due to when the "count time" starts. When I see "flowers" (not just a few pistils), I start the recommended countdown time, which is generally about two weeks after the light switch to flower. Then I begin to pay attention to the plant. I wait until I see that there is no more/very little horizontal expansion/new growth of the flowers. I wait a week, and then check the trich's... From my experience, it's VERY hard to "over do" canna' if you're paying close attention to trichome maturation on a weekly basis. Looking back at your "sagging" buds, I would recommend in the future that you consider using some kind of liquid silicone amendment as a foliar spray/soil drench. They're only sagging because your side branches are weak, most likely due to genetics. Pro-Tekt is a very good brand to use. Silica is a VERY important (and mostly overlooked) nutrient that helps strengthen side branches and also lends to systemic biological control because it creates a thicker cambium layer that makes it more difficult for sap sucking insects to penetrate. It also helps plants battle heat stress. I'm an organic "Nazi". It's the ONLY synthetic bottled chemical "fertilizer" that I use, because it actually WORKS, and it's true benefits far outweigh the chemical "stigma" associated with the use bottled amendments. Realizing soluble silica from potted soils takes WAY too long when one considers the lifetime that canna' plants experience in indoor potted soils...
I am so excited! I am there!!!! I took a cutting from a medium sized top just below the main cola and I see about 10% clear, about 80% cloudy, and about 10 % amber and 90% of the heads are easily 2-3 x bigger than the stems and are folded over a tad (kinda like they are starting to melt a bit) I think I am DONE!!!!!!! OK, so I went ahead and killed the lights. so, we want to let them sit in darkness for a few days?? right??? and after a day or 2, should I pour ice water on the top of the soil? or just leave them in darkness for a few days then cut?
The trichome stage based harvesting is a hot debate... I personally have never once used the trichomes as a base for harvesting. The plant will show on it's own when it's ripening. lots of people swear by trichome growth, but I grow just fine weed without a loupe. The best I have is a cheap 60x-100x adjustable magnifying lens that I struggle to look at dried buds with accurately. I would never be able to get a flowering plant still enough to get a good judgement haha. What I look for when harvesting, is the foliage dying away, the buds swelling and the pistils drying and receding into the flower. Also at a distance the buds should have a slight amber tinge, but this can depend on the strain as well. I just know that if you use a loupe to determine when to chop, you can have wildly varying results, but if you just look at the plant it will be clear when to harvest. I feel like using a loupe causes lots of new growers to harvest too early, relying too heavily on what the specific trichomes they are looking at tell them, and not what the plant is saying in general.
makes sense. I have cut a couple of the top colas that where drooped over and all things converged with what the plant looked like and what the loop showed, but thought some of the lower growth could go longer, and to hedge against harvesting too soon and (wanting some couch lock also) I am going to let them continue to see daytime and each morning before daytime, harvest a bit more such that over the next week I am harvested. I also need the space for new ladies that are a few weeks into flowering and need the light and space
Hey snoop, when you do stop watering? I'm a bit confused because all my leaves are still green but the plants have alot of red hairs and I always see plants with dying leaves at about the time they are ready to chop.