Hi, I understand that a visual indicator of when bud is ready to harvest is when the white hairs have all turned an orangey color. I don't have a magnifier (yet) to look at the trichomes, but do you think the color of the hairs is an accurate indicator? Thanks.
111120 This is by far the best criteria for judging when a plant is done" White pistols turned to red and receded back into the calyxes. The caylxes swollen and hard and the plant starting to look autumn-ly. Tric's all white with some degree of amber. Just a few amber tric's indicate the plant is ready. Amber trics are ... well read it. Thank you... jacktheknife... A guide on when to harvest. I'm personally of the opinion that 90% of the growers on this site (And probably in general) harvest too early. By letting the plants go a little longer you're ensuring that the've plumped as much as they're going to. Despite popular opinion to the contrary(and don't fool yourself, the jury is still out on this one) Recent studies have shown ;contrary to what was previously believed, that THC itself (And its predecessor THC-A) are quite guilty of causing the confusion and drowsiness associated with burnout and other cannabinoids (our friend CBN, and a handful of others) to be the catalyst (along with THC) to being 'high' rather than 'baked' Regardless, whether or not theres any substance to the aforementioned study, its easy to get the high you want. If you want a soaring 'cerebral' high: Get yourself a tropical sativa that contains a high level of THC-V and grow it until it is ripe. If you want the narcotic couchlock stone, grow a rugged indica until its ripe. Notice a pattern of growing it until its ripe? Its a really good rule to live by. OF course we have to remember that there is more to a good high than just THC. At last count there are at least 66 cannabinoids, and we don't know what most of them do. Now alot of people will tell you that you should harvest based on the colour of your trichomes. But (again, in my opinion) that is far too simplistic and there are too many variables to make that an effective strategy. I've made that point a million times before and i'm not going to re-hash it here,(maybe just a bit) but rest assured there is more to the picture than just trich colour. A ripe marijuana plant will be filled in, will have an amber tinge to the buds. The pistils should have browned (or orange-d) off and receded into the buds. The seed bracts should be swollen and the trichomes should be sticking straight out with bulbous ends. Also, because you're coming close to the end of plant's life cycle, the leaves should have yellowed off and started to die. Another very important (imho) reason to let your plants mature is Terpenoid production. Terpenes are responsible for alot of the complex (And enjoyable) flavours that cannabis produces. Some of the most intense flavours are produced on the "downslope" of cannabis's life cycle. My personal experience with this first came when i was growing GH cheese. One of the plants i harvested at 8 weeks and it tasted pretty nice and had pretty dense buds. The other i grew until about 9 1/2 weeks and it had most amazing, sour, skunky, delicious taste with rock hard buds. Here is my interpretation (and maybe exaggeration) of a scenario i see all too often... Quote:noob mcboob I'm a new grower and i've been reading all this great information about when its time to harvest. Theres pictures and everything!!! Look at my trichs, they look nice and milky with a touch of amber just like the ones in the picture that says its harvest time now!!! So i just have one question.... Does this look ready to you? That plant is 4 weeks into 12/12. Granted not all of the trichomes are that far along. And most people arent going to harvest weed that looks like this. But my point with this is that you have to look at the big picture. Stop being so scientific and start being practical. I'm not anti knowledge, i just cant stand these "rules" that more often than not lead people down the wrong path. Lets cut through the bullshit and spread good information in a way that is not so absolute. Or at very least explain the growth stages of cannabis making sure to mention that the pistils should have receded back into the bud before you chop. Regardless of trichome colour. If I could offer one piece of advice on picking the right time to harvest, it's all about watching the pistils. Not so much the colour, but the movement. They should have receded into the bud and the seed bracts should be swollen. It should look less like this And more like this. Trust me when I say
I don't think that any visual indicator is accurate. All the hairs turn brown, etc., at the end of the flower cycle. They start this process many days before the plant is actually mature enough to harvest. But the hairs don't tell us when the plant is ready, the trichomes do. A loupe is cheap. You can pick one up at the grow store for less than $20. It's one of those tools that you've got to have if you really want to know precisely what's going on with your plant and where it stands in the flower stage. All these strains have different maturation rates and you can't tell much about them by just looking at them.