Crystals are about 50 /50 milky n clear. But only about half the hairs have browned

if you are still clear why are you even thinking about harvesting?

 

You want all cloudy with a little bit of amber sprinkled in.

 

Listen to Monkey. He's steering you in the right direction. Here are some links to help explain and give you some pictures as well.

A guide on when to harvest.

When And How To Harvest Marijuana Plants

 

Dont mean to hijack threads here but if someone wanted uplifiting high rather than a super couchlock would harvesting at OPs time be the best?? And would you lose a significant amount of yield?

 

No worries, I don't think Audi will mind. I understand your question. First off harvesting at the time recommended ( Mostly Cloudy with some Amber ) will not automatically leave you with a super couch lock feeling like you describe. Unless you are harvesting at more than 20-25% Amber. I have done some experimenting in the past on this myself by harvesting some of my plants in a perpetual fashion ( chopping off a few colas early/late to compare different harvest times and their effects ). I find that regardless of whether or not it is a Sativa, Indica or Hybrid harvesting around cloudy / slight amber gives the best representation of the strain.

I have found that if you harvest earlier #1 you will lose a significant amount of weight. The time difference between the early harvest you speak of compared to one where you would wait until Mostly cloudy/Amber is significant and can end up being 3-4 weeks depending on the strains. Ballpark you would end up losing 25% of your weight or more ( just an approximation ). #2 I have also found that the Cola's harvested early do not have the same Flavor profile as one's that were chopped down later. Kind of like comparing a very ripe fruit to one that was picked a little early. The riper fruit is just sweeter and has a better taste profile ( objectionable analogy ).

Furthermore, I have found that strains that were harvested early ( 80-90% Cloudy, 10-20% clear, No Amber ) ended up having a less sedative/calming effect and some if not most of them had a more of an upbeat/paranoid high to them. I tried this out with 4 different strains ( half Sativa / half Indica ) and just about all of them gave an unpleasant high. One that was more energetic and less relaxing. Moreover, I also chose to take these same 4 plants and harvest a few colas from them later than recommend ( 25-30% Amber or more/ Cloudy ) and I found most if not all of them that were harvested later gave a sleepy, drowsy / narcotic high that was just as unpleasant as the early harvested Colas. Overall the one's that were harvested around 90-95% Cloudy / 5-10% Amber ended up being the best high/effect from all four strains.

All in all, it would be in your best interest to choose a strain Indica, Sativa or dominant hybrid that will coincide with the type of high / medical effect you are searching for. If you are looking for a more of a energetic type of effect Sativa's / Sativa dominant Hybrids would be your best choice. Rather than trying to dictate the high by the time of harvest. This way your not wasting 25% of your harvest or more every grow. I still would recommend you try it for yourself though just to see what I am talking about. If you have a grow big enough to experiment I would suggesting taking a few colas off some plants at different times to contrast and compare to see what works best for you. Hope that helps.

 

I apperciate all of this information. You really cleared it up for me and probably a few others as well. Thank you for sharing your experience!

 

No worries, glad to help. Just take in consideration all of that info is subjective and more of an opinion and certainly does not apply to every strain out there. Each strain is different in their own regard and everyone likes things a little different so there will be variations of opinion among grower to grower. You just have to find what works best for you.