How Close Am I? 6 different strains with triched up budshots

another 2 weeks it looks to me, strart to flush now if you havent.

 

Looks to me like its going to be longer than 2 weeks. Dont force them, they are going to be super dank if you just wait it out. Looks good

 

Yeah def. looks like will be at least 3 weeks or 4. You have to wait until calyxes start to swell and plump (almost looks as if they have seeds inside) and then the pistils will recede back into the calyxes and the trichs turn at least 20% amber.

While trichs are a very good indicator, they do not exist alone but instead should be used in conjunction with other indicators on the plant. Here is a very good informative guide written by SpruceZeus or rollitup's boards which can be visited here:
Zeus's Take on Harvesting. - Marijuana Growing

I've taken the liberty to post it here again as I found it very useful.
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Okay, I've posted this a couple times, but I though it deserved its own thread.


Is it ready yet?: SpruceZeus's take on marijuana ripeness.
This is by no means meant to be the definitive guide to knowing when to chop your plant, only my views on the subject.

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.



one of my plants, 3 days before chop-chop.


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:
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, it is worth the excruciating wait.

 

Yeah I read that post and thought it was great because especially here on GC everyone parrots the "CHECK THE TRICHS" line without bothering to inform that there are many other indicators that need to be checked in conjunction with the trichs.

And also, I rechecked your first post, at 9 weeks, yeah the yellowing is definitely normal for most growers. The yellowing is a sign that the plant is beginning to die down and is starting to transfer all remaining nutrients to bud/trich development. This means leeching some nutrients from the leaves, or at least some that would have gone to the leaves; hence the yellowing. Nothing to be concerned about at this stage of flowering. Have you started the flush already?

Cold temps can slow down a grow a little bit, but shouldn't be too much unless your temps are extreme. What temp ranges do you have?

 

at least 2 more weeks - tough to tell just from pics. There are many indicators but if I was there, I would say at least 2 weeks then reevaluate

 

3 weeks to go minimum, perhaps a little longer.

 

awesome post and pics! its the first time i've seen it posted and it sure helped me out +rep

 

Thanks man, again I got it from rollitup's boards so I take no credit for it, just reposted it as I thought it was a good read. +rep back to you.

 

I am in the three weeks or more crowd on this one...patience is a virtue! Great article on "when to pick". Let it go, be patient, and you will know when it's time...

 

2 weeks or more..start the flush now!

 

Heres somthing to consider. The flowering period technically does not start the day you go into 12/12. The plants wont even realise theyre in flowering untill 1-2 weeks after the lights changed. So if you have an 8 week strain you might think its been flowering 8 weeks but you may be really only flowering for 6 weeks. Once you see many dense hair clusters forming then you know the plants have officially gone into flowering. This maybe be why some people harvest too early, plus im sure theyre eager at the same time.

 

This is a great thread. Keep us posted!!!

 

Good Job, Congrats.