I've read a lot about the right time to harvest and what to watch for, but nobody mentioned that the pistils at the top of the plant can change colors faster than the pistils at the bottom of the plant. As you can see in the image, most of the pistils on this cola have turned orange. If I were to take a photo of the pistils at the bottom of the plant, you'd notice only 10% of them have changed colors. So I have the dilemma of not knowing when to harvest the plant. Since this is my first grow, I really don't want to screw it up. I've been trying to keep an eye on the trichomes, but I only have a magnifying glass, and it's not making the trichomes large enough to see. They look like they're turning cloudy, but I only say that because they're more white than they were a week ago. So can anyone look at this image and tell me when it'll be ready for harvest? Thanks!
Your top colas get much more light then your bottom popcurn buds, so they will turn amber faster. Try to get your side branches and whatnot up into the light. The perfect harvest time is actually rather subjective to the grower. If you're looking for a real heady high, you might be about there. If you want more couchlockish, you'll need to wait some time. You need a 30x jewelers loupe to be sure, they're cheap. How many weeks has it been, and what is the strain if you know?
This is bagseed, so I have no information on the strain. I caved and used my Amazon points to buy a drying rack and handheld microscope. It's supposed to be here Saturday, so I'll check out the trichomes then. Is it possible/recommended to harvest the top cola earlier than the other colas, if it's done sooner?
From that pic looks like a week or so bit a pic of the whole plant would b better Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
They were turned to flower June 13th. So we're at eight weeks of flowering. I'll see if I can take one later today when the light turns on.
I'd let it go longer. Theres still way to much leaf material for me. Those should start to fatten and swell as they ripen. Give it more time. 1000 watt Scrog Journal
I got the pocket microscope today and was able to tell that most of the trichomes are milky. I'm not sure if it's quite ready, though, so I'm going to wait until I start seeing some amber on them. On the other hand, I decided to harvest our auto today. It was a freebie from the seed bank and it was tiny (maybe a little over a foot tall). Probably didn't get enough light. I think I got perhaps a quarter ounce off of it. It could've gone a bit longer, but I decided to chop it today. My photoperiod one (pictured in the original post) is definitely going to sit for another week or two. It's so large, I'll easily get a few ounces off of it, so I don't want to risk cutting it early. I decided to trim the large fan leaves off of it to allow a lot more light to get to the buds lower on the plant.
Pocket microscopes are very helpful. Taking into account what the trichomes look like (color and swelling/size), calyx swelling, overall pistil color, and general age for the strain will help you decide when to harvest. Past that it depends on what you are growing and prefer in your smoking experience. Indicas are generally more suited for couch lock, so they do better with more cloudy and amber trichomes. Sativas are usually for a head high, or productive stone, so they do better with more clear and cloudy trichomes. Past that it depends on what you want to get out of your current grow with your strains I grew an auto that barely gave over a gram trimmed and dried lol, but have also had some that are 2-3 oz plants. My experience is photoperiod plants are a little more predictable. Either way I hope it smokes well and gets you high! Tucking large fan leaves is also a good alternative to cutting them off. You can also do a partial harvest, taking the top colas first and giving the lower branches a bit longer (I do a few extra days usually, like 3-5).