The first rains of the rainy season are set to begin where I live next weekend. I have a small outdoor grow, and the plants are planted in soil so I can't move them. They are not quite ready for harvest I don't think, but I'm worried about rain getting on the buds and the higher than normal humidity and warm temperatures following the storm. Mold is a definite concern. Should I harvest next week, even if they are a couple weeks premature (trichomes are sort of milky right now), or let the rain hit em?
I'm no outdoor grower, but common sense tells me, "Why risk it?" I had to harvest my first plant weeks early because of a failed light and it was still the most potent bud I'd ever had.
Sizlunt, how much longer do they need? Is there any way that you could throw up a tarp or something? If they're pretty close, I'd say it's better to chop than to risk it (but I also don't grow outdoor ganja). If you do decide to chop early, wait until the very last possible second. If the forecast calls for rain but it doesn't look like rain, leave 'em. I'd leave them up there until it was obviously time to pull them because of serious rain.
Maybe a couple weeks. Senescence is in full swing, but none of the trichomes have darkened on any of these plants, and the styles have only just begun to brown. The trichomes do have that fat appearance though that indicates things are about to get under way. The calyxes have begun to swell also. EDIT I have 4 plants that aren't ready, and one that is ready and being harvested this evening.
Been raining here for 4 days and I'm letting mine stay out in it, which I usually get decent amounts of wind so the rain drys up pretty quick
Let them go until the last possible day. This time right now is when they really mature, every day counts. Keep a very close eye on them. It's all you can do. Immature buds suck. J
I've been growing outdoor for a few years now and I live in a pretty shitty country to grow outdoor. It's raining at least once a week over here but I still get a crop which isn't moldy. I don't smoke outdoor myself, but the one where it's going to is always happy with the quality.
Cover them up, but even so, with the humidity, you may still get mold. Next time, grow indoors. If you do grow outdoors, plant them in 5 gal buckets so they can be transported. Or you could try planting in the Southwestern USA where there is little or no humidity all year. Good luck.
So he shouldn't grow outdoors then, or he should move? 5 gallons is totally insufficient for outdoor growing. J
LOL. I live... in the southwestern USA... and why would I spend the money on indoor equipment and waste all that electricity when I can just have the sun do it for me for free without wasting anything? Putting them in pots... is not as fun, although I'd be able to move them, and in any case, it doesn't really help me now. I think that a 5 gal pot isn't big enough really. The holes they're in now are three feet in diameter by 4 feet deep. The resulting plants are reflective of this. I don't get the preference for indoor bud, either.
Ya' know I don't either. In fact, although I also grow some indoors I prefer outdoor grown. It will not look quite as nice but the flavor always seems to be better. I would probably go ahead and harvest. I'm hoping rains don't hit here soon but I'd rather have a little good smoke and some hash makings vice nothing.