OK, this might be a noob question, but I don't get it. All of the seedbanks I've been looking around at say the flowering time is 6-8 weeks or whatever but the harvest time is end of september for example. But what if I plant more than 6-8 weeks before September? Like if I plant them early may will they be done in july? I also read something about them not flowering until June 21. (or maybe it was july) So if thats when they flower, how much earlier than that should I plant? Sorry I'm just kind of confused.
Read this. The plant has a two stage grow cycle - vegetative and flowering. After the summer solstice, the days grow shorter and the plants with a inductive photoperiod begin to flower. So, plant after Easter and harvest when the strain is supposed to mature or better yet, get a handheld microscope and examine the trichome development for a perfect harvest. Peace Eldiablo
Yea this confused me at first as well, I'm a nub too, but with all the info here basically most of the sites use the ideal planting time to be early May and the plant will flower at some point after the Summer Solstice, June 21st, once it starts to flower (which will depend on the strain and the photoperiod) then you can figure out an idea of when you'll be harvesting. Of course as ElDiablo said get a jeweler's circle or high powered magnifying glass so you can inspect the trichomes and see when they reach a milky white state and then you'll know it's time to pluck em. You also want to take into account when your first frost of the year is to make sure you don't pick strains that finish up mid to late October if you're first frost is sometime around there.
Female flowering doesn't occur on June 21st but 5-6 weeks later (beg. August)! Males appear in July. Some hermies can appear even in October if your plants aren't finished by then. I plant almost 2 months after the last frosts. My grow window is long like in Cali. This cuts down on the work (shorter veg. period) and avoids having too big plants. I harvest when the trichomes are ready: get an early finisher imo (or beg. Oct max for me here like my GHS TrainWreck for 2009). GHS White Widow should be done on Sept 15th. Most bagseeds finish late or super late: beware.
Your girls will flower when they detect the days are getting shorter - mine begin to flower late July/early August.