How to tell when to harvest if you don't have a loupe, or Don't rely solely on trichomes

[Wee Zard]

"You know.. I don't think I've ever seen nanners outdoors, only inside."

That's because you are too skilled;
Us black thumb strugglers see all kine sing.
Saw this, in the greenhouse, just yesterday.

Had to chop 2, 4 week flower girls.

The stress? A plague of whitefly sucked her dry, then pooped all over her fan leaves.

Yield, ~100 g. of clear trich buds. They will make some very "uppity" oil.
I'm a trial and error kine grower.
You need screwup pictures? I'm your guy. :(
Laugh at my pain, it's how I learn. :)

Aloha,
Wee

 

[billzbudz]

These are my lady's today,@ 8 weeks into flowering, how's she looking in the eyes of pro's?

 

[Wee Zard]

Looks pretty tasty to us amateurs!

 

[gardnguyahoy]

Looks pretty tasty to us amateurs!

Yup! Lol good call. Took one look and was like...oop, hes not talkin to me!

 

[Seamaiden]

Nice!

 

[billzbudz]

Not sure but she seems to have stopped growing, all the leaves look real droopy and pale, could she be ready? BuDs are really frosty,and the pistols seem to have stoped popping out, I don't wanna jump the gun here. I'll try and post a pic from today.

 

[billzbudz]

Also,any way to tell the strain of a plant? It came from a random bag of buds.

 

[DrFever]

"You know.. I don't think I've ever seen nanners outdoors, only inside."

That's because you are too skilled;
Us black thumb strugglers see all kine sing.
Saw this, in the greenhouse, just yesterday.

Had to chop 2, 4 week flower girls.

The stress? A plague of whitefly sucked her dry, then pooped all over her fan leaves.

Yield, ~100 g. of clear trich buds. They will make some very "uppity" oil.
I'm a trial and error kine grower.
You need screwup pictures? I'm your guy. :(
Laugh at my pain, it's how I learn. :)

Aloha,
Wee

shitty and sorry i do not buy the flies or the poop to cause that it was genes
put two retards humans together chances of it creating another retard is 99.9 percent your cause is unstable genetics and bad breeding practices

 

[Lazerus00]

Also,any way to tell the strain of a plant? It came from a random bag of buds.

Not really...I mean someone like @Seamaiden would deff be able to tell you more or the science behind it but I think the closest you'll come is to kinda know what family its in, like a kush or a cookies or an og but so far as knowing the EXACT cross or strain..?? There is just no way to know that...Maybe in the not so distant future they'll be a machine you can buy and you turn it on then pop a lil piece of bud or leaf in and it tells you everything from the sex of the plant to its exact genealogy...that would be pretty AWESOME!!!

 

[Lazerus00]

?? I'm confused...is there some beef going on in this thread? I'm sensing some hostility but I could be wrong...:oops:o_O:confused::eek::D:p:cool:

 

[Seamaiden]

Hostility from whom? I'll clean that shit up, don't need it clogging a good thread.

Not sure but she seems to have stopped growing, all the leaves look real droopy and pale, could she be ready? BuDs are really frosty,and the pistols seem to have stoped popping out, I don't wanna jump the gun here. I'll try and post a pic from today.

I have to admit, she does look pretty close to done. I'd let her go another week, see how she behaves.

Not really...I mean someone like @Seamaiden would deff be able to tell you more or the science behind it but I think the closest you'll come is to kinda know what family its in, like a kush or a cookies or an og but so far as knowing the EXACT cross or strain..?? There is just no way to know that...Maybe in the not so distant future they'll be a machine you can buy and you turn it on then pop a lil piece of bud or leaf in and it tells you everything from the sex of the plant to its exact genealogy...that would be pretty AWESOME!!!

Not I, I am nowhere nearly that good. But thank you for thinking of me! :)

 

[Lazerus00]

@Seamaiden lol..when it come to cannabis science your one of my top go to-s!! Also i misunderstood the hostility thing, i didn't understand the post above mine and thought people were angry at each other...my bad..

 

[MendoGiantZ]

Really good thread @Seamaiden ... A couple things that popped up in my mind.. First of all was the fact that you got bit by a Mojave green rattler.. That sounds terrible and you also lost some of your sense of smell??? Brutal.-sorry that happened to you..
Another fact that came to my mind was that harvesting times will differ greatly between different set ups and different types of grow.. For example I usually harvest my outdoor slowly, generally taking only the best tops and letting everything underneath mature into the later weeks of october .. For the Light Deps and indoor it is more beneficial for me to cut the whole plant all at once and clean out my rooms or greenhouses as quick as possible and get them girls flowering again... Some other factors are obviously the weather, If something has started to mold a tiny bit and I know were gonna have three days of rain and I think its close to ready then I'm gonna go ahead and cut it before the rain comes... Also if you have any pests or powder mold and your plants are 90 percent ready and the problem seems to get exponentially worse then you might want to go ahead and harvest and start over with better IPM techniques... Another thing for the big commercial growers can be your amount of drying space... You don't want to fill up one of your rooms half way full and then continue to add more branches a couple days later as other things mature--- It seems to rehydrate everything that was already hanging and it takes forever for anything to dry...GREAT THREAD..

Specifically, I cannot discuss the scent cues because after being bitten by a Mojave green rattler, I have a diminished sense of smell. If it's something you can discuss then definitely, include as much of that information as you can, PLEASE. :)

Foxtailing is a description of the visual appearance of the buds formation. What's desirable in the US (and Canada?) are more dense buds, and if there's any foxtailing (think of a fox's tail, how it's very long but not so thick) then it should be comprised of very fat, peach-like calyxes. (In my opinion, I love peaches.)

That plant shown is a very good depiction of foxtailing. It's got a little way to go I think, another month or so is my guess.

 

[Seamaiden]

Excellent post, @MendoGiantZ because you're showing how it's really a balancing act, at least with regard to OD growing.

And, thank you. This is all stuff taught to me by other old timers and it has helped me TREMENDOUSLY. Especially since I always seem to misplace my loupe. :o

 

[Wee Zard]

shitty and sorry i do not buy the flies or the poop to cause that it was genes
put two retards humans together chances of it creating another retard is 99.9 percent your cause is unstable genetics and bad breeding practices

No need to "buy" anything.
I'm not selling anything. :)
The sex change was environmental.
Caused by extreme stress.

Had 3 solid "strains", with excellent genetics go balls on the river on that infested grow.
All 3 are ordinarily, rock solid.
Been growing them for years with no problems until the whitefly explosion.
The sex change was environmental.
Caused by extreme stress..

The good news?
I've found a superb defense against white fly.
Learned it from a professional nurseryman.
An inch or two of wormcastings atop the soil, will chase white fly away when you water it in.
They do not like the scent and will not even lay eggs on any plant that I treated.
Fortunately, It smells good to me.:)

No poisons, no hassle, and it cleared out a very heavy, well established, infestation.
Have not seen a singe white, fly, or egg since the application.

@Seamaiden: Sorry, I spaced on your post.
"If it's something you can discuss then definitely, include as much of that information as you can, PLEASE."
OK.
I use scent cues for watering as well.
They emit a different scent when they need water, just before they droop.

Their aromaalso changes when they are ready to harvest.
And though the pheremones that they emit when attacked by insects are not detectable by nose, they also emit the stress scent along with it.

My gals live on the lanai, just outside my bedroom window.
The makai, (ocean), breeze in the morning, tells me what chore I'll have that day.
Needy li'l gals always wantin' someting. :D

And no feel bad about not being able to use these clues. Most folks can't.
Tobacco smokers can't. And most folks routinely ignore scents.

I'm kind of a freak, got a dog's nose. can sniff the wind and tell you which flowers are in bloom.
Each signature is unique. and separate to me.
The downside?
Scent masking does not work for me I smell the damn Fabreeze along with all the other scents.:(

I realize that this is not much help for you, but you did ask.
Perhaps your partner can be your nose?


Aloha y'all
Weeze

 

[Seamaiden]

Perhaps he can, indeed! :D

 

[Nijini]

I often see amber thric's on the sugar leaves early on.
this one is just 47 days also :)
View attachment 418893
Trainwreck X Sourbubble

is it 47 days flowering stage or 47 days old plant? Sorry about my ignorance
My plant is 5 months old and 6 weeks flowering

 

[GrowingGreen]

We've all seen them, the threads asking, "Is she done yet?" or "Is she ready?" The vast majority of farmers are well familiar with using trichomes as the gauge for figuring out when to harvest their crop. Hopefully the newbies have gone through the two DJ Short threads posted up in this forum by Texas Kid. While everyone's at it, read this quick primer to help round out the harvest window picture for you.

Those who've got enough grows with enough strains under their belts are going to know that not all strains' trichomes will change color in the 'usual' manner, and in fact some strains trichomes will never change color until after harvesting. I've run strains on which the trichomes never got cloudy, they went from clear to amber, and I've run strains with purple trichomes that never got cloudy or amber.

And so, to that end, I'm doing another one of my threads to discuss what other metrics can be used to tell when a lady should be harvested.


Don't rely solely on trichomes for harvesting.

1: Pistils. Is she throwing out tons of new pistils, or is she just popping a few whities here and there, mostly at the tops of the buds, with an overall red appearance? If still popping out a lot of new pistils, she may have a little longer to go just yet.

2: Buds. Are they still growing noticeably, or does it seem they've stopped growing? If still growing noticeably, the plant has more time left to go. Don't shortchange yourself by getting impatient for the chop!

3: Appearance. Does the plant have an autumnal appearance? Especially once the major fan leaves begin yellowing, then you know you're nearing that finish line. This may be a more or less reliable metric depending on how you feed. Many folks continue pushing N long into flower, possibly all the way through, depending on their fertilizing regimen, and that can cause the plants to retain an overall bright green coloration. That makes this metric a little less reliable if taken on its own.

4: Water/fertilizer consumption. If it's still taking in a lot of water, it's still transpiring actively, which would suggest it's still growing actively. If it's still 'eating' as it was during the earlier phases of flower, then again, she likely still has some time. If it seems to have stopped drinking and eating, as some put it, then it's likely done.​

Now, add these other metrics to trichomes and you'll know when your girls are done and how you want to handle them. :)

thank you for the refresher class I personally do the is she drinking water still & fall color method because I cant see to good no more,

We've all seen them, the threads asking, "Is she done yet?" or "Is she ready?" The vast majority of farmers are well familiar with using trichomes as the gauge for figuring out when to harvest their crop. Hopefully the newbies have gone through the two DJ Short threads posted up in this forum by Texas Kid. While everyone's at it, read this quick primer to help round out the harvest window picture for you.

Those who've got enough grows with enough strains under their belts are going to know that not all strains' trichomes will change color in the 'usual' manner, and in fact some strains trichomes will never change color until after harvesting. I've run strains on which the trichomes never got cloudy, they went from clear to amber, and I've run strains with purple trichomes that never got cloudy or amber.

And so, to that end, I'm doing another one of my threads to discuss what other metrics can be used to tell when a lady should be harvested.


Don't rely solely on trichomes for harvesting.

1: Pistils. Is she throwing out tons of new pistils, or is she just popping a few whities here and there, mostly at the tops of the buds, with an overall red appearance? If still popping out a lot of new pistils, she may have a little longer to go just yet.

2: Buds. Are they still growing noticeably, or does it seem they've stopped growing? If still growing noticeably, the plant has more time left to go. Don't shortchange yourself by getting impatient for the chop!

3: Appearance. Does the plant have an autumnal appearance? Especially once the major fan leaves begin yellowing, then you know you're nearing that finish line. This may be a more or less reliable metric depending on how you feed. Many folks continue pushing N long into flower, possibly all the way through, depending on their fertilizing regimen, and that can cause the plants to retain an overall bright green coloration. That makes this metric a little less reliable if taken on its own.

4: Water/fertilizer consumption. If it's still taking in a lot of water, it's still transpiring actively, which would suggest it's still growing actively. If it's still 'eating' as it was during the earlier phases of flower, then again, she likely still has some time. If it seems to have stopped drinking and eating, as some put it, then it's likely done.​

Now, add these other metrics to trichomes and you'll know when your girls are done and how you want to handle them. :)

 

[dixie420]

We've all seen them, the threads asking, "Is she done yet?" or "Is she ready?" The vast majority of farmers are well familiar with using trichomes as the gauge for figuring out when to harvest their crop. Hopefully the newbies have gone through the two DJ Short threads posted up in this forum by Texas Kid. While everyone's at it, read this quick primer to help round out the harvest window picture for you.

Those who've got enough grows with enough strains under their belts are going to know that not all strains' trichomes will change color in the 'usual' manner, and in fact some strains trichomes will never change color until after harvesting. I've run strains on which the trichomes never got cloudy, they went from clear to amber, and I've run strains with purple trichomes that never got cloudy or amber.

And so, to that end, I'm doing another one of my threads to discuss what other metrics can be used to tell when a lady should be harvested.


Don't rely solely on trichomes for harvesting.

1: Pistils. Is she throwing out tons of new pistils, or is she just popping a few whities here and there, mostly at the tops of the buds, with an overall red appearance? If still popping out a lot of new pistils, she may have a little longer to go just yet.

2: Buds. Are they still growing noticeably, or does it seem they've stopped growing? If still growing noticeably, the plant has more time left to go. Don't shortchange yourself by getting impatient for the chop!

3: Appearance. Does the plant have an autumnal appearance? Especially once the major fan leaves begin yellowing, then you know you're nearing that finish line. This may be a more or less reliable metric depending on how you feed. Many folks continue pushing N long into flower, possibly all the way through, depending on their fertilizing regimen, and that can cause the plants to retain an overall bright green coloration. That makes this metric a little less reliable if taken on its own.

4: Water/fertilizer consumption. If it's still taking in a lot of water, it's still transpiring actively, which would suggest it's still growing actively. If it's still 'eating' as it was during the earlier phases of flower, then again, she likely still has some time. If it seems to have stopped drinking and eating, as some put it, then it's likely done.​

Now, add these other metrics to trichomes and you'll know when your girls are done and how you want to handle them. :)

seamaiden this is great info, I've often used a combo of 2 or more of the above mentioned techniques along with the trich filled to stretch and milky white with 20% amber if they turn.
The old school growers that I cut my teeth learning to grow from back in the early 90's, always said if you think it's done, then come back in a week. Being outdoor guerilla growers then, but that's always stuck in the back of my head and it's a rule I still follow.
thank you for sharing

 

[chillywilly]

...yawnnnn....hmmm...nice folks....hmmm,...