Can i harvest branch by branch ?

[firebblade]

Hello all,
(first time growing ) one of my plants looks like its ready out of 10 colas in 2 the pistils are almost all orange and have curled inside with microscope i can see some amber trichomes.
the rest 8 colas have almost all orange pistils but have not curled in and no amber trichomes.

Should i cut and dry the ones that look good ? or wait for all colas to have a bit of amber trichomes? i prefer more psyscho weed than couch locked .

Thank you for your time,
Best !

 

[amneziaHaze]

yea you can.sometimes the cut branches will piss water dont know if that can make you mold problems.but i have seen a few people do top half harvest then leave the bottom half to mature.

 

[firebblade]

i

yea you can.sometimes the cut branches will piss water dont know if that can make you mold problems.but i have seen a few people do top half harvest then leave the bottom half to mature.

was thinking to cut the whole branch from the main stem. Cutting the top buds would let more light under sounds also a good idea :D

 

[b8kd]

I did a staggered harvest on my last grow. It worked great. I was running GMO Cookies. A long flowering strain that tends to swell late. And I've also heard the long flowering strains benefit the most from this practice.

If you are shooting for maximum thc and head high then you want to do exactly as you're thinking. If you let the tops go longer you'll get more amber trichomes, thus more CBN, and have more of a sedative couch lock experience the longer you let the tops ride. I may do a staggered harvest again on this grow. I'm basically having the same issue as you right now. I have 3' of canopy in a 4x4 area, with four plants, and a whole lot of tops and a thick canopy no matter how much thinning I do, producing substantial amounts of mids and lows too, but the mids and lows just aren't quite where the tops are. So if I did a whole plant harvest I'd get a different effect from the lower section than the top and I'd also be sacrificing some volume and potency on the mids and lows. But the harvest would be easier. So long story short, staggered harvests work great. But they take extra work.

You are right in your sweet spot for those top buds. An extra 1-3 days right now is not going to ruin them but you are in the harvest window for those uppers based on the effects you're wanting. I wouldn't let them go longer than that before giving them 48 hrs of darkness. Most of my info comes from research. I only have three grows under my belt. But I do read like crazy. And my grow diary shows I'm getting decent results using what I've learned.

Why Do a Staggered Harvest?​

A staggered harvest lets you take the top colas first when they’re at peak THC and potency, while giving lower buds more time to ripen. Tops mature faster because they get more light and airflow. Harvesting in stages helps you maximize THC and head high effects by cutting each part of the plant at its perfect moment.

---

Quick Directions:​

1. Cut top buds when trichomes are mostly cloudy with a few ambers.
2. Leave mids/lowers on the plant, lower the light slightly, and continue with plain water or cold flush.
3. Check trichomes again in 5–7 days, then harvest the rest when they’re mostly cloudy.

 

[b8kd]

Examples of Low, Mid & High Trichome pics off the same plant. Good visual on why you do a staggered harvest. All photos one day shy of 12 wks.

Low Bud - These could run another 5-10 days.

Mid Bud - These could go another 3-7 days.

Top Buds - Peak Harvest Window for Maximum THC

 

[firebblade]

I did a staggered harvest on my last grow. It worked great. I was running GMO Cookies. A long flowering strain that tends to swell late. And I've also heard the long flowering strains benefit the most from this practice.

If you are shooting for maximum thc and head high then you want to do exactly as you're thinking. If you let the tops go longer you'll get more amber trichomes, thus more CBN, and have more of a sedative couch lock experience the longer you let the tops ride. I may do a staggered harvest again on this grow. I'm basically having the same issue as you right now. I have 3' of canopy in a 4x4 area, with four plants, and a whole lot of tops and a thick canopy no matter how much thinning I do, producing substantial amounts of mids and lows too, but the mids and lows just aren't quite where the tops are. So if I did a whole plant harvest I'd get a different effect from the lower section than the top and I'd also be sacrificing some volume and potency on the mids and lows. But the harvest would be easier. So long story short, staggered harvests work great. But they take extra work.

You are right in your sweet spot for those top buds. An extra 1-3 days right now is not going to ruin them but you are in the harvest window for those uppers based on the effects you're wanting. I wouldn't let them go longer than that before giving them 48 hrs of darkness. Most of my info comes from research. I only have three grows under my belt. But I do read like crazy. And my grow diary shows I'm getting decent results using what I've learned.

Why Do a Staggered Harvest?​

A staggered harvest lets you take the top colas first when they’re at peak THC and potency, while giving lower buds more time to ripen. Tops mature faster because they get more light and airflow. Harvesting in stages helps you maximize THC and head high effects by cutting each part of the plant at its perfect moment.

---

Quick Directions:​

1. Cut top buds when trichomes are mostly cloudy with a few ambers.
2. Leave mids/lowers on the plant, lower the light slightly, and continue with plain water or cold flush.
3. Check trichomes again in 5–7 days, then harvest the rest when they’re mostly cloudy.

Thank you very much for your detailed reply much appreciated

 

[firebblade]

Examples of Low, Mid & High Trichome pics off the same plant. Good visual on why you do a staggered harvest. All photos one day shy of 12 wks.

Low Bud - These could run another 5-10 days.

View attachment 2414430
View attachment 2414431


Mid Bud - These could go another 3-7 days.


View attachment 2414440View attachment 2414441


Top Buds - Peak Harvest Window for Maximum THC


View attachment 2414442View attachment 2414443View attachment 2414444

i forgot to mention my trees are blue dream which they say its late bloomers 9-11 weeks