Doubts on harvesting my WW ladies

[Syllyvester]

Hi there felllow farmers :)

I'm growing a batch of 4 white widow ( rqs ) plants, indoor, in a tent. They are currently in week 16/17. That is a bit long but I have seen many grow diaries where it takes even longer. It is my second batch, the first batch was mixed species. So, I'm a bit of a noob still though Im in it for almost a year now and have tried to read as much as possible. For this problem though I could not find an easy answer and I hope that some expereinced people can advise me !

( see attached images ) Since a week, maybe 2, the leaves have started to turn yellow and shrivle and drop off. At first I panicked a bit on that but I read several articles claiming that it is natural at the end of flowering phase.

For some time, I was convinced that things were going the right way, buds kept on growing and I saw no need to harvest yet as the trichomes told me she wasn't there yet ( partially cloudy, minimal amber ). But now, most of the bigger leaves have dropped off. The buds still look okay and the ambers are a little more present.

As times flies by, I'm getting more and more anxious/concerned whether or not to wait a few days or to start harvesting. Mainly due to the levaes falling off.

My questions :

1. Is it normal that this many leaves fall off during end of flowering ? I presume it depends on what species you use and it seems WW is known for it
2. The buds look mostly good, on the small side but healthy. Is it wise to give them a bit more time ? Or have I already passed the ideal moment ? ( I feel I'm late )
3. I tested the trichomes :
   1. On one of the smaller leaves attached to the buds ( sugar leaf ? ). Is that a good location to test on or should I use a different part of the bud ?
   2. Can trichome testing be influenced by light or air ? I tested it some 30m after I cut it off
4. Would you advise me to harvest based on the info and pics ?

Many thanks for any help/advise you can give ! I'm truly worried about my babies and me making a dumb mistake :'-(

 

[GoodListener]

Hi sylvester, your plants look amazing for 16 weeks, I'd say they are done and will have very smooth smoke.

 

[Syllyvester]

Hi sylvester, your plants look amazing for 16 weeks, I'd say they are done and will have very smooth smoke.

Thanks ! PLanning on chopping them in 2 days :)

 

[BigBlonde]

Is it normal that this many leaves fall off during end of flowering ? I presume it depends on what species you use and it seems WW is known for it

It is normal because the plant is nearing the end of its life and it does vary by species. There might be magnesium deficiency or perhaps light burn. Your grow should finish well, though.

The buds look mostly good, on the small side but healthy. Is it wise to give them a bit more time ? Or have I already passed the ideal moment ? ( I feel I'm late )

They look close to being ready, but it's hard to tell from the picture. There isn't really an "ideal moment," because folks have different preferences. It's best to look at the trichomes on the buds with magnification, like at least a 15x jeweler's loupe. Then it's a matter of comparing the number of cloudy trichomes to amber trichomes. Cloudy trichomes tend to provide an energetic high, versus amber that provide a relaxed high.

I tested the trichomes :

1. On one of the smaller leaves attached to the buds ( sugar leaf ? ). Is that a good location to test on or should I use a different part of the bud ?
2. Can trichome testing be influenced by light or air ? I tested it some 30m after I cut it off

Look at the trichomes on the buds. I don't know about the second question. I don't cut mine off to check them.

Would you advise me to harvest based on the info and pics ?

My guess is that you can harvest soon.

 

[Week4Bytch]

May I ask what lighting (and PAR readings) your using to grow out these White Widow? Ands where did you get your WW from?

 

[Syllyvester]

It is normal because the plant is nearing the end of its life and it does vary by species. There might be magnesium deficiency or perhaps light burn. Your grow should finish well, though.


They look close to being ready, but it's hard to tell from the picture. There isn't really an "ideal moment," because folks have different preferences. It's best to look at the trichomes on the buds with magnification, like at least a 15x jeweler's loupe. Then it's a matter of comparing the number of cloudy trichomes to amber trichomes. Cloudy trichomes tend to provide an energetic high, versus amber that provide a relaxed high.


Look at the trichomes on the buds. I don't know about the second question. I don't cut mine off to check them.


My guess is that you can harvest soon.

Thanks a lot for your extensive and clear reply BigBlonde ! mg deficiency could very well be. I base my knowledge partially on my experience and in my last run, I didn't add any nutes at all. Different species though so this is a new learning opportunity for me.

This time I cut 1 stem to be able to look at the trichomes under my ( USB ) microsope but it is hard to keep the image stable with it. In retrospect, I should have tried to work on the plants without cutting. At this stage it is probably not wise to do..

My prime concern were the leaves though but I get your point on getting to the end. I read somewhere that all energy goes to the buds in end of flowering which makes sense.

In my previous run, I didnt have any yellow leaves while the trichomes were clearly showing they were ready so it scared the heck out of me when I suddenly saw the yellow leaves :). I mean 4 months of love and care.

I'll wait till the weekend probably so I can cut them right after dark period.

WW is my personal favorite so I really hope it is smokeable :) ( or if not, that I at least learn what I did wrong )

Thanks again Big !

 

[Syllyvester]

May I ask what lighting (and PAR readings) your using to grow out these White Widow? Ands where did you get your WW from?

Sure.. I got the seeds from RQS, so far I have good experiences with RQS, all seeds sprouted ok. As for the light, sorry to say that I have no clue. I bought my grow tent second hand and the guy convinced me the lights were good. They are 2 plates of about 20x20cm filled with LED's. So far it seems to work fine ( 2 runs ) but I might buy new ones in a few runs..

 

[Week4Bytch]

Sure.. I got the seeds from RQS, so far I have good experiences with RQS, all seeds sprouted ok. As for the light, sorry to say that I have no clue. I bought my grow tent second hand and the guy convinced me the lights were good. They are 2 plates of about 20x20cm filled with LED's. So far it seems to work fine ( 2 runs ) but I might buy new ones in a few runs..

Try the photone app to get an estimate of par readings in your tent. you should probably aim for at least a par of 750-850 when in flower.

 

[Harpua88]

Everyone is asking the right questions. 9 times out of 10 the answer to "Are these ready to harvest?" is no. In your case, yeah, they might very well be ready. You say they're in wk 16/17, how many days since you flipped to flowering, or are they autos?

Does it seem like they've stopped putting out new flowers, new white hairs?

In all the questions everyone's asked, that's where you'll be able to make some adjustments for the future. Those adjustments might lead to slightly longer flowering, more flowering/even larger buds, more time before the leaves turn yellow and die, which could lead to longer/more flowering......autos have their own clock, but you can have an impact on how much production happens in that time frame. Even a bit more with photoperiods.

So it looks like you've done well no matter what. It's in tweaking/adjusting things where you'll maximize your results. Not a bad spot to be in. The next and last important ingredient.......is curing. Properly drying and then good, patient curing is the final thing you can have an impact on.

 

[Week4Bytch]

Everyone is asking the right questions. 9 times out of 10 the answer to "Are these ready to harvest?" is no. In your case, yeah, they might very well be ready. You say they're in wk 16/17, how many days since you flipped to flowering, or are they autos?

Does it seem like they've stopped putting out new flowers, new white hairs?

In all the questions everyone's asked, that's where you'll be able to make some adjustments for the future. Those adjustments might lead to slightly longer flowering, more flowering/even larger buds, more time before the leaves turn yellow and die, which could lead to longer/more flowering......autos have their own clock, but you can have an impact on how much production happens in that time frame. Even a bit more with photoperiods.

So it looks like you've done well no matter what. It's in tweaking/adjusting things where you'll maximize your results. Not a bad spot to be in. The next and last important ingredient.......is curing. Properly drying and then good, patient curing is the final thing you can have an impact on.

Good catch on the autos, that would explain a lot.

 

[Harpua88]

Good catch on the autos, that would explain a lot.

Sometimes someone has the main question/concern, and then ends up with a few other questions but it's not the primary issue.