Help with tricky harvest window-Pics

[bdiz]

OK, so my girl is progressing nicely, but I have put myself into a small situation. My girl started flowering mid July and the pictures represent her as of this morning.
Here is my situation. My wife and I are flying out of town on October 8th and returning the 12th. My mom will stay at my place to watch our daughter while we are away.
I am currently having daily battles with bud worms and picking them daily. Luckily, most I am finding are still quite small and yet to turn green. Have found a couple larger green fuckers.
Anyways, I don't care if my plant is still in the garden while my mom is here, but I simply can't have a pound of bud hanging to dry for obvious reasons. Here I am 45 years old, a father and worried about my mommy seeing a bunch of weed hanging LOL

Anyways, I am worried to leave my plant that long un attended, and I am hoping she will be ready to harvest, I am shooting for the the 25th or 26th. That would give me 11 or 12 days to dry, final trim and jar my fruit. I will likely bring my jars to a friends to burp while I am gone to start the curing process.

Anyone think, judging by the pics, that she will be ready by the 25/26th, another 10 days? Also, is 11 days realistic for large buds like these to dry? I plan on doing a pretty thorough wet trip before hanging. My only other grow was last year and the plants/buds were a quarter of the size of these guys. I will be drying in my garage that usually is around 70-80 degrees depending on current climate.

 

[bdiz]

Dang, quite a lot of yellowing over the last couple days since I started straight water. Just took these pictures this morning.
Getting close? Buds have seemed to stop growing.

 

[nashobaTHC]

Your plant looks too nice not to give it proper treatment. I realize you’re the best judge of your mom’s reaction to seeing and smelling your home grown but if I was in your shoes, I would tell your mother the truth….that your an adult and that you enjoy the plant and are growing your own for personal use. Hopefully she’ll accept that info. I would then wait until a few days before your trip, then harvest your plant by cutting large branches (2-3 ft), remove the largest plate leaves and leave the smaller sugar leaves on the stalk and hang in garage to dry. They’ll take 7-10 days to dry. When you return you can do final leaf trimming and bud separation for curing. If she’s against the whole idea, then keep the plant growing and harvest when you return. Good luck.

 

[GreenMtnGuru]

Those will be just at the beginning of being considered ready by the time you want to cut.

If I were you here’s what my Plan A would be:

Every day, I would tell myself “Aaaah self, prob one more day….”

Then, the day before wifey and I left, I would spend like an hour inspecting the trichomes on all the top buds.

Are they cloudy? A little bit amber? Are the lower buds as developed as the tops?

Excellent opportunity to harvest just the tops off of every arm. Lock them in the master bathroom with the exhaust fan on and the blinds closed. Deal with the rest after you get back.

BUT - here is plan B:

Bud worms continue to be a big problem. Picking many off every day. A couple days before vacation, chop everything, remove all fan leaves, and properly wash all buds/branches (3 bucket method). Then lock in master bathroom etc….

 

[bdiz]

Those will be just at the beginning of being considered ready by the time you want to cut.

If I were you here’s what my Plan A would be:

Every day, I would tell myself “Aaaah self, prob one more day….”

Then, the day before wifey and I left, I would spend like an hour inspecting the trichomes on all the top buds.

Are they cloudy? A little bit amber? Are the lower buds as developed as the tops?

Excellent opportunity to harvest just the tops off of every arm. Lock them in the master bathroom with the exhaust fan on and the blinds closed. Deal with the rest after you get back.

BUT - here is plan B:

Bud worms continue to be a big problem. Picking many off every day. A couple days before vacation, chop everything, remove all fan leaves, and properly wash all buds/branches (3 bucket method). Then lock in master bathroom etc….

Interesting about the washing technique. Never heard of it till you mentioned. Looked it up, and looks intriguing. Is washing a normal thing for outside growers?

 

[bdiz]

I learned the awesomeness of night shots!

 

[GreenMtnGuru]

Honestly, I wash all my outdoor. This will be my fifth year washing, and I will continue doing so.

I had some outdoor plants that I moved indoors to flower. Big mistake. Got spider mites. Like bad. Battled them inside for a month then moved the plants back outside. Washed plants after harvest and was shocked at the shit that was left in the cleaning buckets. Washed my main outdoor grow that year cause I was already set-up for it. Unbelievable amount of shit from the big plants. Had to completely change the cleaning buckets every half plant. Dirt, pollen, sand, flower seeds, plant pieces, bugs (dead and alive), bug shit, etc.

Washing it, to me and my friends, makes the finished product much, much smoother to smoke and slightly more flavorful. But, now I’m a weed snob because of it, and I won’t smoke other peoples stuff anymore hahahaha!!

 

[TSD]

Honestly, I wash all my outdoor. This will be my fifth year washing, and I will continue doing so.

I had some outdoor plants that I moved indoors to flower. Big mistake. Got spider mites. Like bad. Battled them inside for a month then moved the plants back outside. Washed plants after harvest and was shocked at the shit that was left in the cleaning buckets. Washed my main outdoor grow that year cause I was already set-up for it. Unbelievable amount of shit from the big plants. Had to completely change the cleaning buckets every half plant. Dirt, pollen, sand, flower seeds, plant pieces, bugs (dead and alive), bug shit, etc.

Washing it, to me and my friends, makes the finished product much, much smoother to smoke and slightly more flavorful. But, now I’m a weed snob because of it, and I won’t smoke other peoples stuff anymore hahahaha!!

It really is amazing how much crap comes off! Washing would also ads a day or two to the dry time, so if he hangs before he leaves, they shouldn't be over dry when he returns... maybe his buddy that was gonna burp can keep an eye on them or something. Hate it when shit interferes with my harvest... I had to have my bestie burp my harvest a couple years ago cause I was out of town. That's a tough call... the worms would make me nervous and they are so close. Also I've had rot set in at the end of flower as well... such a crucial time.