[LoveGrowingIt]

2 grows ago in one of my smaller tents, I started using AC Infinity self watering bases.
I noticed the closer I got to harvest, the less often I had to refill them so I thought that's a pretty good indication of the plant being ready.
Idk if I would rely solely on it though.

For it to work with hand watering, you would have to water the exact amount every time and see how long it takes it to drink that much water.
With other cues from the plant, maybe it could work.

Plants do need less water as they senesce and eventually die, in which case they don't need any water at all. So, it's a curvilinear relationship over the span of a plant's life.

With other cues from the plant, maybe it could work.

This is the important idea, IMO. There are many signs of ripeness, and optimal ripeness assessment includes personal preference. From germination to harvest I usually don't look at just one factor as I assess a plant's health, and most of such assessments are facilitated by experience. That doesn't mean it's easy to list all the cues an experienced grower could perceive. That said, when I use a loupe, it's usually to see if the trichomes match my visual assessment. Eventually, the need to use a loupe diminishes.

 

[Oldchucky]

You can give it a try, but I think for the best results you’re gonna have to have somebody scope out the tri-combs for you! The best your way is going to do is get you in a pretty big ballpark! Good luck with it! At least you’re giving it a good try!

Oops! Better start looking at dates a little closer!

 

[LoveGrowingIt]

Oops! Better start looking at dates a little closer!

You're not alone.

 

[kckid46]

:) I use Gimp..lol Just to size and crop. Thanks Sea :)
Those are almost done.

I want to add another way to tell it time to harvest,
Its time to harvest when you see bud rot:depressed:


I was lucky not to get any PM with my latest lite deps (biowar helped to no doubt)
But I found a tiny bit of bud rot on two different plants this morning :(
The thumb sized middle buds snapped right off. and I didnt see any more bad buds
And I dont wanna...So, Im Harvesting :)

Sheeeeezzz sus

 

[PapaRuss]

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. :)

 

[PapaRuss]

I have my loupe onhand and am ready to make tricomb inspections. For the short term though, there’s a long way to go before they’ll be ready.

 

[HowardC]

Given the technology available these days I would think a device to measure the content of trichomes is available? Even the test police have where the sample is put in a bag and a solution is dispensed???

 

[amneziaHaze]

there are maybe 3 companies i know that sell those devices and they are all 800$+ to own.... i dont see the need to give that much money to know that it wasnt as the advertised 24 it was 27...

 

[martinweller]

You could use AI application