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

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Seamaiden

Seamaiden

Living dead girl
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I am being honest, I have a lot to learn yet. But I thank you.
Some one once said to me that when they reach the time of highest resin content, they stop smelling completely for about 24 hrs and then stink with a vengence, this is the time to pull them. This person said that the plant realises its coming to its end and stops in a kind of suspended animation and then lets it all go for its final stint. Don't know how true that is, as i've had a lot of conversations in the past and heard plenty of believable stuff that turned out to be total crap. :-( This is my first indoor grow so i would'nt know by experience.
And since I don't pick up on a lot of odors, that method probably wouldn't work well for me. If it's true, of course. I honestly don't know.
 
BuDGooDE

BuDGooDE

133
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That lady does not look finished to me. She appears to be a little heavy on the Sativa side, which means that if you take her with clear trichome heads you're trending towards a high that may be more anxious, to downright paranoid. One way people will decide with a new strain is to start taking samples, dry them quickly and give 'em a smoke. You might want to do that here. And I'm a little insistent on it because I know how much weight you can get if you're willing to let them go just a little bit longer, til they're done popping pistils and putting on the weight.

These first grows are pretty exciting, aren't they?

I've never done the darkness thing, so I can't really speak to its efficacy or overall effectiveness.
My first grow is definitely exciting :-) This is a great thread by the way, I know its an old one but thanks for the info anyway. . 2 of my plants are getting a lot of dark hairs now but still throwing out whites :-) Its only week 6 flower so no way want to harvest yet. Im going to use the methods you've mentioned here, such as plant stopped growing etc. Heres a pic of one of buds, an opinion on them would be great cheers. The pic is one of the smaller buds around the side, it was the one with the best photo colour.
 
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BuDGooDE

BuDGooDE

133
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I think with that much new pistil growth, she needs to be let go a while longer. Couple of weeks at the very minimum.

And thank you, I'm so glad this thread has helped!
Thank you @Seamaiden. I think it was a temp issue that may have caused prem browning :-( Like you say plenty of white pistils still popping.
 
BuDGooDE

BuDGooDE

133
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Don't let it get you down, she's still gonna smoke nicely, I'm sure. :)
Yes thanks :-) Had so many problems during this first grow, glad i took your advice and used soil not coco first grow. I dont stress no more just try sort out problems the best i can :-) and enjoy the grow. I cant believe all 5 bag seed plants are fems.
 
BuDGooDE

BuDGooDE

133
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Yeah, that's a hell of a bit of luck!
Yes i think 3 may be super lemon haze and i got 1 very large Indica that has been slow but steady :-) Its buds are slower forming but they are very sticky and frosted with resin :-) heres a pic.
 
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BuDGooDE

BuDGooDE

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That scent and sight always gets me so excited that I have to do a little dance and exclaim, "Squee!"
Ha Ha yep :-) she smells like good Afghani Hash lol :-) And looks so yummy makes me want to dance to. But she been one finicky girl. Didnt like LSTing, topping or any thing. Had to super crop her in the end, first time wanted to cry lol. Thats why i built in bamboo scrog. She just lay there after, looking terribly abused and me feeling guilty as hell. But only a couple of days and she started picking up again :-) She was after all about 18 inches taller than the others.
 
One drop

One drop

Bush Doctor
Supporter
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@Seamaiden some top advice I find my NL gets very little Amber lots on milky fat tricones for me .
 
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RudyClosGrow

RudyClosGrow

23
3
It's funny, last year my first soil crop took exactly 10 weeks and trichomes turned amber by that time. This year I switch to a mostly coco 60/40 mix, but 12 weeks later no amber trichomes and hairs stopped growing so I pulled them. Now I have to test to see if there are any differences in the two crops. I'm thinking about going back to mostly organic soil cause the coco dries out too quickly for hand watering and there's too much waste from run-off.
 
Crops

Crops

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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. :)
True this ! good reading of a good thread
 
RudyClosGrow

RudyClosGrow

23
3
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. :)
 
RudyClosGrow

RudyClosGrow

23
3
With 2 grows under my belt using organic soil, I thought I knew when to harvest, but these last two grows (of the same strain) were different. 10 weeks was not enough so I went 12 weeks and still no amber trichomes. I even let one go 13 weeks, but no change. So I used alternative methods determine harvest. Watering, new bud/hair growth, and my golden autumn leaves. Ah parting with my golden leaves is such sweet sorrow.

Now, I don't know why one harvest was 10 weeks and another 12 weeks, but we're talking the same strain and the only thing different was the soil medium. I'm getting test results this week to see if there is a difference in potency which is all I care about anyways, but 12 weeks or more is not what I signed up for. Taking a break for now and will start again with a different strain in a few.
 
S

Skipo

36
8
Not if you pay attention to relative humidity (aka RH). I like your idea for doing the paper bag thing, just monitor RH. Drying RH for me is in the 50%-55% range, curing is 60%-65%. You can get a small monitor to keep track.
Not if you pay attention to relative humidity (aka RH). I like your idea for doing the paper bag thing, just monitor RH. Drying RH for me is in the 50%-55% range, curing is 60%-65%. You can get a small monitor to keep track.
What’s the perfect temperature to accommodate these humidities?
 
M

mr x

38
18
I'm stll confused ob how to tell your buds are done I don't want to wreck it wish I was experienced like all of you
 
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