# Smell and calyxes and harvest



## jungle (Mar 4, 2011)

I've been trying to harvest my weed when the trichs turn some amber maqybe 10% amber. I've noticed that durring the flowering period, some plants give off a strong smell for a few days then it seems to deminish some, and maybe it does it again before the trichs are ready. Question is, if a person harvest the plant when it smells the best lets say it had cloudy some clear trichs. If I picked then instead of maybe two weeks later or 1 week, would the plant normaly be more fragrant if its picked when it seems to be smelling its best. Also i hear that swollen calyes are a deciding point for harvest and I was wondering if anyone had any pictures of what swollen calyxes are that would be telling its time for harvest, , and when they are swollen and people pick the plant at that time what color are thye tricks usually. I'm thinking maybe half amber. thank you


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## OGKushman (Mar 5, 2011)

forget your senses. use the tried true and tested methods of others and pluck em when the THC is highest! wait for some of that amber after that then its up to you.
happy growin!


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## jungle (Mar 5, 2011)

sounds good tks


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## 4u2sm0ke (Mar 5, 2011)

50/50  :aok:


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## jungle (Mar 17, 2011)

Best way to tell when to harvest is by the trichs. Got it. 

 I'm planning on growing dinafem white widow. It can be harvested at 8 weeks. But can be placed in darkness for two weeks for a better affect. I have grown white widow before, but never placed it in darkness before harvest, and the plant was fine but lacking the white trichomes I've seen pictures of. In these last two weeks of darkness, what happens to the trichs? I assume they turn mostly brown? If the trichs are 10% amber at 8 weeks and the plant gets put in darkness for two weeks they probly keep turning more amber? Does anyone who has experience placing plants in darkness for two weeks explain what goes on with the trichomes. With white widow what has been the difference for you between putting them in darkness and not?
I read the white strains benefitn the most from this method. Does anyone do this to other kind of strains? Is there much difference in your experience?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Mar 17, 2011)

jungle said:
			
		

> Best way to tell when to harvest is by the trichs. Got it.
> 
> I'm planning on growing dinafem white widow. It can be harvested at 8 weeks. But can be placed in darkness for two weeks for a better affect. I have grown white widow before, but never placed it in darkness before harvest, and the plant was fine but lacking the white trichomes I've seen pictures of. In these last two weeks of darkness, what happens to the trichs? I assume they turn mostly brown? If the trichs are 10% amber at 8 weeks and the plant gets put in darkness for two weeks they probly keep turning more amber? Does anyone who has experience placing plants in darkness for two weeks explain what goes on with the trichomes. With white widow what has been the difference for you between putting them in darkness and not?
> I read the white strains benefitn the most from this method. Does anyone do this to other kind of strains? Is there much difference in your experience?



This was discussed a while ago--I'm sure the thread got lost during the crash--with no real consensus.  However, I cannot imagine how it can possibly be good for a plant to be in darkness for 2 weeks--no light, no photosynthesis, no photosynthesis, no cannabinoids.  I want the breeders who recommend this to explain how this can possibly be beneficial to the plant or to trich development.


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## Budders Keeper (Mar 17, 2011)

> But can be placed in darkness for two weeks for a better affect.


My instinct tells me this is a recipe for rot/fungas/mold etc. I may be way off but that's what the little voices tell me.


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## Locked (Mar 17, 2011)

Budders Keeper said:
			
		

> My instinct tells me this is a recipe for rot/fungas/mold etc. I may be way off but that's what the little voices tell me.



:yeahthat:


I wld not recommend putting your plant into 2 weeks of darkness...sounds like a recipe for disaster.


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## TheKlonedRanger (Mar 18, 2011)

That thread was lost. I remember searching attitude and finding something like 3/4 of all white widows listed recommended that. Now, that's from a seedbank website not the breeders website. 

I remember reading some of subcools threads and recall seeing that he'd usually give the plants 72 hours darkness before harvest. I want to say that he also did the same thing before the flip to 12/12, but I'm not positive about that one. I don't remember him ever giving a reason as to why. 

That being said, there's a big difference beteen 3 days and 12 days.


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## Rosebud (Mar 18, 2011)

I have never understood that advice. Does not make sense.


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## dirtyolsouth (Mar 18, 2011)

To MAY to...  To MAH to.... 

Yup yup Kloned Ranger...   LOTS of good info lost in the great MP data crash of 2011...  Different strokes for different folks mi amigos...  

I dunno about putting them into the dark for two weeks as I've read that same breeder's tip for years on the marketing blurb for WW strains...   But although it's controversial around here :hubba: I only know from what I've seen with my own eyes over the years in my personal meds garden.  imho there is something to the darkness thing but you don't need to mess with all that for your first several harvests at the least. I'd skip all that and go by conventional harvest methods that our fine MP peeps are recommending.:aok:

Years ago after reading about some interesting experiments on darkness before harvest on the old Advanced Nutes forum we put thirsty plants just before harvest into the dark and chilly temps for 2-3 days and on many strains there was a difference.  We had a slight improvement in overall appearance, a deepening of the stanky odor and a tad more *smack* on the tongue when compared to buds that were just left in the light and let go the same amount of time... but it's not just the darkness that produces that result imho...      Plants put on dank for protection from a variety of environmental factors... temps, pests, etc...   It seemed to me to be a synergy that happened from the combination of the dark period along with letting them dry out and their reaction to the chilly temps.  Putting them into the dark dry gets the plants to pull the last deposits of moisture out of the soil and stem system.  At that time we were growing in a chilly dug out basement and in the winter temps down there would easily get into the lower to mid 50s.  

One other very interesting thing happened when I was growing in ebb and flow hydro tables about 15 years ago...  We had a major calamity when a breaker failed and popped off in our grow room while we were away on Xmas vacation... :shocked: :doh: The plants in the trays were at around week 5ish and they were in small 5x5 pots of hydroton ceramic grow rocks so all of them died since they weren't watered for a week...   The heat vent was disconnected from that room and temps were in the mid to upper 50s.  Despite their dying from lack of water and never getting a chance for the calyxes to swell it was totally amazing  how gooey and danked up they were in comparison with other grows of the same strain.   That incident really opened my eyes to the effects of stress on mj plants...  interesting stuff...  

I don't have the space and conditions in my current grow location to do a darkness period and I am always running perpetual flowering with multi strain grows so it's not possible for me now but if I had the space I would toy with darkness before harvest and trimming.  At the very least I always liked how it slowed down the drying and curing process even a bit more and resulted in some very smooth smoke...:joint:

Peace~!


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## jungle (Mar 18, 2011)

My next grow will be my 7th. So I'm a little comfortable with the darkness thing. Even though I'm polishing up and still learning conventional methods I feel I  can handle some of the off beaten path things. I helped a person have a grow and I'm going to help another person have one here in near future as well. But nothing of yet has been grown under ideal growing conditions because I have to use what resources are available to me at the time. But I have put out some nice weed and people in my area say it's the best they've been around even though my growing methods arn't as ideal as some others, and yes i'd trade for my grow rooms for your more professional set ups. It's a hobby we enjoy what ever level we are on. I find out when i ask some of the simplest questions the answers can make the biggest differences, and i can make corrections when needed. I don't really have space for a darkness period either.  I like to know what others are doing and thinking then I can decide easier. Whats good for me about gardening its a personal thing as well and I can add touches to my growing anyway i like bottom line. I'm glad theres room for differences and often the outcomes are close or simular or good enough and we have the freedom to grow in the style we like to. Wellm I was just wondering about the darkness thing before harvest because i'm thinking of growing a white widow. Just when I thought i had it figured out now this. .


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