# How close to harvest?



## Surfer Joe (Feb 5, 2014)

I have an auto white widow in a 6.5L soil pot that was sprouted dec 1.
Can anyone advise on how much longer it may need?
The pistils are turning dark and the trichs are mostly clear and cloudy with a few amber ones. The leaves are still green and don't seem to be dying off.
How much longer with feeding and when should I begin to flush?
Thanks for any advice.


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## trillions of atoms (Feb 5, 2014)

I chop at around 50% amber.... id say around two weeks till chop. Start hitting w water in a week.


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## 4u2sm0ke (Feb 5, 2014)

Feed that plant to the end  allways

and Harvest time is here..it just depends on what type High you want...More amber more chouch lock...I like where ya at and Harvest when they about 10-20% Amber..Looks Great  nice work

:48:


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## ruufuus (Feb 9, 2014)

4u2sm0ke said:
			
		

> Feed that plant to the end  allways
> 
> and Harvest time is here..it just depends on what type High you want...More amber more chouch lock...I like where ya at and Harvest when they about 10-20% Amber..Looks Great  nice work
> 
> :48:


Althought I am familiar with the theory of harvesting at a desired ratio of amber to milky trichs, I'm curious as to what would happen to a heavy sativa(cerebral/uplifting) strain if left to get loaded with amber trichs.  I hope posting a question in someone else's thread doesnt offend anyone..


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## robertr (Feb 9, 2014)

If you leave it that long you run the risk of degradation. They continue to ripen after you cut them down, not a lot but it could put you over the line.


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## DrFever (Feb 9, 2014)

Potency is measured by the percentage by weight of THC in a dried sample of the uppermost leaves or growing shoots until flowers appear.) It shoes that generally potency increases as the plant develops. Cues such as phyllotaxy changes and rate of growth are helpful indicator to changes in development and the chronological age of the plant has little significance.

The development of the cannabinoids, resin glands, and, in practical terms, the potency in the living plant is not clearly understood. We believe that,, for the most part, potency does not increase steadily throughout the entire plant. Rather, each plant part reaches a point of maximum potency as it individually develops. A leaf that is formed when the plant is four weeks old does not increase in potency during the rest of the season. To say that potency is increasing means that the leaves that are now forming are more potent than those previously formed.

We also believe that cannabinoid formation is very fast as each plant part forms. Once matured (for example, when a leaf is fully expanded), cannabinoids are decomposing. This is one reason why the potency can decrease as well as increase during growth, especially late in the season, after the flowers have formed. The practical aspects of these points are detailed in the following sections.


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## WeedHopper (Feb 9, 2014)

What following sections?


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## ozzydiodude (Feb 9, 2014)

Need to copy and paste the whole article Dr Fever


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## Surfer Joe (Feb 23, 2014)

I have a lab microscope and enjoy looking at the buds and leaves on the growing plants and I noticed that the trichs on the back sides of leaves are much denser and better formed than those on the front sides. 
Does it make any difference when checking on the trichs whether to look on the tops or the bottoms of leaves to determine their stage?


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## Hushpuppy (Feb 23, 2014)

I look at the upper part of the plant initially, and when looking at the leaves themselves, I look at both sides off each leaf. I also will take leaves from several places on the plant to get an overall picture off how far along the ripeness is. I generally notice that lower bud leaves(trichomes) on each branch will be less ripe the farther down you go. If I get ~5-10% amber on the upper parts of the buds and ~1% amber on the lower buds, I will wait a little longer and see if I get upwards of about 5-8% on the lower buds, unless the upper buds also progress more to about 15-20%. Iff the upper buds are progressing faster than the lower and they get to the 15-20% then I will harvest so that I get a good "middle of the road" blend off ripeness.

If the upper buds are progressing far faster than the lower ones (this usually occurs on much larger plants) then I will harvest the top 3rd of the buds and allow the lower buds another 7-10 days to ripen further before harvesting them.

If I see any trichs that are turning very dark and don't appear to be damaged, I will harvest immediately as that is a good sign that the buds are getting too ripe and are beginning to degrade.

Ruufus: With some Sativa dominant plants, leaving them longer will not always cause them to develop more amber trichs, which gives more CBD which is attributed to couch-lock and body stone. In some cases it will make a difference and in some it won't, and then there are variations in-between. That is something that has to be either researched on that plant's lineage, or experimented with to determine if the phenotype will allow the change or not.


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## Surfer Joe (Feb 24, 2014)

This is the hardest part for me. Last grow I harvested too soon and the result was weak.
I have been letting the two plants go but I am afraid of missing the window for harvest.
The soil plant (auto white widow) has been flowering for 57 days today and the hydro plant (auto northern lights) has been flowering for 60 days. The soil plant looks a bit further along, with the pistils a lot darker and all shrivelled while some of the hydro plant pistils are lighter.
Both plants seem to have swollen calyxes and receding hairs.
The soil plant has a noticeable amount of amber trichs while the hydro plant has mostly all cloudy trichs with the odd amber trich.
The soil plant is smaller, having been grown in a 6.5L pot and the hydro plant is many times larger.
The hydro plant colas keep looking fuller and fatter as time goes by, so I am leaving it alone for now.
I started flushing the soil plant a couple of days ago and its leaves are turning yellow. I am still feeding the hydro plant reduced nutes and some of its lower leaves are turning yellow.
I like your idea of taking off the tops when they look right and letting the lower parts carry on a bit longer.


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## Hushpuppy (Mar 1, 2014)

I would say that if you haven't harvested yet, its time to harvest the soil plant by this point as it should have a considerable amount of amber trichomes. and the hydro plant is probably getting very close as well.


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## Surfer Joe (Mar 2, 2014)

Hushpuppy said:
			
		

> I would say that if you haven't harvested yet, its time to harvest the soil plant by this point as it should have a considerable amount of amber trichomes. and the hydro plant is probably getting very close as well.


Thanks. I am harvesting the soil plant today and am starting to flush the hydro plant today with the idea to harvest it next weekend.
I hope that I haven't let the soil plant go to long. It is a white widow auto and is already supposed to have a body stone effect.
Thanks for all your great advice, Hushpuppy. I read that the form was going to shut down and I am very sad. I was hoping to post the harvest results in a few weeks.


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## Hushpuppy (Mar 2, 2014)

I don't know how much longer we have here but iff you haven't checked out Marijuana Culture yet, you can post your harvest there. I look forward to seeing it.


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## Surfer Joe (Mar 3, 2014)

Well, we're still here, so that's good.
I got the soil white widow auto harvested and it's drying at the moment.
Here is a pic of it. The clothe pins give some sense of the size of the buds.


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## Hushpuppy (Mar 4, 2014)

Nice  I bet they are smelling so good


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## Surfer Joe (Mar 4, 2014)

Hushpuppy said:
			
		

> Nice  I bet they are smelling so good


Thanks, but they are losing their smell. 
When it was first cut, the buds smelled very distinct, but now they have very little smell. They are still soft and the room is 50-60% hum. and 14-18C. with a small fan on the other side of the room just blowing air towards a corner, not the buds. 
Is it normal for the smell to go away, or am I doing something wrong?


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## Hushpuppy (Mar 5, 2014)

That is not unusual for them to lose their smell like that when drying. Also, if you are drying them in a larger open room, they will lose the stronger smell that you first get after harvesting just because of the dissipation of the odor into the larger space. For someone who isn't used to smelling bud, if they were to walk into that room, they would be wowed by the smell that, to your nose, is barely there.  Once they are dry enough to start the curing process, you can put them in jars and the smell will come back.


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## Surfer Joe (Mar 5, 2014)

Hushpuppy said:
			
		

> For someone who isn't used to smelling bud, if they were to walk into that room, they would be wowed by the smell that, to your nose, is barely there.


Lol...That's what my wife says.
I went out and bought some smell-away cubes and now the house smells like a men's toilet in a gas station after it's been cleaned.


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## Growdude (Mar 5, 2014)

If you don't over dry them in the hanging stage, once jar'd up tight for a week or 2 will make the smell your looking for.

Don't rush the cure.


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## trillions of atoms (Mar 5, 2014)

Dont rush the cure!!!


Well put.


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## Surfer Joe (Mar 9, 2014)

Well, I harvested the hydro northern lights auto on day 72 of flowering and the yield was more than I expected.
I am now trying to dry it and cure it correctly.
Here are some pics. Thanks for all the help. 

View attachment indica-march-8-harvest-day.jpg


View attachment indica-march-8-harvest-day6.jpg


View attachment indica-march-8-harvest-day4.jpg


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## robertr (Mar 9, 2014)

Looks good, enjoy the smoke.


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## 7greeneyes (Mar 14, 2014)

:woohoo: nice pull for a greenhorn. Good job and take your time drying them as I said before...


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## Rosebud (Mar 14, 2014)

Nice harvest, congratulations and enjoy!


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