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Growing Marijuana Guide – Harvesting At The Right Time

How Do You Know When To Harvest Marijuana?

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Growing Marijuana Guide – Harvesting At The Right Time. Many growers care for their plants for many months, have great plants, and then make the mistake of not catching the right harvest time. Here I want to give some tips on how to get the best results.

Growing Marijuana Guide - Harvesting At The Right Time
Growing Marijuana Guide – Harvesting At The Right Time

How Do You Know When To Harvest Marijuana?

First of all, it should be noted that it is about nature, so the tips can only provide rough clues. Each variety differs and even within the strain there are usually different phenotypes. Everyone has to decide on the exact harvest time, it also depends on the preferences of the growers.  If the plant is ready for harvest, it can be harvested immediately and has a stronger psychedelic effect, while longer flowering cannabis plants have a stronger body effect.

How Do You Know When To Harvest Marijuana
How Do You Know When To Harvest Marijuana

In principle, one can, of course, stick to the statements of the seed banks and thus has a good clue, but if you want to produce more than average weed, close observation of the buds is essential to really catch the perfect harvest time.

Harvesting Cannabis At The Right Time

Indoor growers often make the mistake of blooming their plants for too long. The flowering cycle in cannabis consists of premature, early and full flowering. The perfect harvest time is the end of full bloom. The plant begins to die afterward. Although the buds are still growing, the ingredients are oxidizing. That is to say in concrete terms that larger quantities are clearly at the expense of quality. Nature just cannot be outsmarted.

How do I recognize the end of the full bloom?  The exact observation of the development of the flowers is essential as mentioned above. The best guidance for the right harvest time is the small resin drops on the buds. In order to be able to control these exactly, one should use a magnifying glass or rather a microscope. The perfect ripeness of the cannabis plant is reached when the resin drops change from clear to milky. If they are amber, the plant is overripe. This means that should be harvested as soon as about 1/4 of the resin drops have changed from clear to amber.

Harvesting Cannabis At The Right Time
Harvesting Cannabis At The Right Time

Growing Marijuana Guide – Harvesting At The Right Time

By now you are probably quite excited to start smoking your buds. To achieve the best marijuana possible, timing is the key. Knowing when to stop nutrients and when to harvest is an important skill to master. The first couple of times you grow, you will most likely not get it perfect, but through trial and error you will eventually figure it out.

If you have a microscope at hand, you can still rely on another verification method. Many of the resin drops have a “stalk”. The right harvest time has come when the “resin balls” begin to fall off the “stems”.

To achieve the best-tasting marijuana, you will want to stop all nutrients about two weeks before harvest if growing in soil. This allows the nutrients stored in the plant to be used up in the growth process and not in your buds. If you don’t stop nutrients, you will have poor taste and difficult-to-light marijuana.

A good rule of thumb is to stop nutrients the moment you begin seeing any of the trichomes turning an amber color, but if you have knowledge of your particular strain, you can follow whatever guidelines are provided with the strain.

Trichomes are the small resin glands found on your buds
Trichomes are the small resin glands found on your buds

Trichomes are the small resin glands found on your buds. The trichomes are quite small, so you will need a pocket-microscope to see them well. The pictures above show the progression of the trichomes from a clear color, to a milky translucent color, to slightly amber.

Not all trichomes will mature at the same time, but you will want to harvest when most of the trichomes have become the milky color. Amber trichomes are fine, but high concentrations of amber trichomes will tend to get you stoned, while high concentrations of milky trichomes will get you high. A good ratio is ideal.

Trimming And Manicuring Marijuana

Once you feel your marijuana has matured to an optimal point, it is time to harvest. You have two options, harvest the branches one at a time or harvest the whole plant at once. I recommend harvesting the plant all at once as a beginner. It will be easier for you. Simply cut the plant at the base using scissors or garden shears.

Trimming And Manicuring Marijuana
Trimming And Manicuring Marijuana

Once you have cut down the plant, take it somewhere to work. Working on a flat surface will allow you to easily collect the material you remove. This material is low in THC, but THC is still present and it can be used to make hash oil.

Trimming the buds is a relatively simple process, but make sure to take your time. Essentially all that you need to do is cut the branches holding the buds from the plant and removing all the leaves. Take your time and use a pair of scissors with small blades so that you have full control. You will get the hang of this with some practice. When you are done trimming the buds, they should look like the image below.

Trimming And Manicuring cannabis
Trimming And Manicuring cannabis

These trimmings are not smokable yet, they still need to be dried and cured, but if you’re excited to get smoking (as I’m sure you will be), you can take a small about and use one of the quick-drying techniques to smoke it today. Only quick dry a small amount, as quick-dried marijuana smoke will be harsh and less potent.

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