Harvesting is the process of taking the useful parts or parts of the plant. It is done when all the nutrients have grown and the edible parts have reached the right level of maturity. Most of the time, the grain is harvested 10 or 15 days after it has reached physiological maturity.
Every plant, even hemp, has a time or window when its fruits or buds are at their best. If you're a grower, it can be hard to figure out when the best time is to pick your crops. Environmental factors also play a role in when a plant goes through its growth cycle. Timing, inspecting pistils, and inspecting trichomes are three of the most common ways to figure out when to harvest.
Timing is simply waiting until the flowering time set by the breeder is over. A bad thing about it is that this isn't a sure thing. Because timing is subjective, it can always be different based on the environment in which your plant grows. If you use the pistil method, things are a little easier to figure out. The earliest time to pick is when at least 60% of your plant's pistils have turned dark or curled in. Using this method could leave more yields on the table because harvesting early means less potency.
In the beginning, you might be excited about the taste of your hard work at harvest time. Learn how to harvest marijuana in this beginner's guide. You'll find out which plants are ready to be harvested and how to tell when they're ready to be cut down, too.
How long does it usually take to grow and harvest cannabis?
Cannabis plants grow at a wide range of speeds from the seedling stage to harvest. Many factors can affect how long the growth cycle lasts, including the growing medium, how much marijuana you want to grow, and the strain of marijuana you choose. Between six and 16 weeks will pass before you can harvest most cannabis plants. On average, it should take between nine and 12 weeks from planting to harvesting, but this isn't set in stone. There are a lot of things that can change this.
Three strains that are known to grow faster than average, if you want to speed up your harvest:
Early girl: As the name implies, Early Girl is fast. It can be ready for harvest in just seven weeks.
OG Kush: OG Kush is known for its earthy, spicy taste and high THC content. It can be harvested in eight weeks and is a favorite of weed lovers all over the world.
The chocolate skunk: like Northern Lights Automatic and Easy Bud, Chocolate Skunk Auto grows very quickly. It usually ripens in eight weeks or less.
It will be easy for you to tell when your cannabis plants are ready to be harvested when you look at these signs:
There are small resin glands called trichomes on the flowers. When they look different, it's a good sign that it's time to pick the flowers and make weed. When it's done right, half of the trichomes should be milky white, and the other half should be a bright amber. Clear trichomes, on the other hand, mean that it's best to wait a little longer before taking the plant. The color of the trichomes is the best sign to look for. Make sure you have a magnifying glass with you so you can see this color change with your eyes.
Changes in the color of the fan leaves are another good way to tell when a marijuana plant is ready for harvest. At this time, nitrogen makes the leaves green because it helps them grow. During harvest, fan leaves will turn yellow and fall off because the amount of nitrogen in the soil drops.
Fan leaves may also curl and dry as they change from green to yellow. As harvest time nears, cannabis plants use less water.
If you grow photoperiod cannabis, the pistils will turn brown when they are old enough. The best time to pick is when about half of the pistils have turned brown. You'll need your magnifying glass for this step, just like you did when you checked the colors of the trichomes.
If you want to know when it's time to harvest, you can look at the shape of the buds. This isn't as reliable as the trichome test, but it can still give you a sense of how old the plant is. In order to know when to pick weed, you should see if the buds on the plant are strong and tight.
These are all things that can be seen with the naked eye and are clear signs that it's time to harvest. There are also other signs that show when a plant is either too young or too old for harvesting. After you harvest marijuana plants, you need to dry, trim, and store them. It will be ready to eat or store when these steps are done. Make sure to keep cannabis in a vacuum-sealed container and store it in a cool, dark place to keep it as fresh as possible.
When is it too late to grow cannabis?
When you look again, pay attention to the color of the trichomes and what they look like. If you see a lot of amber trichomes, then the cannabis flowers are too old. At this point, the weeds will taste bad when they're grown. In addition, cannabinoids like THC start to break down when amber trichomes take over the milky white ones. Even if growers don't harvest their plants, the trichomes can start to turn black. Besides being amber, trichomes can also become very hard. If the buds are too ripe, the trichomes may even fall apart in your hands.
It's not a good idea to harvest cannabis when it's past its prime, but it may be better than harvesting too early. The terpenes, which are thought to have healing properties, can become more powerful during a late harvest, but this can make the plant smell and taste bad.
How do you know when it's too early to harvest marijuana?
If most of the trichomes are clear, then the cannabis plants aren't ready to be harvested at this point. Having clear trichomes means that resin production hasn't yet reached its peak, which means that the weed will be less potent, tasty, and smelly.
The condition of the trichomes is the best way to tell if a bud is ready to be cut. These are the things that give your hemp plant a frosty look, mostly on the buds and sometimes on the tri-tip leaves. The color and level of murkiness of the trichomes will show you how potent your plant is. This is how you can tell how strong it is.
Clear trichomes show the least amount of potency because they look like glass and stand up straight. In the long run, harvesting your buds now will result in lower yields because you'll be cutting off their growth cycle by a few weeks when they haven't fully grown.
The best time to pick is when the trichomes look milky and cloudy. This means the buds are at their peak potency and ready to be harvested. When your plant stops making new white hairs or pistils, you will also know when the harvest window starts. 40% of the white hairs will have darkened and curled in, and 50% to 70% of the pistils will have darkened as well.
While this method is the most accurate, it is also the most difficult because trichomes are very small, so you will need to magnify them in order to see them better. Handheld magnifying glasses, pocket microscopes, and even your smartphone can all be used to look at things with a lot of power. But to look at trichomes, we suggest using a jeweler's loupe. Compared to most other magnifiers, this one is the best value. It is cheap, easy to use and durable, and has two levels of magnification with LED lights to help you see better.
Conclusion:
Every plant, even hemp, has a time or window when its fruits or buds are at their best. If you're a grower, it can be hard to figure out when the best time is to pick your crops. Environmental factors also play a role in when a plant goes through its growth cycle. Timing, inspecting pistils, and inspecting trichomes are three of the most common ways to figure out when to harvest.
Waiting till the flowering time specified by the breeder has passed is all that is required for timing. The disadvantage of this is that it is not a sure-fire strategy. It is always possible for it to be different depending on the environment in which your plant is growing. With the pistil approach, things are a little easier to figure out than with the other methods. At least 60% of the pistils on your plant have become dark or curled inward before you can harvest them.
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