Time to harvest

[4am sessions]

Ok so I am at about 3 weeks into flower (my plant is shown in pics below). I am now staring to think about the future and how to finish off my plant. After doing some research I have decided that this is what I think i'll need to do. Bear in mind I want to harvest at highest THC content for the more heady high, like cloudy trichomes.

Up until trichomes are about 50/50 clear/cloudy keep watering every few day with one nutrient feeding a week, gradually reducing nutes.

When trichomes reach 50/50 clear/cloudy stop nutrient feeding all together and start a two week flush (does this mean to water when required with pH 6.0 water?)

After about two weeks give the plant a few days in complete darkness.

Take out of darkness, cut, harvest, dry, cure etc.

Thanks for reading. Does this sound about right? Should I start the two week flush before 50/50 clear/cloudy trichomes? Please tell me if I should do it differently.

Thanks so much!

P.s this is my first grow.

 

[Dividedsky]

You have 5-6 weeks to go. I don't even look at the trics under a microscope anymore. I look at the plant has a whole to be able to tell when it is done. When pistils(hairs) turn darker and start to recede, and buds have a goldish hue to them I know they're finished. Don't overthink and complicate things.

 

[Dividedsky]

2 week flush is overkill and will stress your plants out. A lot of people don't think you should even flush, just feed very lights nutes towards the end of flower. Why would to give your plants nutrient deficiencies for 2 weeks. A proper cure will take out any thing lingering in the bud that your worried about, harshness, ect.

 

[researching]

Looking at trichomes is a sure way to know when they are ready. There is nothing wrong with flushing if that's what you want to do. It really is dependent on how hard you push you plants. If you taper off nutes you should be fine without a flush. As long as you are getting yellowing and leaf fade then you know it is using up all the nutrients. Stressing plants can be a good thing in certain areas such as placing them in darkness, using jasmonate etc..

You will definitely get naysayers with the whole leave it in the dark before chopping. No one can say for sure whether it works or not. I can say it does work with some strains. Either way, why not do it? The plants are coming down anyway and its not going to negatively impact them so once again why not do it?

Personally I look at trichomes, I flush, and most the time I leave them in the dark or chop right when the lights come on. The Flav is one strain that gets frostier when left in the dark. I have left it up to 5 days in the dark then chop and definitely gets frostier. Some people say their is no proof or to prove that it works. I am of the ilk that If I know it works then I have no obligation to prove it to anyone else.

We all have our methods and a lot of those come from trial and error. There are a bunch of different roads to the same destination. Which road you take is totally up to you. Obviously if you are new to this then analyzing your trichomes is a foolproof way to know when to chop. Especially if you are looking for a certain type of high as you obviously are.

I am not knocking anyone's method, I'm just saying there are a multitude of ways and ideas to do this and finding what works best for you will then become the right way. FOR YOU.

 

[4am sessions]

Looking at trichomes is a sure way to know when they are ready. There is nothing wrong with flushing if that's what you want to do. It really is dependent on how hard you push you plants. If you taper off nutes you should be fine without a flush. As long as you are getting yellowing and leaf fade then you know it is using up all the nutrients. Stressing plants can be a good thing in certain areas such as placing them in darkness, using jasmonate etc..

You will definitely get naysayers with the whole leave it in the dark before chopping. No one can say for sure whether it works or not. I can say it does work with some strains. Either way, why not do it? The plants are coming down anyway and its not going to negatively impact them so once again why not do it?

Personally I look at trichomes, I flush, and most the time I leave them in the dark or chop right when the lights come on. The Flav is one strain that gets frostier when left in the dark. I have left it up to 5 days in the dark then chop and definitely gets frostier. Some people say their is no proof or to prove that it works. I am of the ilk that If I know it works then I have no obligation to prove it to anyone else.

We all have our methods and a lot of those come from trial and error. There are a bunch of different roads to the same destination. Which road you take is totally up to you. Obviously if you are new to this then analyzing your trichomes is a foolproof way to know when to chop. Especially if you are looking for a certain type of high as you obviously are.

I am not knocking anyone's method, I'm just saying there are a multitude of ways and ideas to do this and finding what works best for you will then become the right way. FOR YOU.

By looking at your trichomes, when would you start a flush if you was after full potency, cloudy trichomes at cut? What I mean is are the majority still clear or like 50/50?

Sorry too asks loads of questions haha! I just want to make sure I get it right after putting in a lot of effort etc for nutes in flowering i'm using:

Plant Magic Bio-silicon
Plant Magic MagneCal+
Plant Magic Bloom Boost
Plant Magic Oldtimer Organic Bloom (3-5-4)
2.5ml raw, unfiltered honey
2.5ml unsulfered molasses
Pinch of epsom salts

Do these sound ok?

I have a block of Ona Pro odour neutalizer in the same room i'm growing in. Basically in the corner of my bedroom (haha) i've built a little like box with a 300W hps that sits on top and a blue clf inside. It has an inlet fan at the bottom and outlet fan at the top. Because it's my bedroom i need to keep odours down, even though I like them, but I am worried this Ona stuff will end up ruining my bud? Any thoughts?

THANKS SO MUCH!

 

[researching]

I harvest when there is a mix of all three typically. Clear, Cloudy, and Amber. I have anxiety and the more heady the high, the more anxiety.... So I like the amber trichs.

When I start to see some cloudy I would flush in your situation. I run coco, so a 1 week flush is plenty. It's hard to overwater coco so a heavy flush works well. I will taper off nutes leading up to that. It's strain dependent and is somewhat instinctive as to when to flush. Kind of like Dividedsky said above about when he chops. It becomes instinctive. That being said too, if you grow a strain long enough you know when to do those things because you know the timeline of the plant.

What are you growing in? I am guessing soil. Are those nutrients/additives what you use just in flower? If you are using molasses I wouldn't use honey. Also, unless you are having some Mg issues then you don't need the epsom salt I would say. Molasses has Mg in it as well and as I am sure you are aware is a great source of micronutrients. Also good to feed micro organisms and beneficial bacterias.

You don't mention your dilutions. If you are in soil then I would stop feeding it anything for about 1-2 weeks. I would use 1/2 the amount of molasses and ph your water and water as norma. This way your plants will still utilize and uptake the nutes in your soil, and should fade out as they eat up all the food. The molasses helps to sweeten the smoke and I have read some things that suggest it aids in flushing the salts.

Ona won't mess up your flowers unless you were keeping it in that cabinet. I used to use it until I went to a filter. I used it, and an ozone generator on a cycle timer. But never in the growing area.

 

[GKID69]

U gotta minute before u start chopping it down bro

 

[Dividedsky]

If your checking the trichs you definitely don't want all going amber because the is thc degradation. You'll be good at 80 milky 20 amber. Its all up to you bud.

 

[pseudobotanist]

If your checking the trichs you definitely don't want all going amber because the is thc degradation. You'll be good at 80 milky 20 amber. Its all up to you bud.

Amber is not thc degradation, brown is actually thc degradation.

There are some sativa strains that have an early Amber. Hell the "blue dream" I got this year was showing Amber by week 5

 

[4am sessions]

Thanks a lot everyone.

 

[4am sessions]

I harvest when there is a mix of all three typically. Clear, Cloudy, and Amber. I have anxiety and the more heady the high, the more anxiety.... So I like the amber trichs.

When I start to see some cloudy I would flush in your situation. I run coco, so a 1 week flush is plenty. It's hard to overwater coco so a heavy flush works well. I will taper off nutes leading up to that. It's strain dependent and is somewhat instinctive as to when to flush. Kind of like Dividedsky said above about when he chops. It becomes instinctive. That being said too, if you grow a strain long enough you know when to do those things because you know the timeline of the plant.

What are you growing in? I am guessing soil. Are those nutrients/additives what you use just in flower? If you are using molasses I wouldn't use honey. Also, unless you are having some Mg issues then you don't need the epsom salt I would say. Molasses has Mg in it as well and as I am sure you are aware is a great source of micronutrients. Also good to feed micro organisms and beneficial bacterias.

You don't mention your dilutions. If you are in soil then I would stop feeding it anything for about 1-2 weeks. I would use 1/2 the amount of molasses and ph your water and water as norma. This way your plants will still utilize and uptake the nutes in your soil, and should fade out as they eat up all the food. The molasses helps to sweeten the smoke and I have read some things that suggest it aids in flushing the salts.

Ona won't mess up your flowers unless you were keeping it in that cabinet. I used to use it until I went to a filter. I used it, and an ozone generator on a cycle timer. But never in the growing area.

Oh that's interesting, I get bad social anxiety so I might try what you said instead. I do like a head high and it doesn't seem to make my anxiety worse but i've only smoked a little.

I am growing in soil i guess. I have a large garden and after autumn I rake up all the fallen leaves and leave them to rot throughout the winter and spring. They name a nice loose soil. I add a little bit of coco into this and some perlite. I also add some food waste, like general compost too that I make at home.

So do you mean stop feeding now for 1-2 weeks or stop feeding 1-2 weeks before harvest?

Ok that's cool to know about the Ona.

 

[dannyboy602]

u are growing in soil. a flush is not necessary. growing in hydro its necessary to flush out excess salts.
a dark period hastens nothing. its another myth. harvest when all milky from the top first and then let the remaining buds ripen. harvest a second time when those buds have ripened. a little amber is good. too much is not.

u will know when its time bc the buds will become top heavy and the leaves turn yellow although not always as the buds swell with water. the plant sucks N from the fan leaves and uses it for plant processes inside the buds. it will also at this time produce nanners as it tries to produce seed for the following year. this does not indicate hermaphroditism. its normal.

best dry/cure method is Simon's thread imo and if u need a link let me know, i'll find it for u. good luck

 

[4am sessions]

u are growing in soil. a flush is not necessary. growing in hydro its necessary to flush out excess salts.
a dark period hastens nothing. its another myth. harvest when all milky from the top first and then let the remaining buds ripen. harvest a second time when those buds have ripened. a little amber is good. too much is not.

u will know when its time bc the buds will become top heavy and the leaves turn yellow although not always as the buds swell with water. the plant sucks N from the fan leaves and uses it for plant processes inside the buds. it will also at this time produce nanners as it tries to produce seed for the following year. this does not indicate hermaphroditism. its normal.

best dry/cure method is Simon's thread imo and if u need a link let me know, i'll find it for u. good luck

Very useful info, thanks! I'd really appreciate it if you could find me a link as I don't fully know my way around here yet!

Thanks again!

 

[Dividedsky]

Amber is not thc degradation, brown is actually thc degradation.

There are some sativa strains that have an early Amber. Hell the "blue dream" I got this year was showing Amber by week 5

Yes I was meaning when they turn a darker amber, I to have hade trichs turn amber early on. Either way its a process of degradation

 

[researching]

u are growing in soil. a flush is not necessary. growing in hydro its necessary to flush out excess salts.
a dark period hastens nothing. its another myth. harvest when all milky from the top first and then let the remaining buds ripen. harvest a second time when those buds have ripened. a little amber is good. too much is not.

u will know when its time bc the buds will become top heavy and the leaves turn yellow although not always as the buds swell with water. the plant sucks N from the fan leaves and uses it for plant processes inside the buds. it will also at this time produce nanners as it tries to produce seed for the following year. this does not indicate hermaphroditism. its normal.

best dry/cure method is Simon's thread imo and if u need a link let me know, i'll find it for u. good luck

No one mentioned a dark period hastening anything.

 

[dannyboy602]

Get yourself a few Cal3 hygrometers and read this:
http://rollitup.org/t/a-perfect-cure-every-time.514841/