Learning when to harvest.

Hey guys,
I'm semi new to growing and my last few harvest were over ripe I believe I was wondering if anyone could help guide me for harvests. I find growing very therapeutic for my ptsd and would like to perfect the craft. I have attached photos of the pistils.

You want to go by the trichomes not the pistils. The trichomes are where the THC is produced. Using a scope with 30x magnification works best IMO. Look at the trichome heads. Clear is immature. Cloudy is getting there. Milky is ideal. Amber is degrading. So I like to see a few amber and mostly cloudy and milky trichome heads when I chop.

I use my mobile phone on 4x magnification to look at tricombs.

I get this quality resolution. I find it sufficient without habing to buy a jewlers loop but i still recomend getting a jewlers loop. They're like $10 on amazon.

Well rare I would disagree with Ren but I wouldn't even be looking at my trichs until my pistols have receded and calyxes swollen up.

Regardless your plants are a long way from been ready OP.

These are my trichromes

ShadowGrows said:

Hey guys,
I'm semi new to growing and my last few harvest were over ripe I believe I was wondering if anyone could help guide me for harvests. I find growing very therapeutic for my ptsd and would like to perfect the craft. I have attached photos of the pistils.

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The pistols changing color is just and indicator that the plant is starting to ripen look at the trichomes on the buds and not the leafs and see what percentage of clear/milky/amber

m99smith said:

The pistols changing color is just and indicator that the plant is starting to ripen look at the trichomes on the buds and not the leafs and see what percentage of clear/milky/amber

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They all seem milky I haven't seen any amber colored ones yet.
This plant was my mother plant before it got too big.

ShadowGrows said:

They all seem milky I haven't seen any amber colored ones yet.
This plant was my mother plant before it got too big.

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Yeah you will want to wait till like 90% of the pistols turn orangish brown then start to look at the trichomes

I don't think your camera phone is close enough which is why they all look the same. Great phone camera but for my eyes not enough.

coreywebster said:

Well rare I would disagree with Ren but I wouldn't even be looking at my trichs until my pistols have receded and calyxes swollen up.

Regardless your plants are a long way from been ready OP.

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Exactly. People too often look at trichs too early.
I was joking the other day saying this seedling is ready to chop!! Lol

Not even close to being ready. You have weeks to go. Sit back, relax, and be patient.

Thanks for the advice guys.

As a plant matures there's a few things you'll see that tells u it's almost time to chop but in my opinion like renfro said it all comes down to the trichs. Do some research on the stages of trich growth and their effects at each stage and harvest to your own preference.

My trichs are cloudy/milky and I'm starting to see amber bulbs.

ShadowGrows said:

My trichs are cloudy/milky and I'm starting to see amber bulbs.

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That's when i like to harvest, but its up to your preference.

OGBudz said:

That's when i like to harvest, but its up to your preference.

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Chopping tomorrow. Thanks everyone.

The pics show a plant that needed 4 or more weeks to finish,there is no way it is done yet.Be patient the last few weeks are the most important!

nmibud said:

The pics show a plant that needed 4 or more weeks to finish,there is no way it is done yet.Be patient the last few weeks are the most important!

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Second that.

Arnski5000 said:

Second that.

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This makes three.

Here is the plant maturity guideline I share with lots of new growers.

Trichomes can be tricky to read accurately, especially for new growers since they don't know what to actually look for. It's very easy for the bulbous clear trichome heads to magnify the opaque/cloudy trichome stalks and give a false impression of the maturity of the plant.

Determining maturity isn't about one single factor, its about watching ALL the signs the plant is giving you. As you grow more plants you will begin to be able to read those signs, and understand what point your plant is at.

FIRST 90% of the stigma(pistils) will turn red(ish) and begin to actually shrink/shrivel back towards the buds.

THEN the bracts(calyxs) will begin to fatten up internally. The buds won't be appearing to grow much outwardly at this point but will be adding density and weight still. I've watched strong stems bend over in just a couple days during this period from the added mass.

FINALLY after about 2ish weeks of swelling, AFTER the stigma have turned, then you can look at trichomes on the actual buds and determine your final harvest point.

There are plenty of variables that can alter time periods, but for the most part cannabis plants follow pretty consistent patterns of growth and ripening.

It is VERY EASY to harvest a plant too early and loose out on flavor, smell, yield, and overall quality.

It is VERY HARD to harvest too late. I have never seen someone accidentally over ripen a plant, it would take weeks of ignoring your plant for that to happen.