single cola plants?

Nice. They're all smelling so dank. Really gonna let em' finish completely though, as tempting as it is. I've always heard it's best to harvest when ALL the hairs turn completely red. Allowing the plant to convert some of the THC. Anyone else do this?

-Dude'r

Usually the right time to harvest is when about half the pistols are ambering...

You really want to be looking at the trichromes.

They appear clear right now, early on, but as harvest gets near, they will turn cloudy white. When most are cloudy white, that's when you'll have the peak THC content.

If you let them go for longer, the THC will convert to CBN, which makes you sleepy, narcotic.

Depending on the strains THC vs CBN content, you might want to harvest earlier than you were thinking.

Look at the trichromes not the pistols. Sometimes the growing tip won't stop because of overfeeding, no flush, or excess light... So judging the pistols won't work... And the majority of the bud will already have converted from THC to CBN.

If you want to test it, let one go for longer, and you'll see.

Also for your particular garden, the sativas are going to take a lot longer than the squatty indicas. The indicas should be finished in 3 more weeks, while the sativas could possibly need up to 6 more weeks. Growing clones from the same strain over and over allows you to know how long it takes to finish flowering.

Yeah seed sucks! The money, the time, the males. So many reasons to only do clones. I thought what you wanted was to convert some of the THC> I do want a knock out high, but if it's gonna sacrifice to much THC then no way. I've read different effects of CBN's vs. THC. What the difference that you've noticed.

Yeah it sort of suck s haveing them all finish differently. But, with having to do so many from seed it took me a while to get them all in the closet. So, in retrospect, should of done it all at once and all. But that's why we experiment.

Thanks Mr. Marks. Always quality info!

-Dude

Forgot to post some updates on that plant I topped. Threw in some of plants.

-Dude'r

Made it to the beach on Sunday. Thought I'd share. Gotta love Florida.

-Dude

theratfords said:

Yeah seed sucks! The money, the time, the males. So many reasons to only do clones. I thought what you wanted was to convert some of the THC> I do want a knock out high, but if it's gonna sacrifice to much THC then no way. I've read different effects of CBN's vs. THC. What the difference that you've noticed.

Click to expand...

CBN is responsible for the dopey, sluggishness you feel when you smoke shit weed. CBN is present in all marijuana plants, but at higher levels in low-quality and poorly grown specimens. Ideally, you do want some CBN as it adds to the character of the high, but you do not want it to be responsible for the primary effects.

As the plant ages and gets close to maturity, THC begins breaking down into CBN. There is a point in time when the perfect combination of THC and CBN is present, and this is when it is the ideal time to harvest. The problem is that there's no way to determine with 100% accuracy when this time has arrived. However, there are two methods used by most growers to figure out the best time to harvest.

The first method is determining harvest time by inspecting the trichs. Using a pocket microscope, you zoom in on the trichs to see their color. Trichs can be clear, milky, or amber. When about 80% of the trichs have turned amber, the plant is considered to be ready for harvest.

The second method is to inspect the hairs. I use this method because no microscope is needed making it easier and faster. Basically, when 75% of the white hairs turn red/brown, the plant is ready.

Regardless of which method is used, keep in mind that choosing when to harvest your crop is a critical descision not to be taken lightly. Getting it wrong by only one day will have a significant impact on THC levels. If you've only got a few plants, you may even want to take it a step further and seperately determine when to harvest each individual cola. Since different parts of the plant mature at different rates, it stands to reason that peak potency for the main cola may be reached sooner than the buds found on the lower portions of the plant.

My only response to what rolla 8 said, is that if you wait till your trichomes are 80% amber your not gonna leave the couch. Everyone that I've talked to suggests 20-30% because the plants mature a bit more once you harvest them. I cut my last ones at about 40%, I wanted a stoneier high, and they were great, but I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep on the couch when I'd smoke it at night.

Lol and ratford, very nice o the beach shot!!

Thundercat said:

My only response to what rolla 8 said, is that if you wait till your trichomes are 80% amber your not gonna leave the couch. Everyone that I've talked to suggests 20-30% because the plants mature a bit more once you harvest them. I cut my last ones at about 40%, I wanted a stoneier high, and they were great, but I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep on the couch when I'd smoke it at night.

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That is correct. I didn't mean to say 80%. It was very late and I was very stoned I always go by the color of the hairs, and I was correct in saying that the plant is at peak potency when about 75% of the hairs turn red/brown. Thank you for pointing out my mistake about the trichomes though.

Its cool bro, some people feel differently about stuff, I wasn't tryin to point out your mistake, just add my 2 cents for the day lol. I do think your correct about the hairs though.

Awesome info. I get it now. I thought a little CBN was desired too. I didn't know it was already presant before harvest. I thought the only way to get a little was to let the plants mature a little too much. So it is 20-30% on the trichs and 80 on the hairs right?

-Dude

Right on ratfords. You got it man.

Holy smoking smoke stacks batman! My plants are looking like big fucking lollipops. B-E-A-Utiful. I wanna just take a bite. I need to get another hobby.

Cool cool. I saw a grow video a while back. They had this, "Grow expert", on it. He said he always allows the hairs to completely turn. Would allowing this really be so bad though? Sounds like it makes it a couch lock high. I kinda like that more sometimes.

I have scar tissue close to my spine; So when it's cold out the pain is incredible. Keeps me awake some nights. I find some knock out, couch-lock bud is better than the, "Uplifting" high, for numbing the pain. Would allowing the hairs all the hairs to turn decrease the THC levels a lot? Any thoughts on THC vs. CBN for pain management?

"It's mostly Mowie Wowie man, but it's got some Labrador in it."

I'm not too sure about the efficacy of THC vs. CBN in treating pain. If you search the Internet, i'm sure there's at least one study that sheds some light on that issue. I can tell you that harvesting a day before or a day after peak potency has a big effect on the quality and strength of the high. THC degrades quite fast under the right conditions, so it's not all that surprising to me that the peak potency window is so narrow.

You could always do a little experiment with your own crop. Harvest one plant when 50% of the hairs have turned red/brown. Harvest another plant when 75% of the hairs have turned red/brown. And harvest a third plant when all of the hairs have turned red/brown. Dry and cure all the samples exactly the same, then take some nice clean bong rips of each sample and judge for yourself the differences between them. If you do decide to do this, please post the results for all to learn from.

I think you're supposed to judge when the plant is ready not by looking at the hairs, but by looking at the color of the trichs, and this is best done with at least 30x magnification, from what I have read. When about 70% of the trichs have turned amber, then its ready.

EDIT: I guess the trichs cure more after harvest, so not 70%, but maybe at 35-40%...then harvest.

Experiments are always a fun way to do things, thats what this grow is for right. I believe that its the CBN that provides the pain relief, so letting them go a bit longer might help with that aspect for you ratford.

DRCANNABIS said:

I think you're supposed to judge when the plant is ready not by looking at the hairs, but by looking at the color of the trichs, and this is best done with at least 30x magnification, from what I have read. When about 70% of the trichs have turned amber, then its ready.

Click to expand...

You can use either method to determine when to harvest. If you go back and read my earlier post in this thread, I explain how to judge it based on the trichs and also the hairs. Both methods provide about the same accuracy.

I suffer from bad back pain as well. I would let them go longer than shorter. In my experience the buds I let fully mature kill my pain much better. Also, just simply growing indica dominant plants will help with a more numbing high. I still like sativa dominant in the mornings... but to sleep I need couch lock..LOL

I'll try it with a couple plants this grow. Suppose you could do it with one plant. Just harvest branches at different days right?

Here's an off topic question. My girl and I were debating whether holding the smoke in a long time makes you higher or not. Anyone have any facts on this so I can win the arguement?

-Dude'r

I have always believed yes, I don't have any facts on it, but it seems logical that the longer you hold in the smoke, the more time it has to be absorbed into your system.