What determines high......Complicated question

I know that Indica/Sativa dominance in the genotype can really determine the high.

Indica being Couch Lock, more medicinal for pain.
Sativa being Cerebral High, more psychadellic.

From what i've also gathered with harvesting times are:

Cloudy- Energetic High
Amber- Couch Lock

Those being completely independant on you, not the genetics...

So with this being said, how much do the differences in harvesting time really matter based on stain and genotype when your trying to get the best pronounced smoke.....

Would it defeat the purpose of getting a 100% indica and harvesting it with cloudy trics....compaired to waiting another week or two. And Sativas as well, would it be more beneficial to the strain being 100% sativa to let it get amber....etc?

How do you know when its at the peak of the content for the best effect based on the genetics....alot of seed banks give flowering times 7-8wk, 9-12wk, etc, when this is highly based on you and your grow, and all the variables in between, temp, hum, etc.

What leads to an optimal harvest time for accenting the genetics the best......

Sorry to be so wordy, just trying to convey my question thouroughly.

I've never harvested and have one coming up sometime soon, trying to get a better grip on how variable it is and when the optimal time should be, seems alot of commercial growers go for amber....as ive seen.

TIA

You ask a powerful question, one I'm not gonna tackle. One thing I can suggest is that you note the change in the aroma when your pot ripens. I can judge the perfect time simply by using this method with all but perfect accuracy. No doubt, this is a learned skill that will come if you pay attention and have enough harvests under your belt. It's like the plant is telling you it's about time by reeking wonderfully . . . the smell will increase greatly when it's ripened perfectly. This will diminish as the trichs amber up and start losing their heads.
You've got a good 10-day/2weeks window with this special aroma before the quality starts to wane.

Think of it like this...

The genetics determine the 'potential' so, say you're growing a sativa and indica plant. if you harvested when all the trichs on both plants are the same, it would be expected that the sativa would be more 'up', while the indica would be more couchlock.

It's a hard subject to answer definitively on, and i'm not aware of any studies of this subject. so, do some experimenting of your own...harvest some buds when they are clear/cloudy/amber....and compare the difference between them?

in situations like this where there are multiple factors contributing to a single trait...it's really just a 'feel' you get for it after a while. unless you want to do a rather extensive experiment with the proper controls, to determine all the parameters that determine what sort of high to expect. as in...trichs, strain, light (color, intensity, timing) types of media, types of nutes....these could ALL contribute to the high in some way that is hard to quantify by itself.

- As far as I know, there are 61 different cannibinoids (although some claim as many as 400 or more). At the current time, we are only able to measure 3 of them: THC (including delta-8 THC and THCV, as well as the more important delta-9 THC), CBD (which, I believe, is what THC becomes as it degrades, although it is present even in live and freshly harvested plants, and Indicas usually have a higher percentage of naturally) and CBN (which we can measure, but know very little about).

- From what I understand, THC is really the only thing that actually does anything. I read a study by some Dutch researchers where people were given doses of CBD and CBN with no THC, and others were given straight THC, while still others were given both (wish I remembered the page, I would provide a link). The group recieving only CBD and CBN felt no noticeable high, while the other two groups both got high, but in different ways. From what I understand, THC is the ONLY thing that actually gets you high, however the other cannibinoids serve to alter or change the high recieved by the THC. The group getting straight THC got high immediately, but the high did not last as long. Out of the group recieving THC as well as the other measureable cannibinoids, some reported having a "creeper" stone, and generally the high lasted longer than those recieving straight THC.

- As for advice to you about the varieties and when to harvest, etc., I would say that MrFishy is right, It's something you won't have a really good idea about until after harvest, or at least very near to the end. Also, different varieties of plants produce different levels of different cannibinoids at different times, so it will depend alot on the strain. Also, you might find a certain pheno that seems to get you higher than all the others. TMB77 is giving you good advice as well. Pick a plant to "test" a small nug of every week or so around harvest time. you can even test different pheno's of the same plant this way to determine which you like best, and when to harvest depending on differences you notice.

- All this being said, It's still all a matter of personal preference. Try out this advice, and you should be on your way to figuring out how your variety will work on you.

How come you can get different highs from different strains of cannabis? Don't they just all contain THC?

Cannabis has two powerful active ingredient - THC and CBD (cannabidiol). Both substances are cannabinoids which produce psychoactive effects by binding with special receptors which are extraordinarily abundant all over the brain and body. Your brain makes it own cannabinoid - anandamide - which is thought to be involved in pain sensations, memory regulation and the immune system. The relatives amounts of these two ingredients plus small input from over sixty different cannabinoids in the plant determine the subtle differences in types of high you can get from different strains of the cannabis plant.

though agreeing with everyone else's post .I would have to say that there really is no real answer. Its all relative to each individual. I've smoked with people who got ripped on certain strains that didn't even seem to get me high at all (and I know they were getting high because they kept buying the shit and I wouldn't). it has a little to do with your particular level of tolerance as well. you can harvest an indica to give a more sativa high and vice versa.its all about knowing yourself and then getting to know each individual strain you are dealing with which you will after a few generations.

FrostyTHEgrowmaN said:

though agreeing with everyone else's post .I would have to say that there really is no real answer. Its all relative to each individual. I've smoked with people who got ripped on certain strains that didn't even seem to get me high at all (and I know they were getting high because they kept buying the shit and I wouldn't). it has a little to do with your particular level of tolerance as well. you can harvest an indica to give a more sativa high and vice versa.its all about knowing yourself and then getting to know each individual strain you are dealing with which you will after a few generations.

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- This is true, especially when you start getting into the more subtle effects and nuances produced by the way all the basically unknown and unmeasured cannibinoids will react with eachother in any given persons system.

- Sure, certain types may be "couchlock" or "psychedelic" but it might be a little different from individual to individual. Since you are looking for something that you, individually and specifically enjoy more, you will definitely need to do some testing. And when you find the type that produces the right levels of cannibinoids when harvested at a certain time, make clones and repeat the process, just so you can have enough to get by

- Also, as a general rule, Never harvest before 2/3's if the hairs have turned orange or brown, this is another way to tell when you strain or individual plant will be ready for harvest. you can even wait till all the hairs have turned. I dont think there is much harm in leaving the fruit on the vine for a week longer than I realy want to (god its always so tempting, I usually harvest one plant early), this ensures that all the different types (61!) of cannibinoids will have had time to develop in their specific percentages and amounts for each individual plant.

Alright well, i have a 60-100x from radioshack along with a 15x loop, and will keep close tabs on them when buds start forming.

I knew there wasn't going to be any specific "time" you could say, but things to look for, besides color.

And really was just wondering how harvest time affected smoke, strength and those unresearched cannabinoids you speak of and how they sentergize with strains. I'm using UVB for my first grow, and i've always heard from others, and experienced it myself, smoking outdoor.....seemed somewhat stronger. So hopefully what i'm cooking up will be some decent smoke with proper dry and cure, but we'll have to see on that one......

I'll most likely do a number of harvests like recommended, but progressively over a few weeks, little popcorn buds if i have any....??. Just to feel the maturation of the plant, the overall THC build per week, etc and just to suit my own curious OCD needs.

But i'm try to stress a VERY smooth smoke for best flavor, and hopefully it'll be what i'd like for a first try....we'll see.

MetalSmelter said:

Alright well, i have a 60-100x from radioshack along with a 15x loop, and will keep close tabs on them when buds start forming.

I knew there wasn't going to be any specific "time" you could say, but things to look for, besides color.

And really was just wondering how harvest time affected smoke, strength and those unresearched cannabinoids you speak of and how they sentergize with strains. I'm using UVB for my first grow, and i've always heard from others, and experienced it myself, smoking outdoor.....seemed somewhat stronger. So hopefully what i'm cooking up will be some decent smoke with proper dry and cure, but we'll have to see on that one......

I'll most likely do a number of harvests like recommended, but progressively over a few weeks, little popcorn buds if i have any....??. Just to feel the maturation of the plant, the overall THC build per week, etc and just to suit my own curious OCD needs.

But i'm try to stress a VERY smooth smoke for best flavor, and hopefully it'll be what i'd like for a first try....we'll see.

Click to expand...

- You're not gonna need to do it for as long as it sounds like you are planning on doing it. If a variety says it takes 8 weeks to complete, you arent going to start getting very good THC production untill like 5 ot 6 weeks into flowering, and you don't want to go over by too long, you risk degrading THC into CBN. Unless you are growing a VERY long flowering sativa you will probably only need to "test" the way you plan on doing it more than 4 or 5 times. personally I would just wait until it looks about done, then test it. If its ok, harvest! If not, another few days to a week.

- With all that gadgetry you should be able to keep your OCD compulsious under-wrapps. You dont want to pluck all your buds before the plant is done, do ya? I'm fuckin' with ya, but seriously, It's not gonna be extra smooth or anything when its immature or over-mature. Smoothness is determined mostly by curing and by good flushing while being grown, although some varieties can be smoother than others, so that factors in as well

- what you need to do is make sure you are flushing often (if you use soil, about once a month) and then make sure to do a really good flush a couple weeks before you think (from your samples) your little garden will be ready to harvest it's fruits. This flushing regimen will make sure the roots are always free of unabsorbed salts and you wont get nute lock, but also make sure there are no leftover nutes in the soil at the end to flavor your plants.

- Then you need to do a really nice curing process. I cure buds in mason jars, opening them up once a day. It can take from a week to several months depending on how long you leave the buds open to air when you mix them daily. I think a 2 week cure is pretty good, but for the cannabis cup the bud is cured for up to 4 months by the different competetors. Basically the longer the cure, the smoother and more flavorful. Keep in mind though, that you have to check every day for the scent of mold or mildew and if you smell it you have to take everything out of that container and dry it enough to kill off and/or isolate the mold. It can be a tedious process even for a few weeks if you are not used to it. But somehow the constant redestribution of moisture eventually makes your buds much smoother and better tasting. I don't know exactly why it works, but I know it works.