On what part of the plant (top cola, middle colas), does the grower observe the trichomes in order to determine if it is time to chop down the plant?
Also, if the top colas are ready for harvesting but the middle colas are not, is it possible to chop the top and keep growing the middle colas for another week or so?
Hello
@Tender Bias , how's it going friend?
Where I would look to know if the plant is finished or not, is to look for the bracts on the buds themselves to swell up, the buds should typically be covered in frost, and the leaves of the top part of the plant will have a mature and seasoned look to them, if the leaves around the top buds have a lively vibrant healthy green look to them still, it's a clear sign that the plant still needs time to grow, at the end of a plants life cycle for the year it puts all its last energy into ripening the buds, and even extracts nutrients from the leaves to put all it can into the buds, especially if seeds are being developed, so this is a good natural indication to follow, helps if no leaf issues are present beforehand I should add.
If you trim the top colas off, here's what I'd recommend if you want the lower buds to develop faster, and not stunt the plant as much, if you are able try and leave as much of the thick parts of any of the stems that you are harvesting intact, trim the bottoms of the individual buds from off the plant, leaving the stems of the plant just sticking up in the air, if you make a smaller wound to the plant overall, then the plant will be able to rebound faster and not dedicate so much energy into repairing the large open wounds that a typical chop harvest does to a plant.
This is the method I use to re-veg my plants with, when you leave as much stem as possible the plant is able to keep growing faster and focus it's energy towards growth, instead of repair, when I re-veg a plant this way, I am rewarded with a faster rebound of growth, and will typically harvest even more buds of the second harvest than the first, because the plant gets to continue it's growth the whole time, and re-grow those stems that are already there, doubling thickness and so forth, this is in 15-20+ gallon soil containers, and if you are very precise while cutting and able to leave some sugar leaves growing on the plant it really helps as well.
If you really want to know (or wouldn't mind me explaining) some of what I have been recently experimenting with that I have noticed nothing but positive results from in every aspect of plant growth, it would be to trim the plant 1-2hr after lights out, go in and harvest with a dimly lit light if you are able, maybe a headlamp with shield of some type over the bulb so that the light intensity is as low as can be while still providing enough light, semi transparent tape or plastic this type of thing to lower the light intensity has worked for me.
I know this sounds silly the whole harvest in the dark thing, but I Swear by it! I have seen results that were unexpected by harvesting this way, something about the plant being asleep and it's ability to respond with acute direction while in the dark, in other words, when a plant is manipulated in its structure and a stress signal is caused, the cells within the plant seem to be able to structure themselves in alignment for a new growth response and directed signal/pathway of healing much faster than when the plant is awake and when the lights are on, something about lights being on and photosynthesis occurring that can interfere with a plants stress response, but when lights are off the cells of the plant seem to get a stronger signal from within the plant as to where to allocate the energy towards in regards to repair and healing itself, in preparation for the next day of light energy/photon absorption, and the following repairs and adjustments that the plant makes afterwards seem to occur more intelligently and expediently.
Anyways happy harvesting, hope you get some good smoke out of the deal.
Good day everyone! Laterz.
