When is it smokeable?

Hey friends,

I'm currently into the 5th week of my 8 week flowering cycle with my first crop of White Widow. Everything looks great - buds are dense and resinous and a few of the pistils are starting to brown. My question is this: would it be really bad to harvest a little bud or two a few weeks early? I know it wouldn't be as potent as if I waited a few more weeks, but at this point, since my stash is empty and I'm totally jones'n, I'd be happy with anything! If now is absolutely too early, at what point would you recommend being feasible?

Thanks!

I doubt if I told you to leave it alone you'd listen anyway The best thing you could do is go and get a little handheld microscope, they cost about $10-$15. Then use that to take a closer look at the trichomes (the crystals) to get the best idea for harvesting time. Clear means they aren't ready, Milky means they are either ready or very close to being ready depending on what you're growing, then there's the big argument about amber/reddish/brownish looking trichs, the argument is this......when growing an Indica dominant strain the Milky looking trichomes (crystals) is what to harvest, an opaque red or brownish looking trichome signifies over-maturity and at this point the THC has already begun to degrade. On the other hand when you're growing a sativa strain you want to wait for reddish, but transluscent trichomes and that is it's harvest point. The difference is that an Indica strain will produce reddish, but opaque crystals where a sativa would produce reddish but still clear trichomes, that's the argument.

So check your plants with a microscope, if they are Indica strains then you can start taking testers as soon as the crystals are milky...wait for most of them to be milky, don't go nuts

dano175 said:

Hey friends,

I'm currently into the 5th week of my 8 week flowering cycle with my first crop of White Widow. Everything looks great - buds are dense and resinous and a few of the pistils are starting to brown. My question is this: would it be really bad to harvest a little bud or two a few weeks early? I know it wouldn't be as potent as if I waited a few more weeks, but at this point, since my stash is empty and I'm totally jones'n, I'd be happy with anything! If now is absolutely too early, at what point would you recommend being feasible?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

wait untill its ready to harvest and then dry it properely(about 1 week depending on yeild)then cure the buds in glass mason jar/s for at least 2 weeks before smoking(i cure for 4 weeks before smoking).
do it any other way and you wont get a true/ready taste and smoke off the plant. if you nipped a bud off the plant now dried it and smoked it the taste smoothness and smoke wont be the same as the cured finished buds.
LUDACRIS.

Ive pulled a bud off before because my stash was done.

It got me a buzz, but its deff not like smoking cured and ready bud;

Wheres the pics? lets see those babies

i agree, to wait, because, not only are they premature, but im guessing u still havent flushed yet, and if thats the case, it would taste like nutes, chems, but if u have any fluffers on the bottom that look like they are not going 2 be worth the trimming i would dry those 2 smoke.

I appreciate all the input. It sounds like the general consensus is that I should wait till its ready and then harvest appropriately (flushing, harvesting, drying, curing). I've already waited 2 months, I guess I can wait another 3 weeks to ensure its the best quality!


My journey so far:

• Fox Farms Ocean Forest Soil, Perlite, Vermiculite
• (16) 2 gallon square pots
• Advanced Nutrients Sensi Grow/Bloom, Mother Earth Tea Grow/Bloom, Bud Blood, Big Bud, Bud Candy
• Water PH: 6.3
• (2) 400W MH/HPS
• All the fantastic advice I've gotten from this site, Cervante's book, and my local hydrostore!

Planted White Widow and Big Bud seeds on Apr-15.

1. Seedling stage - 2 weeks
2. Vegged - 4 weeks
3. Started flowering 12/12 on May-27
4. Anticipated Harvest: 7/22-7/29

What does everyone think? (honest opinions) Think I'll be able to get 3 ozs. per plant?

You won't know your yield for a while, where the pics at? If your real curious, zap a bud from lower section in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. It'll be dry enough to smoke, but with 3 weeks left I don't think it'll have enough resinous thc to get a buzz from. But when your jonsin', your jonsin'.....

dano175 said:

I appreciate all the input. It sounds like the general consensus is that I should wait till its ready and then harvest appropriately (flushing, harvesting, drying, curing). I've already waited 2 months, I guess I can wait another 3 weeks to ensure its the best quality!


My journey so far:

• Fox Farms Ocean Forest Soil, Perlite, Vermiculite
• (16) 2 gallon square pots
• Advanced Nutrients Sensi Grow/Bloom, Mother Earth Tea Grow/Bloom, Bud Blood, Big Bud, Bud Candy
• Water PH: 6.3
• (2) 400W MH/HPS
• All the fantastic advice I've gotten from this site, Cervante's book, and my local hydrostore!

Planted White Widow and Big Bud seeds on Apr-15.

1. Seedling stage - 2 weeks
2. Vegged - 4 weeks
3. Started flowering 12/12 on May-27
4. Anticipated Harvest: 7/22-7/29

What does everyone think? (honest opinions) Think I'll be able to get 3 ozs. per plant?

Click to expand...

Forgot to attach the pics! Here they are!

303 said:

You won't know your yield for a while, where the pics at? If your real curious, zap a bud from lower section in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. It'll be dry enough to smoke, but with 3 weeks left I don't think it'll have enough resinous thc to get a buzz from. But when your jonsin', your jonsin'.....

Click to expand...

never quick dry buds it will taste like shit(microwave ).do it properly.
LUDACRIS.

LUDACRIS said:

never quick dry buds it will taste like shit(microwave ).do it properly.
LUDACRIS.

Click to expand...

Based on the pics so far, any guesses on yield? Total of 16 plants; 8 Big Bud, 8 White Widow. My goal is to get 3 ozs per plant; any more than that would be awesome!

commen practice for us is if you are out of bud you can start picking only as needed starting at the completion of week six. Thats when the weed will start to get you high.

so pic buds that are shitty like popcorn buds that arnt nice anyway


then put them in your oven at 150 - 200 Deg F for 10 - 20 Min

they will get dry enough to smoke without losing much of its potency. as the days go by your pickings will get stronger and stronger. so never pic more than you need to smoke for one night.

microwave is too unwieldy and usually roasts your buds.


Tried and True Methods Big P 2009


plus those freshy fresh buds are so yummy and you taste the fresh "necter" on them

I like to call it Necter

Technically, it is smokeable as soon as you can keep it lit.

It tastes BEST however after 1 - 2 weeks of drying and three weeks or so of curing.

i think 3oz per plant is not possible with your setup....maybe if you had (2) 600w lights or (3) 400w lights.....you got pretty much 8 plants to one 400w...and you gotta divide that 400w into those 8 plants and thats your overall yeid if you good....people who know what their doing usually get close to .5 per watt of light...

so you 200 grams possible and you split that with the 8 plasnts so thats like a oz per plants at most.....

that my estimate.....


my setup is SOG and i wouldnt espect a 1oz per each plant because of the strain and size of the plants and the exsperience and commons sense....


do you know how big a 3oz cola looks like....it has to be like the size of a 2 liter but really dense to weigh that much....

so im predicting for your grow if you do most things right you should have around a Pound....


peace
cali-high

Hey Dano,, you said you were using 2 gallon pots well I think your yeild will be less more like 1oz maybe ounce and half per plant. Its all relative to your container and proper growing conditions but they look good my man wait a little longer good luck !!!