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When is the best time to harvest?

Article Number: 201 | Rating: 4.8/5 from 43 votes | Last Updated: Wed, Sep 22, 2010 12:00 AM

Q: What's the best time to harvest my plants?
Q: How can I tell if a plant is ripe enough to cut?

A: The first advice we'd like to offer is that you get a magnifier, such as a jeweller's loupe or a microscope. A good beginner's loupe should be able to magnify up to thirty times. If you're thinking about getting more serious, we recommend a professional magnifier with a magnification of about 100x.

Now that you have a loupe, it will be much easier to determine when your plants are ready for harvest. Check the tiny, sticky resin glands, the so-called trichomes, that should be covering the buds. Trichomes progress from clear, to cloudy to amber as they ripen. Most growers will harvest when the largest number of trichomes has turned cloudy, with just a few amber ones, and a couple more clear ones. But it's easy to get it wrong. Harvesting too early will have a negative effect on your yields and if you're really early, will also affect your bud's potency. Harvesting too late can cause THC deterioration leading to a bad stone, and also carries a greater risk of mould.

Since trichomes do not ripen at the exact same rate, you will have to accept that some of them will have gone amber already while others are still in the unripe clear stages. Just try to time your harvest so that most of them are cloudy and amber.

To be able to determine when to harvest, it helps if you know a little about the processes that occur during the ripening. The levels of some cannabinoids, the psychoactive ingredients of cannabis, will vary as the trichomes ripen. THC, the main psychoactive ingredients, is at its maximum strength when trichomes have turned cloudy. Clear glands are immature. Once the glands go amber, the THC will start to deteriorate, creating CBN. This will makes for a duller, lethargic stone. Therefore, harvesting a bit earlier generally leads to a more energising high. Still, if you're growing an Indica (body stone) , don't expect to get a Sativa effect (head trip) just because you harvested early - that would be a waste of a good crop! First determine what kind of effect you're looking for, buy the appropriate strain and harvest when ripe. Bear in mind that harvesting too early is not a good idea either - the THC levels will not be maxed out yet, and your bud won't be as potent.

In the end, the ideal time to harvest remains, at least to some extent, a matter of personal preference. Different strains will not ripen at the same rate, either. Professional growers usually have a pretty clear idea of when to cut their plants to get the best results. Inexperienced growers cannot really go wrong with the 'mostly cloudy with amber' rule until they learn to determine the best harvesting time for themselves.

Another helpful hint is to check the pistils of the plant: the hairy little tendrils that are often orangey, reddish or brown in colour when ripe (unripe ones are white). When the pistils start receding into the bud, that's when most plants will be ripe for the picking. Don't fret if some of the leaves on the plant start dying or yellowing just before harvest: it is natural that they should do so, since the flowering signifies the end of the plant's life cycle.

A nice little experiment is to harvest in stages, labelling and storing the different buds in separate containers. A proper scientific test would have to be double-blind (i.e. get someone else to hand you unidentified samples to compare; neither you nor your helper should know which is which) but even a normal taste test might help you decide on the ideal harvesting time for that particular strain.

Lastly, a quick note on decreasing the flowering period. Please be aware that several factors may influence the amount of time your plant needs to reach perfect harvesting ripeness. Light leaking is one of the most common ones: make sure the dark period is DARK or your plants will take longer to mature, and may even turn hermaphrodite. Also, take care to neither over- nor under-fertilise your flowering plants. Happy, healthy plants will be harvest-ready sooner than stressed ones.

Comments (8)

Comment By Gary R. - Sat, Jan 7th, 2012 5:36 PM

I am very impressed with my White Widow seeds. I am so glad that you are here to help me with my needs as a MMj user. You have helped me be able to have a much better quality of life and I am very thankful to you. Please keep up the wonderful work it means a lot to a lot of people. 8-)

Comment By matthew forbes - Wed, Jun 8th, 2011 8:55 AM

This was very helpful, really learned alot.

Comment By Anonymous - Sat, May 14th, 2011 6:30 PM

The article is most helpful. When asked, everyone has their own idea when the best timing is. Most of the article is correct, however depending upon how a person plans to cure has alot to do with it. Such as will a person chop an hang the whole plant at one time or manicure an hang branches individually and most of all how many people are helping to manicure. Time is of the essense. I always start early so by the time I get to the end their close to over-ripe but still within the time frame.Also don’t confuse nuit burn vs being ready. Long flush helps clean impurities to ensure smoothness so most of a persons bases are covered if cut too early or late.

Comment By Anonymous - Sat, Nov 6th, 2010 9:09 AM

I use a 100times microscope its only $12.00 and its great. If the top buds or the tops of the lower buds will turn and be ready but any buds that are not receiving the same amount of sunshine won’t be ready. Hidden under leaves that you need to turn under to let in that light to help keep all buds receiving that precious sunshine. That’ll make for a more even and higher yeild.I mean a heavier yeild.

Comment By Anonymous - Fri, Oct 15th, 2010 2:59 PM

I agree with visual clarity check.But also there is a few days that essence is most pungent.Is this when potentcy is strongest.

Comment By Anonymous - Wed, Sep 22nd, 2010 5:17 PM

It is nice to Now be able to turn to Nirvana as a MM patient I have take to gardening some OG Kush as dispensaries are so pricy. So at 52 years and beingsickened of the Medications I take GANGA has been a BLESSING for my quality of life. Thanks Nirvana!

Comment By Anonymous - Mon, Jul 5th, 2010 11:50 AM

Great article I would add only this If you rotate varieties like I do it helps to keep a journal on the inside of my journal I keep the approximate time it took each starin to ripen that way when I come back around to that particular strain I have something to go by it also helps me to know what varieties I can grow together becuase they have pretty much the same growth and harvest times.

Comment By Anonymous - Wed, Jun 16th, 2010 7:57 AM

I found the article very helpful but I am at the stage where I could use some photos to show how a ripe for picking plant looks. I do not know at what stage the plant provided is or if it is supposed to represent a plant ready to harvest.

How can I get the earliest harvest possible?

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