Harvesting too early?
Hey Good day . I am a first time grower from South Africa. I am on the verge of harvesting my first 3 plants. If you have a bit of time some advice would be greatly appreciated. I have just taken the plants out of 48hours of darkness. (seems alot of folk advise this before harvesting)
Upon close inspection I am worried I may be a bit early as most of the trichomes still look rather clear pretty clear. Would it be advisable in your opinion to put them back onto a 12/12 cycle or to continue harvesting…. Bearing in mind also…….
- 5 Replies
Sorry for breaking the post up, further to my question above. Bear in mind that I was checking for aphids when I realised the trichomes might not be as amber as I would like them to be. I had a huge infestation but seemed to get it pretty much under control using dish wash liquid diluted in water.
After the 48 hrs of darkness I did discover a few ,more aphids as you can see om the third image I posted.
So should I spray them with some more diluted dish wash liquid (or something else) and take a few more days before harvest?
There is a chance the aphids have just ended up in the resins, you will know if they are present when you burn it after harvest.. you can’t really rewind at that late a stage in flower imo, your better to harvest since reverting after another continued stress will not yeild better bud or more of it.. again, others may have a different take on it. First grow is huge learning curve, I tell people that the first time around be happy if you get ANY BUD Aat all, looks like you’ve done well… next batch will be better 1000fold 😉 set bug traps before you have issues and learn from this grow. Treat the soil like laboratory soil also 🙂
Thank you Mr. Toker for that awesome reply.
Harvesting too early is the biggest mistake I made when I was new to growing . My first 2 grows couldn’t came out 10x better if I would’ve had this advice I’m about to share with you . I used to look at trichomes on sugar leaves to determine when to harvest . I was cutting plants down when I was seeing mostly cloudy trichomes with about 20-30% amber. It still turned out looking 🔥 but, it just wasn’t quite what I was expecting . After countless hours of research and about a year of experimentation , I’ve changed things up a bit . I’ve realized that trichomes on sugar leaves mature faster than trichomes inside the flower . The leaves and outside of the flowers are exposed to the elements resulting in faster maturity . Now I wait til I’m seeing at least 50% amber on the sugar leaves , then I start a 1 week flush . Best the end of a week long flush , I then sacrifice a nug, break it open and check trichomes there. If they are mostly cloudy with some amber , I put them in darkness for 2 days and prepare to chop them down . I’ve found my flower is wayyyy more potent , smellier and heavier in weight . I hope this helps you out a little down the road . So, basically to make a long story short , when you think they are ready , let them go another week or 2 . Not to brag on myself but, I really have a hard time finding flower of the same calibur as what I’m growing . Even dispensary owners and commercial growers have told me that my flower was the best they ever smoked . I’m nowhere near the best in my opinion , but I’m working on it. Stay lifted my friend!!!
Always glad to help if I can 🙂
