Another early harvest question

[jungleworld]

Do your final dried buds lose weight if you harvest them too early. It just seems like they get more dense the longer you let them go. I had to chop a plant early and am just wondering if they gain more weight as they mature. This paticular plant was about 2-3 weeks early and it made 21oz. I was thinking it should have been closer to 32oz and the only thing that comes to mind is that it was premature.

 

[SkinnyChef]

I read your post..had a reply..then it sunk in...and I changed my reply to this cause......
...I am really stoned right now...
(pay no attention to the man behind the curtain)

 

[Dayzt]

I wouldn't say they 'lose weight' per say, but if the strain you're growing tends to fill-out more in the last few weeks like many strains do, you may 'miss out' on that extra weight of them thickening up at that point in your grow. An old experienced grower once said (and you've most likely heard this before), if you think it's ready to chop, give it another 2 weeks and then harvest.

Another thing that comes to mind is the period of darkness given at the end of your grow in correlation to your final 'flush'. Timing your flush and dark-period before chop-time can mean an extra ounce or three depending again on the strain you're working with and the tendencies of the specific phenotype you have of that strain.

Overall though - If you're chopping as early as 'two weeks' before it's really ready, then aside from the more 'up-beat' type of high you may get from having more 'clear' trichs, you will usually notice a lighter yield as well.

Hope that helps!!

 

[jungleworld]

I read your post..had a reply..then it sunk in...and I changed my reply to this cause......
...I am really stoned right now...
(pay no attention to the man behind the curtain)

No problem. I kind of worded it a little confusing. I really just want to know how much of the potential of the plant is lost if harvested a couple to 3 weeks early.

Dayzt, that is exactly what i was wondering. Thanks for the reply. I know it is impossible to say how much is lost so I can only go by what the rest produce compared to what this plant did. Most of the pistils were still white and all the trichs were still crystal clear. If you ask me I would say it could have gone another 3 and a half weeks. The strain is medijuana. I personally think we lost almost half of the petential of the plant just because of how airy the dried buds still are. I know pics can say a thousand words so I will post some as soon as I can.

 

[Panic]

Is there a reason for harvesting early? Your final weight should not be your only concern. Pick no bud before it's time....know it and trust it. You say they could have gone another 3.5 weeks right? Well that strain is an 8-9 week strain so without a doubt they didn't reach full potential for weight and buzz. It's a shame.

So your trichs were "crystal Clear" huh? Were they ripe yet, meaning did they look like they were full? Not only does clear mean they aren't ready yet it means the buzz will be much different.

Lots of other factors as well....growing environment being the largest. Lot's of time "airy" buds are a reslut of poor lighting or high temps. Medijuana is Indica dominant so the buds should be "tighter/harder" than most Sativa heavy girls.

Your original question only leads to more questions.

 

[jungleworld]

Is there a reason for harvesting early? Your final weight should not be your only concern. Pick no bud before it's time....know it and trust it. You say they could have gone another 3.5 weeks right? Well that strain is an 8-9 week strain so without a doubt they didn't reach full potential for weight and buzz. It's a shame.

So your trichs were "crystal Clear" huh? Were they ripe yet, meaning did they look like they were full? Not only does clear mean they aren't ready yet it means the buzz will be much different.

Lots of other factors as well....growing environment being the largest. Lot's of time "airy" buds are a reslut of poor lighting or high temps. Medijuana is Indica dominant so the buds should be "tighter/harder" than most Sativa heavy girls.

Your original question only leads to more questions.

The trichs were fully developed but were 100%clear. The buds were airy from lack of development. They are outside and don't have any shade so lighting is not a problem. The plants are all as healthy as they would come. This paticular strain gets very dense so I can only imagine how much was sacrificed by the early chop.

 

[jungleworld]

Here is some pics!!!!

 

[Twelve12]

Awesome plants. Do your best to wait until they reach ripeness. The trichome has the answer when to harvest. If you don't need to harvest early due to emergency sitiuation then let them get ripe. The final product will send the message around town that there's some awesome weed going around, and you can't help but feel responsible for that. It's better than known for low quality products. Hehe

Few more weeks isn't that bad. Up hill battle is far more difficult (veg) than rolling down the hill (flower).

 

[Dayzt]

Agreed - there's more factors to it here than the obvious... but in the end, harvesting early will almost always result in a disappointing end product, both in yield and quality. It's indeed a shame to have to chop early, but I'm assuming you (jungleworld) didn't have a choice for some reason...happens to all growers sometimes depending on the circumstance. At the very least, if you had decent trich development you can cut it all down into trim, dry it out good and make hash or butter...

 

[lil stinker 420]

let her grow if possible