Is it time to harvest?

[keith1975]

I've overcome lots of scary moments, thanks to these forums. Thanks guys! My mite problem is history, my climate is sorted, the ladies are budding. Life is good. After about 5 months of struggling, with the first month being a total disaster, it's starting to look like I might be able to harvest some of these soon.

I've used a Loupe to check, but everything still pretty much looks clear. I'm relying on this diagram:

Taken from here.

But my buds still all look clear. It's hard to tell to be honest, but I think so.

These autoflowers started flowering on 18 December. So It has been 4 weeks and a few days. It will be 5 weeks this Friday. Apparently, I should expect to harvest at 6 - 8 weeks. So possibly from 1 Feb onwards. But I'm posting some pictures below, so anyone can point out anything obvious before I harvest.

Here are two of the autoflower plants that are now in their own tent under 18/6 lighting:

The plant on the right is doing much better than the one on the left. The right has some decent buds:

And here are some close ups of the buds:

The other plant doesn't look that great. Here's a slightly closer view:

Am I getting close to harvest? At least for the one plant?

 

[keith1975]

p.s. The one plant has a bit of a smell, but nothing major. The smell is more apparent if I move the plant. But it doesn't smell like "bud". It smells like some lemony pine or something. I was expecting it to smell more like finished bud. Is that normal? Can they smell like pretty much anything, depending on the strain?

 

[Emilya Green]

p.s. The one plant has a bit of a smell, but nothing major. The smell is more apparent if I move the plant. But it doesn't smell like "bud". It smells like some lemony pine or something. I was expecting it to smell more like finished bud. Is that normal? Can they smell like pretty much anything, depending on the strain?

A lot of the final smell will come about after curing... right now it smells like a growing plant Keep watching those trichomes and don't harvest until you see the amber. I suspect your buds still have to swell a bit more... but you are getting close.

 

[keith1975]

Keep watching those trichomes and don't harvest until you see the amber. I suspect your buds still have to swell a bit more... but you are getting close.

The pictures from yesterday were me youngest plants. Here are pictures of my oldest. The buds are getting quite fat. If I put my nose up to it, there are very nice smells coming from it. Very lemony smells.

Looking at the trichomes, it does in fact look like they are "starting" to turn cloudy. Or they might already be. I can't really tell. Will take a really good hard look again later.

Is it possible for me to only harvest one bud at a time? Would be pretty cool if I could harvest a big one, clean it, and let it start drying before chopping off the next one. I could then actually check the trichomes of each bud and harvest as they get ready. But not sure if partial harvests will "shock" the plant and have other undesirable effects?

 

[keith1975]

And just for size reference:

And here's a more zoomed out look:

And a close up of one of the smaller buds:

Any of these starting to look like something I can harvest yet?

 

[Blew Hiller]

Any of these starting to look like something I can harvest yet?

If the trichomes are still clear, let it go until they are at least cloudy. You spent all this time growing her, so don't rush the harvest. It looks like you have a lot of leaves that are burned, either from lighting or fans (I see at least 2). If the fans are blowing directly on the plants they will have that effect on the leaves.

 

[TurboBucket]

Whatever you do, don't chop early. Yes you can selectively harvest a few buds at a time without bothering the plant. Breeders recommendations are almost always too short let the trichs change.

 

[keith1975]

If the trichomes are still clear, let it go until they are at least cloudy. You spent all this time growing her, so don't rush the harvest. It looks like you have a lot of leaves that are burned, either from lighting or fans (I see at least 2). If the fans are blowing directly on the plants they will have that effect on the leaves.

Glad you mentioned the burnt leaves. I don't think it's the lights because it's happening lower down too. I thought the fans are supposed to blow on the leaves? What should they be blowing towards?

 

[keith1975]

Whatever you do, don't chop early. Yes you can selectively harvest a few buds at a time without bothering the plant. Breeders recommendations are almost always too short let the trichs change.

Yes, for sure. I'm just worried I miss the "cloudiness" and end up chopping down too late. I don't have a trained eye for this, and I'm worried I'm not looking at the right part of the plant, or the right spot for that matter. Or perhaps I'm just seeing cloudi ones, but they look see-through to me. Sorta hoping one will stand out so much soon, that it will be extremely obvious that it's ready.

But yes, I wait.... as I've been waiting for 5 months already... I'll keep waiting...

 

[TurboBucket]

Yes, for sure. I'm just worried I miss the "cloudiness" and end up chopping down too late. I don't have a trained eye for this, and I'm worried I'm not looking at the right part of the plant, or the right spot for that matter. Or perhaps I'm just seeing cloudi ones, but they look see-through to me. Sorta hoping one will stand out so much soon, that it will be extremely obvious that it's ready.

But yes, I wait.... as I've been waiting for 5 months already... I'll keep waiting...

You get a bit of a window much like with all produce. Usually a couple of weeks before they start to go downhill slowly.

The trichomes on the sugar leaves will change before the calyces so you get an early indicator that your getting close.

 

[Blew Hiller]

Glad you mentioned the burnt leaves. I don't think it's the lights because it's happening lower down too. I thought the fans are supposed to blow on the leaves? What should they be blowing towards?

Fans are best used to circulate the air in the tent which gently moves the air and reduces hot/cold spots. Often, the moving air will help stabilize RH as well. If they are oscillating, put them on low and have them moving. If not, direct them into opposite corners and have them push the air in one direction within the tent.

 

[quarinteen]

Here is an interesting video on knowing when to harvest by examining the trichomes under a usb microscope.