When should I harvest and when to choose the right time without a microscope
Just like the entire cultivation process, the right time to harvest your cannabis is essential for achieving good quality results. As your flower blooms, the cannabinoids and trichomes will begin to grow and take the right shape to give the psychoactive and medicinal effects that users are looking for. The trick is to recognize the right time to harvest based on the appearance of your "buds".
Check for trichomes without magnifying glasses?
It is recommended to use a microscope or magnifying glass, however, it is possible to do without. If you have a microscope, you can choose the right time to harvest by looking at the trichomes on your buds. (the small mushroom shaped crystals) The color of these trichomes will tell you when most cannabinoids are formed, which means the best time to harvest. This way you will measure the right time very precisely. Learn more about the color of trichomes!
The first sign you should look for will be during the first phase of flowering. Watch out for the hairy parts that will grow between your buds (pistils). The first few weeks of flowering they start to grow in the color white / green. After a while, there are no more new hairs growing on your pistils and some will start to change color. Now is the time to start paying attention!
Choosing the right time to harvest without glasses
Once the hairs have stopped growing your buds should already see looking large and filled with pistils, the smell should be intense when you step into your grow room. This is when the canabinoids in your buds begin to develop and their potency changes every day. Once 40% of your filaments are brown, your cannabis is theoretically ready to harvest, but it's best to wait a bit longer.
When the harvest is early (40% of the hairs / pistils are brown), the cannabinoids are not yet very developed, resulting in a more energetic and lighter high. Wait a little longer if you want a more potent product. Find when your THC levels are highest (most potent). We use a little rule:
If 40-50% of the hairs on your buds are brown and dry, you'll get a light quality that isn't that potent. As we said before, it will produce an energetic effect.
If 50-70% of the hairs are brown and dry, your cannabis will be at its peak. This means that the THC levels are the highest they will have. If you want to go for a strong, psychoactive quality of cannabis. You should start harvesting now.
If you wait a little longer and 70-90% of the hairs are brown and dry, you will get a kind of relaxing cannabis with a physical effect known mostly as a 'couch-lock' (it's hard to stand up afterwards. having smoked). If you are looking for pain relief, now is a good time to harvest your cannabis!
However, there are more precise methods to find the right time to cut your buds. By looking at the trichomes in your cannabis plant, you can pick the right time very precisely depending on the high you like and the plant's cannabinoid levels. However, to do this, you will need a microscope. We recommend that you use a small pocket microscope as it makes it easier to research a living plant.
