New Grower Need Help With Knowing When To Harvest - semi-urgent!

[areyouthefarmer]

Hi Guys,

Cut to the chase - I'm wondering whether I should be harvesting within the next week. Also, how much damage am I likely to do by cutting one of the lower buds to dry and test?

I've read around, both here and on other sites, and have taken in information about the signs for harvesting. I know that predominantly amber crystals (trychs) means a heavy, sofa-locking stone and that predominantly clear or cloudy trychs means a more heady high.

I'm aiming for heady.

My Critical Mass now has a fair number of amber/brown trychs on lower buds (admittedly on the leaves coming from the flowers), and I have the yellowing, dying fan leaves at the base of the plant (I read the post about using the leaves as pointers to harvest time). Also a good proportion of the flower 'hairs' (forgot the proper word, sorry!) are turning orange.

Added to this is the fact that a dear friend of mine will move away in three weeks and I have had an eye on this deadline during the grow (which I am aware could compromise my judgement)

Critical Mass is at day 52 (week 8) which I know is a little early.

I have only just today realised that the choice between head/body stone is also a choice between less/more weight of product (I guess I thought the flowers would plump to max and then the crystal change would occur)

I don't want to wait too long and have weed that is basically sofa-glue. I don't want to harvest too early and lose potential potency. Forget about the weight of produce, this plant has produced a good amount, I'm happy!!

I've attached photos of the yellowing leaves and the flowers. I was expecting (hoping for?) more crystals.

I'd really appreciate feedback from more experienced growers than me. Should I be expecting to harvest within the next seven days? Or is that way too early still?

Thanks in advance!

 

[areyouthefarmer]

For some reason, images are about half size. Let me know if you want larger versions of separate images (each one I uploaded is made of three images)

 

[namvet25]

If you want a head high you can harvest when a few trys are still clear and rest cloudy.If your already at some ambers you might be to far already for a head buzz.If she's a indica it probably will be a more couch lock that is more characteristic of a indica. If you chop when they have a lot of white hairs left you will lose some yield because she is still forming buds.:smokebuds:

 

[areyouthefarmer]

Thanks Namvet,

So if I'm willing to lose yield in favour of potency (head high) it's safe to harvest soon? As I understand it, there's a balancing act because too young, and the potency potential has not been realised;too old and the potency starts to decline (irrespective of desired type of high).
Thank you thank you thank you for taking the time to reply!

 

[Muddy]

It's hard to see the true color of the leaves unless the pictures are taken in natural light. Also a picture of the whole plant so we can see all the fan leaves. Based on the little I can see in those pictures they look like they still have a ways to go. I just harvested some Blackskull Criticals a month or so ago. It's about a 50/50 stativa/indica hybrid and at 12 weeks harvest, still gives a head high with no couch lock. I would wait till all the fan leaves start to show yellow, not just the bottom ones, then cleanse with plain pHed water for 10-14 days before harvesting.

 

[YouDon'tKnowMe]

In my opinion, the risk of harvesting sofaglue as you put it is a bit overplayed. it's not like a week 10 harvest is heady shit and a week 11 harvest is going to put you to sleep; there's a relatively smooth transition over time, usually over 2 or 3+ weeks. Personally, I really hate weed harvested early. It's got an empty, racy kind of feeling to it IMO.

But back to your original question, I'd agree with Muddy here - get some natural light photos, perhaps have imgur.com host the full resolution originals, and take it from there. From the looks of things, I'd venture to say you have a bit more time before they're ready to cut. Also worth noting, is that a lot of autoflowering strains don't show that typical progression from clear to cloudy to amber. They may be ready to harvest with 50/50 clear and cloudy, with only a few amber trichomes, so it's better to look at the plant overall - color of the leaves, how many of the pistils have turned orange, how swollen the calyxes are, as well as taking into account the change of color of the trichomes.

 

[areyouthefarmer]

Thank you all for the words of wisdom and advice. It's a huge help to have people such as yourselves giving the benefit of your experience and knowledge!

Sorry for not replying the same day, I cut a small sample, microwave dried it (ghetto, I know) and tried it. And that was it for the rest of the evening - very very happy high. Plenty of energy, no messy thinking, just really happy! The happiness was compounded by the fact that this was something I had grown from seed - there really is a lot to be said for home cultivation!!!!

Muddy, as you suggested, I have uploaded images to imgur and am linking them here. You can see the whole plant (little thing, she is. First AF grow (or any grow for that matter)), the base of the plant where leaves have yellowed and died, main cola, lower bud and lower bud showing some amber trichs. The pictures are not as sharp as I would like, but should give a good idea of where the plants are at. Oh, and shot in natural light!

 

[Bgrt]

looks like it has a good bit to go
a few weeks imo.

 

[Dungeongangsta]

I agree with Bgrt

 

[Muddy]

Your leaves are just starting to yellow, so you've got about 3 weeks left. I would feed them for another week, then start cleansing them with plain pHed water for the remainder of the grow. You'll be amazed at how much weight they put on as the stored energy in the fan leaves is used up.

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