Harvest?

[KnowTheGrow]

Today is the beginning of the 6th week in flower and I noticed quite a few amber trichomes. I went ahead and gave em all a good flush but was wondering how long before I should harvest. 6 weeks seems a bit early.

[Sheesh]

I see some clear, some cloudy and some clear but are those all leaf pics? You should go by the trichs on the calyx, not leaves. There are two other criteria for harvest ready: breeders flower time (like 7-9 weeks) and the pistils should be dry and shriveled in to the bud. Can you add a picture of the plant and buds? Also, what strain and what is expected flower time?

[KnowTheGrow]

Thanks, I'll take some and add them tonight. It's northern lights and the breeders time frame is 7-9 weeks.

[strainsgrow]

What did you use to take those pics?

[KnowTheGrow]

I just put the jewlers loop up to the lens

[ZigZag]

Yeah, I agree with Sheesh_ If the amber trichomes are on the small leaves then you should use those on the calyx themselves to judge the timing...and the progression of the pistils. Most of the pistils should be curled into the bud and should be orange/red.
Another thing to consider is the light source(s) in the area you are taking your photos in. Even if the main light you're using is daylight balanced_between 5000-6000 K, and there are any other lights anywhere else in the area that are more warm colored_ like 2800-4800 K then the warmer light can make some of the trichomes look amber when they aren't. The best light sources are neutral light sources, and only ones that are daylight balanced_ no mixed light sources. You should have the camera set to auto white balance, which is probably where its set, but even so mixed light sources won't give you accurate color, especially if a warmer light source is lighting the background somewhere. The easiest way is to set your white balance to auto and use mid day sunlight only. A neutral background also helps_white, black or gray.
This all probably seems like "overkill" but it will produce the most accurate photos.
Hope that helps.
Harvest time is the best_but can certainly test your patience!

[KnowTheGrow]

Thanks. I drug em out last night and took another look at them under daylight and definitely noticed a difference. I'll be doing that from now on.

[ZigZag]

I'm just about to take a look at my most advanced plant today. I have to move it out of the grow room to get even light and a neutral background, so its a bit of a hassle but worth it in the end!
We'll see if the pistils that are quickly turning are relative to the progression of the trichomes....hmmm...

[ZigZag]

Hello KTG_ I just was in the grow room this morning and noticed that my fastest progressing plant is progressing faster than I thought it was! So I took some photos to get a better look at the trichomes.
They are further along than expected over the last 5-6 days. From the photos you can see that at least 1/2 the pistils have turned orange and that there's about 5% amber. Most are opaque and there are still some clear/transparent ones as well. I'm guesstimating about a week to go with that plant and am going to keep a close eye on it. Also began the first flush this morning, about 5 days before I had planned on it. Plan is to flush with a gallon 2x/day for the next three days_so I get 30-50% runoff. The coco based medium in this 2.5 gallon container will run through in less than 5 minutes so it never gets too wet. Then I'll follow that up with a gallon/day until I feel the need to take it down, probably within 5 days. The last time I grew a plant in a 2.5 gallon container it was one of the first to mature and was one of the smallest.
This plant is also the smallest in the same size container and its sister which is in a 4 gallon bucket is more than 2X as tall and at least a week behind. Same thing happened with a different strain last time. There might be something to consider here...small container_ smaller plant but faster to mature? huh?
Anyway here are some photos_

[Sheesh]

Gorgeous buds zz. They look real close to ready for sure. I hear ya on the shorter flower time. I would think flower time would be the same regardless of container or plant size. Sounds like a cool strain too. You growing for pain?

[KnowTheGrow]

Nice buds! That is interesting. I was actually thinking about doing a SOG with some autos next and putting them in smaller containers. I have some 2 gallon pots that I use for veg. Do you have any experience with autos?

[ZigZag]

Sheesh_ I'm growing the CDB OG to help with Seizures, insomnia and sore muscles. I always like to try the smoke but probably end up using it more as an oil capsule, tincture or other type of edible. I've had fewer seizures, no insomnia and to heck with tylenol or ibuprofen_ who needs it?

KTG_ I've done about three grows using autos and have used both the 2.5 and 4.5 gallon containers. Same results_ smaller plant in smaller container. They almost all went 7-10 days longer than expected. The small ones were very bushy and for me kinda difficult to train_ had a hard time getting inside the very tight internodes. I would prune more branches from the bottom up and try to keep them to maybe four main colas, With 2.5 gallon pots that might work really well. I've been thinking the same thing but I can't use a net or screen so will have to be vigilant with pruning, LST and super cropping....which I'm not sure autos will do well with. I've topped and FIMed autos just once per plant and they did well but were a week or two behind because of it. I haven't tried anything but LST after that but maybe you could use a bit of supper cropping as well. Could be a good way to get a nice way to pack a bunch of smaller plants into a tighter space with less vertical issues. I'll subscribe if you try that so let me know!

[Sparkee2017]

That's some good sh**t ZAG..

[ZigZag]

Got my fingers crossed for sure!

[KnowTheGrow]

Pics suck but...Yea lol

[Sheesh]

Getting close ktg. Take a good look at the trichs on the calyxes and you'll see how long you can let them fatten up. Last year I waited for all cloudy then did a 1 week flush with florakleen. I think you can even wait for all cloudy and do a 2 week flush but it depends what effect you're going for.

[ZigZag]

I think I'd go with the same strategy. I haven't tried adding anything to the flush, just water them heavily for a week before harvest. Due to my medium I don't need to worry about overwatering them at this point so thats not an issue. But they do take a bit longer to dry. It seems to work fine but I've herd that some of the flushing enhancing agents work really well, especially with hydro systems.Happy times ahead!

[KnowTheGrow]

I took a look and they were all pretty clear. Think I have enough time to feed them again after the flush I just did or keep flushing with RO water? The runoff was about 1500ppm.

[ZigZag]

If your runoff is 1500 you still have a decent quantity of nutrients left in the medium. And if the trichomes are >30% clear you should have 7 or more days. I usually go with the assumption that its easier to take them down sooner than it is to wait another week so I try to wait. But then with most strains I'm looking for more of an indica effect so waiting doesn't do any harm.
That looks like an indica leaning strain so the buds should just get more dense if you wait a bit longer. Just keep watching them.
I also feel that starting the flush a little early_ even two weeks from harvest is a better strategy than waiting_ thats why I started yesterday. That plant took me by surprise and I want it well flushed before i take it down. I also have another of the same strain I can let go longer if I want.
If the buds at the top are a bit ahead of the lower ones you could also try harvesting the more mature ones first and let the lower ones go another week. If you cut the main/talest/most mature colas at the same height for each plant then the canopies will be totally even and you can lower your lights so the buds on those lower branches get more light and likely get some additional size.
Lots of options. I was hesitant to try a split harvest on a single plant and it worked well so would try it again under the same conditions if I felt the lower buds weren't close enough yet and didn't want the upper ones to go any longer. Just tape up the "wounds" where you cut the main stems or they will loose a lot of water and may be exposed to other issues as well.
Hope all goes well for you. Even if you take the whole plant down at the same time you'll be able to tell the difference between the high each stage of development will produce and have more to go with if you try that strain again!
Cheers to an awesome harvest!