Need help with first harvest

[Anuenki]

hello everyone, thanks for all the help i have gotten so far. Have a couple questions pertaining to my first harvest. My 4x4 is in my unfinished basement i have 3 unfinished rooms down there. It looks as though all 4 of my girls will be finishing at different times. Should i just chop them all at the same time because i think i can only hang them in the room my tent is in because i have to keep the smell down being i live in an illegal state. So if i chop them all at the same time i can just hang them in my tent and carbon scrub the smell like it is doing currently while they are alive. My other options are to cut them when they are done one at a time and hang them in the tent room and try to hang a blanket in between the tent and the ones drying to block the light. Or i can hang them in one of the other rooms but then i feel like the smell would be unbelievable which is a no no....

also i have a pocket microscope to check the trichomes but it is almost impossible to get a good look without cutting something off to have stationary to look at. My question is what should i be cutting off to look at? A sugar leaf at the top?

[Anuenki]

Also should add another obvious reason why i want to keep them in the tent room is because it is my controlled environment room.

also i have seen so many people say to cut and hang the whole plant vs hanging in a flower tower or vice versa. Also trimming wet vs dry

[Jamrasta]

Regards the drying I can’t really help as im just about to do my first harvest too.
With the checking trichomes though I have learned from the guys on here that sugar leaves are not to be used as an indicator for when she’s ready.
you need to check the trichomes directly on the buds.

[Anuenki]

Thank you yeah i figured that but it is like impossible to do without cutting it off lol. I have a jewelers loupe too but it is only 40x

[Canuck147]

40x loupe is sufficient- it's all I use.

[Anuenki]

Really? With the 40x i cant really differentiate between cloudy and cleat trichs, i guess i can see if they are amber though.

[Canuck147]

Yes you can chop them down all at once - some buds might not be as ripe as others. But one does what one has to do.
Hang them in your tent if desired - but I always cut off my leaves and just hang the buds - I find it too difficult to trim the buds with all them dry leaves clinging to everything.

[s62]

Cut off a small, small amount of bud (not sugar leaf) to check under your microscope. Buds towards the tops of your plants may be more finished that middle/bottom, so keep that in mind.

If you can harvest all at once and hang in your tent, go for it. That’s probably preferable. If you can’t (because the plants aren’t similar enough timeline-wise), make-do. Remember: RH, moving air, space, and darkness. You could try the paper baggie method if you can’t figure out where to dry them. Maybe someone else can give you more info.

You don’t need a flower tower unless you’re going to be drying in a humid environment. Wet vs dry trim is mostly about the humidity. If your environment is too dry, dry trim. If it’s too wet, wet trim. Otherwise, wet trim is easier, but dry trim supposedly helps produce denser, better bud. Dry trim is a pain in the ass.

[Anuenki]

Hmm ok and i also see a lot of different suggestions for rh and temp. Some say 7 7 7 method, some say 60 degrees and 60 rh... i think my basement sits about 50 or 55 rh

[Anuenki]

Thank you guys so much, ok so at this point i will just keep checking on the trichs for the next week or two and i suppose i will have to wait until then to decide if i should chop them all at once or not.

[duckman]

I used the paper bag method to dry my first harvest, worked great!

[Anuenki]

Did you hang it before putting it in the bag? Or did you trim and put right into the bags?

[duckman]

wet trim and right into the bags...at 70 degrees and 50% rH it took about 4 days to dry 2 oz., just make sure the buds aren't crowded and give them a shake every day.

[homegrown]

Hey Anuenki, it is possible to get pretty good pics using phone camera. HDR setting, outside lighting is best, turn fans off so plants are not moving(important), find something to rest your phone(important) start taking some pics. Gotta fiddle fart around a bit but you can get a pretty good idea of their development. Good luck steady hands... homegrown these bud pics were taken with my phone

[Anuenki]

Thanks homegrown i guess i was wrong i can combine my phone and jewelers loupe to get some pictures like that... also beautiful buds!