Am I ready to harvest after the 2 week Flush?

[panalilies]

First time grower, is my plant ready to harvest? I started the 2 week nutes flush on the 19th. Ive done cold water every day, but read that cold water every few days in the last 2 weeks before harvest is better, since it helps dry the plant/ soil up.
Im not sure what the strain is, its either Amnesia Haze, Blueberry, or Northern Lights Auto Flower. I started growing sometime in late 2020, I haven't kept track of the days (that will change with next grow).

[Farmbuck]

Nice !! How is your trichomes ?

[panalilies]

I think a few are Amber, Im not 100% on those. I used a digital camera to get as close as I could here-

[SoOrbudgal]

Well i prefer them with less white hairs shooting out before i'd consider harvest. If your not sure about when those began to flower then it's harder to judge so it's trichs and firmness ( not always do to strain some are just less dense) So having said that just looking i'd not stop feeding yet the i would try some unsulferated molasses in my water flush i'd give more time to her and next photo show the whole plant please.

[Cloud]

Can't go by the leaves they will amber before the buds. I see 50/50 clear cloudy but it's hard to tell. I would wait a week and check them again.

[PeterMatanzas]

I don't always keep track of days. I know the approximate date the hours were flipped, but the breeder always underestimates the duration of flower. Then there's some strains that I find "better" (a scientific word) when the trichomes are just cloudy very little amber. Sometimes I want alot of amber, sometimes I'll let a plant go 2 weeks past the breeder's stated duration and there's nothing but amber. What effect do you want is the question I ask for each plant. The plant tells me when it's ready and verify by test. Take some flower off, dry it and smoke. I just did that and she's not ready but she's close.

[PeterMatanzas]

now that I think about it, I've been flipping hours on the first of the month or the 15th of the month regularly for couple years. I don't write it down, I lose things I write down (or on the PC). Here's another thing to consider. The breeder advertises a 60 day flowering period after flip. What they *don't* tell you is that yeah they flipped on March 1 but 60 days is really 70 days. The plant is in transition state from veg to flower for 7-10 days. The actual 60 days is actually ~70 days from flip because the flowering doesn't start immediately.

[panalilies]

PeterMatanzas- do you consider day 1 when you plant the seed into the soil or is day 1 when the seed has sprouted? I bought a mix pack of seeds that all say 8 weeks for flowers. This plant has def been flowering for longer than 8 weeks, but I honestly didnt start much research about when/ how to harvest until about 2 weeks ago. The smell got intense enough for me to hook up my exhaust (I grow in a secluded room off of my laundry room thats a section of a much larger basement area. I also smoke frequently in my basement so I dont worry about smell much) so I figured it was almost time for it to be ready

[PeterMatanzas]

panalilies Day 1 occurs when the sprout breaks surface. I don't keep track of time in veg state though. However if you have "8 weeks to flower" seeds you have autos. I don't grow autos often because I want to control the duration of the veg state. If you think it's near finish try to get ahold of a good magnifying glass, say .. a jeweler's loupe. Use the glass to view the frost on your flowers. That frost is trichomes, you will see little stalks with a head on them, those are where the medicine is. When you see the heads of those stalks cloudy, milky looking - with 20-40% not cloudy but amber. Viewing those trichomes is the only way to tell if it's ready for harvest imo. I understand the issues over smell. My house sometimes stinks to high heaven, in the summer the outdoor does also. It doesnt matter.

[panalilies]

SoOrbudgal- Here is a whole picture- i didn't post it since I didnt do anything pretty to the setup/ it wasnt as clear as the close ups. Ive already started germinating the next seed in anticipation of this harvest, do you think i could finish this plant up and start on the next one at the same time? if you see in the pic- I have since raised my light to be above the main bud, but I left it as it is in the picture for too long for it to mature with the rest of the plant. Ive resigned myself to the fact that half the main cola wont be as mature/potent as the rest of the buds.

[SoOrbudgal]

Daaamn son that's a mega plant LOL...........yes most definetly start a seed LOL you got a green thumb fella Heck no that plant maybe done in less than 2wks. Only reason i do write down when bloom starts is cause of breeders time frame harvest. And that is just a reference point i always always need to go longer once in a blue moon i can harvest within the said time frame. It makes me think hmmmmm not a 65day flower teaches looking at trichomes, feeling the buds for firmness. That's a great looking plant @panalilies.... my love of gardening is also ornimental lilies

[panalilies]

SoOrbudgal- this is the first thing Ive ever grown thats actually gone to produce anything worth while lol i know its been flowering for at least 3 months, I really should have wrote down when it started. I didnt do a 12/12 or anything since they are auto, so they started on their own. I did at somepoint during the flowering stage move to 18/6 just so the lights wouldnt run 24/7. Is there a certain time of day when the lights should be on/off? the off time is like from 4-10pm currently, def does not follow the natural daylight. This next grow will have a lot of more tricks and notes written down for when things happen lol. Lily is my real name so I always pick something with it. I meant for my name to be pandalilies but I forgot the d in panda lol

[SoOrbudgal]

panalilies welcome to a great first grow, did'nt realize it was a auto flower sorry for calling you fella. Glad another female grower is here, i am tooo. And no lie my first grandaughter is name Lily Rose . Hey you keep doing what your doing it's working well LOL

[panalilies]

lol no worries! If I had to choose, Rose would be my flower name instead of Lily, Ive always liked it better. Im going to harvest a couple colas before the rest, ill post pictures of what they look like! Im still working on setting up my dry/ cure room. Its in a semi-enclosed portion of the basement- the water heater room. it helps retain some heat and has no access to sunlight/ other light unless I go inside the room. Ive bought a humidifier to bring up the RH% and will have a fan ready to help with the air flow. Hoping is wont smell too bad in during the process

[PRIMO]

panalilies Nice first timer,I see a little amber in your bud. Depending on what effect you like I'd say another week or ten days. You're in the window for sure.Try not to over dry em, and don't over pack the curin-burpin jars. And yes, get cracking on your next go-round. Nice work!

[DeadlyFruit]

panalilies I water ever day, it just takes a little more monitoring to be sure you don’t have nutrient buildup and pH problems. Not saying it is better or worse, just that it is not something you absolutely shouldn’t do. You don’t want them constantly sitting in mud, but if your pots drain and dry pretty fast (cloth pots) then it isn’t something to be afraid of.

[panalilies]

DeadlyFruit- I def have nute burn on the brunt of my leaves, its live and learn with this baby. Nutes every day, didnt give any plain water until I started the flush. Im hoping it wont have a bad taste to it after everything Ive given to it, but we will see. Ive used plastic pots for this grow, Ive already purchased cloth pots for the next

[DeadlyFruit]

I am sure they will be fine. May not look like a runway model but you will trim most of that away and they will taste fine. Live and learn. I give nutes every day but at a reasonable level and once a week I give it a larger watering with plain water to prevent too much build up. Some people don’t flush at all so that is a subjective topic. Bottom line, if you like them that is all that matters, and you will get better with every grow.

[Smokesteve]

Flushing screws up alot of crops.

[panalilies]

I use Mother Earth Coco Plus Perlite Mix- im not sure if that makes a difference

[PeterMatanzas]

it's a general practice to flush Coco+perlite

[panalilies]

perfect, I really want this grow to come out nice. Im determined to not go back to the dispensary

[panalilies]

I got a great picture of my funky cola (the main cola that grew past the light fixture that I didnt fix until this week). Interesting to see the difference

[panalilies]

I decided to do my harvest a few days early. How does it look? I decided to not worry about removing the immature buds until after the have dried, not sure if thats the smart thing to do or not. Please let me know if I should remove them or if I need to do anything to improve the spacing of the branches.

[SoOrbudgal]

Well you did it. I use to when we had outdoor big plants hang like that. Have you trimmed weed ever?

[panalilies]

I have not. I heard leaving the fan leaves on makes for a harsher taste, but there isn't enough RH% even with a humidifier. I'm excited to trim it tho

[Puglover1]

panalilies Can you hang shower curtains or somehow contain humidity in your dry area? Heating the area pulls down the RH a bit too. Do you have a spare bathroom, shower or closet to use briefly? After harvesting three large Mag Landrace photos in Nov./Dec I gotta tell ya ... you'll wish you had removed leaves before hanging. Trimming is the worst part of the whole deal. Like punishment, despite the end goal. I fought RH in my small guest bathroom bc of the weather at the time, like it's been recently. The furnace ran a couple times during the night so on morning checks it was low. I have a small cool mist humidifier that I was filling several times/day, depending on the outside weather. I was warned, concerned, about mold but I wish mine had been jarred while less dry. The buds aren't too dry by any means when I grind weed to roll one but it honestly could have dried less before final trim and jarring, to benefit the end result. Make some wicking towels or something to make RH better maybe? I'm struggling with RH in my new grow, got two new clip fans ordered, one broke and I want a third. I'm sitting here thinking about putting a console humidifier, like an old school one for the whole house, in the middle back of my closet. The temp was higher than I expected today with it warming up around here, and that will only get worse until the AC is on all the time but I can close that bedroom's door and control its HVAC vents. I might end up propping the opening to the attic - it's in the grow closet ceiling - open a bit for heat escape. Those hanging 'net' buds/colas will dry faster, FYI. Good luck, you did good. Now hold yourself back until they're cured.

[panalilies]

I did bite the bullet last night and get a smaller grow tent that will only be used for drying, as the smell as seeped thru the whole house and we occasionally have people under 21 over. I woke up this morning and the gauge was reading 68 degrees and 48% RH, so I think the settings I have them set at right now have been working. I think I may trim the leaves after wok today if its not too late for that already. I have a spare bathroom I was going to use as my dry room, but its too bright in there. We did turn on the AC last night so I turned the heater up in my grow room up a bit, but it kicks off by itself when it gets to the temp I set it at. I have a plan to smoke this plant in stages so I can see what the different stages of drying and curing taste like

[panalilies]

Checked the buds I put in the mesh rack, these 2 are super dry (kinda worried I over dried them). Gonna smoke a little and jar whatever is left. The cola I started drying should be good in another day or 2

[SoOrbudgal]

This is your first real grow so don't get too worried because those buds/colas may not be as tight/hard maybe fluffy an will dry faster. We learn as we grow know that strong lights, where to place place plants under them the heights of lamps all this is learned by running grows. Yes trim makes edibles small buds, suger leaf not old yellow or large fans, you could but has very little THC. More leaf makes buds harsher you'll get it. No one trims like a pro first time, you did very well.

[panalilies]

So I smoked a joint and it was a nice buzz (granted, it was the first of the day, those are always best). I understand the harsh taste with the fans, 90% of the street weed I bought for like 1.5 years had that same taste, so it wasnt a surprise/ bad. But I will def be removing those next time and just increasing the humidity from the humidifier to help slow the dry time. Super nice to be smoking my own! Thank you everyone for the great tips!

[panalilies]

I have no clue if I trimmed it correctly, but here is what I have- I can use the trim to make edibles, right?

[DeadlyFruit]

Buds look nice! Trimming is a personal thing. Some people manicure for the perfect shape/look, with very little or no sugar leaf in the bud while other people want to preserve more of the sugar and trim less. Yes you can use the sugar leaves and larfy bud in edibles - I do that. When I do it I basically just keep the nice buds for direct use, any sparkly trim for edibles and toss the rest.