Harvest opinion please

Hi there, wanted some opinions. This is my second grow. BC, Canada. My first last year was autoflower strawberry cough. Basically the grow to learn it all best I could. Made lots of mistakes but completed the cycle on 4 plants with a total yield of 1oz dried. Ouch. But I’ll take it. Nothing died. Lol

So that brings me to this year… said no way to Auto’s but would grow fast version. Just to be on the safe side of the growing season.

2- Critical Jack Fast(7weeks flower)
2- Lemom Haze Fast(7 weeks flower)
1- Black Amnesia Fast7(weeks flower)
1- Elite strain Doh-Si-Doh(Free seed so figured why not)( 9 weeks flower)

I won’t get all technical. Basically germed and grew indoors under a couple Leds starting mid April. Into the garden end of May. Great local soil. Black diamond mixed with pro mix Bx, and mushroom compost. Added high nitrogen nutes during veg. And Gaia Green bloom for flower.

What a difference from last year. A couple 9 footers. And the other 4 are in between 6-8 feet. Bushed out nice and all flowering beautifully. I believe my first two plants are almost ready. They are both the Critical Jack strain. I think one is still a couple weeks. But the other which I’m most interested I think is within a week. I’m going by trichomes basically. Which can be confusing. Pruning lots of Yellow leaves as they die from bottom working up. Bud blades are just starting to turn a little purple. But still a lot of white hairs. Trichomes under 40x show still an abundance of clear, some milky, and weirdly a few have even gone amber? Odd, no? So I say next 7 days. But…..

Please share thoughts. I really appreciate all opinions on time. Online strain pics show lots of amber hairs. But then again lots of harvest pics don’t. Lol. Cut me some slack as it’s only second grow.

I’ll show a pic of whole garden. And a couple just on plant I think is a week.

Thank you all in advance who comment.

Unfortunately, you have several weeks left to go. THe second picture that shows the actual bud 100% still has at least 4-5 weeks left. If that is your most mature then count on all the rest being at least that long or more.

Thundercat said:

Unfortunately, you have several weeks left to go. THe second picture that shows the actual bud 100% still has at least 4-5 weeks left. If that is your most mature then count on all the rest being at least that long or more.

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Oh Wow! Really? I thought in the last week. Yes pic is from today. Been checking trichomes daily. I understand they can turn quickly. And definitely seeing milky. Even a few amber today. But confused with all the white pistils. Just hoped that meant a week yet. If you think 4. Than my others are more. As buds are way smaller. That sucks. Sept 11. Overnight lows making me nervous.

Indfireguy said:

Oh Wow! Really? I thought in the last week. Yes pic is from today. Been checking trichomes daily. I understand they can turn quickly. And definitely seeing milky. Even a few amber today. But confused with all the white pistils. Just hoped that meant a week yet. If you think 4. Than my others are more. As buds are way smaller. That sucks. Sept 11. Overnight lows making me nervous.

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Wrong trichomes do not change quickly. I takes weeks for plants to ripen not days. You shouldn't even be looking at trichomes at this stage, the plant is covered in white pistils still, which means its still actively growing fresh new bud for you.

Honestly even 4 is very likely pushing the early point its probably gonna be 5. But I can't predict exactly what your plant will do in your garden, just base my information of the many plants and strains I've grown in my gardens so I try to give people a window.

Heres some info I share with new growers.

The signs of ripeness are pretty standard for cannabis plants.

First a few of the pistils begin turning color and start receding. Your plant is just starting to ripen. Depending on the strain you could still have two months to go. We're just starting this journey.

Two to four weeks later you'll notice that most of the pistils(>80%) have now changed color and curled back into the bud. It's frosty, way bigger than it was a few weeks ago(aren't you glad you waited), and smells dank! It's time, right? Not a chance killer. Patience is a virtue.

Over the next 2-3 weeks it doesn't look much different, maybe a little more swelling in the calyxes, and the rest of the pistils change over, but the stems are starting to bend under the weight of the buds. These ladies are putting on weight internally by adding density and now the buds are doing their final ripening.

Now you begin looking at trichomes, on the calyx, not the leaves, and harvest according to your preference. When looking at trichomes it’s essential to look at them from the side. The bulbous heads can magnify the opaque stalk under it. Looking from the side allows you to more accurately see the condition of the resin in the trichome head.

There is still no rush to harvest, the window just opened, and you have several weeks before you MIGHT start having to think about it possibly beginning to get too ripe. It takes WEEKS for plants to mature not days.

It is very easy to harvest a plant to early. It is very hard to harvest a plant to late. I’ve never seen someone accidentally wait too long.

I'd build a cover for those. Pvc tubing, greenhouse plastic and boot strap farmers greenhouse clips. They will be warmer and protected from the elements so you can finish them off well into the fall. Best of luck!

Thundercat said:

Wrong trichomes do not change quickly. I takes weeks for plants to ripen not days. You shouldn't even be looking at trichomes at this stage, the plant is covered in white pistils still, which means its still actively growing fresh new bud for you.

Honestly even 4 is very likely pushing the early point its probably gonna be 5. But I can't predict exactly what your plant will do in your garden, just base my information of the many plants and strains I've grown in my gardens so I try to give people a window.

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Well I really appreciate that. Thank you. This as well as 5 of my 6 plants are all “fast” version. On this plant and the other critical Jack Fast I called first day flower July 28 as first good white pistils where evident. There supposed to be 7 weeks in fast version. So I figured mid sept finish. Why so off?

Might not hurt to post closeups of each plant. People all have different opinions on when to harvest..

Whatever happens you will have way more than your first grow!

farmingfisherman said:

Might not hurt to post closeups of each plant. People all have different opinions on when to harvest..

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I can honestly say the bud I posted is definitely the most far along. Just confused. Fast is supposed to be 7 weeks. And sure maybe goes a bit longer. But am I wrong in calling first day flower when I see pistil from bud site? That’s what I did on July 28. The other 4 plants were 2 weeks later.

farmingfisherman said:

Whatever happens you will have way more than your first grow!

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I don’t want to lose any. Lol. We will see some overnight 4-5C lows starting this upcoming week. Prob just a dip. Should still stay above zero into first week of October overnight. Daytimes are still decent. But frost is inevitable by mid October.

Indfireguy said:

Well I really appreciate that. Thank you. This as well as 5 of my 6 plants are all “fast” version. On this plant and the other critical Jack Fast I called first day flower July 28 as first good white pistils where evident. There supposed to be 7 weeks in fast version. So I figured mid sept finish. Why so off?

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"Fast version" is mostly marketing honestly, but any estimate the breeder provides is based on the conditions in their grow, not yours. Plants get finished when they finish, it all depends on how the genetics interact with your environment. Counting days or weeks usually ends in new growers chopping plants early, or frustration from the marketing being so wrong. Thankfully when you wait you get a much better end product which helps people forget they were ever frustrated.

I have never had a plant finish in less than 9-10 weeks.........regardless of what the breeders say.

MickFoster said:

I have never had a plant finish in less than 9-10 weeks.........regardless of what the breeders say.

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So what’s the purpose of a fast version than? I thought it’s supposed to speed up the harvest by 1-2 weeks? Kinda frustrating, I chose it based on those 1-2 weeks quicker finish, for here up North that’s the difference between a possible frost or freeze. Week 7 comes to an end sept 15. It’s supposed to be a 7 week flower.

Indfireguy said:

So what’s the purpose of a fast version than? I thought it’s supposed to speed up the harvest by 1-2 weeks? Kinda frustrating, I chose it based on those 1-2 weeks quicker finish, for here up North that’s the difference between a possible frost or freeze. Week 7 comes to an end sept 15. It’s supposed to be a 7 week flower.

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That picture shows a plant closer to 6 weeks until it's finished. Breeders call them fast versions and give 7 week flower estimates to get people to buy them. It's a marketing ploy and it works all the time.

twentyeight.threefive said:

That picture shows a plant closer to 6 weeks until it's finished. Breeders call them fast versions and give 7 week flower estimates to get people to buy them. It's a marketing ploy and it works all the time.

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You’re telling me. Lol. I bought into it. And sorry….you think by looking at that bud it’s got 6 weeks to go?

Indfireguy said:

You’re telling me. Lol. I bought into it. And sorry….you think by looking at that bud it’s got 6 weeks to go?

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Yes that second picture of the closeup cola is about 6 weeks until that'll be ready.

Indfireguy said:

So what’s the purpose of a fast version than? I thought it’s supposed to speed up the harvest by 1-2 weeks? Kinda frustrating, I chose it based on those 1-2 weeks quicker finish, for here up North that’s the difference between a possible frost or freeze. Week 7 comes to an end sept 15. It’s supposed to be a 7 week flower.

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You cant go by breeder descriptions, how far along those look Im estimating around mid to late october, still a good 5-6 weeks to go..

Indfireguy said:

You’re telling me. Lol. I bought into it. And sorry….you think by looking at that bud it’s got 6 weeks to go?

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Yeah its looking like they will be at least 5 weeks, id say 3rd week of october ish, sept harvest would be way to premature..

Playk328 said:

Yeah its looking like they will be at least 5 weeks, id say 3rd week of october ish, sept harvest would be way to premature..

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Well that sucks. Will be dropping below zero at night by that point. And I have 6 plants. That is the furthest along. I’ll upload a some here I just took this morning all same plant. All different buds.