HOW TO TELL WHEN IT IS TIME TO HARVEST MARIJUANA SEEDS

Nothing makes a grower happier than knowing when to harvest marijuana seeds. Of course, that's after he has put so much effort and resources into growing the plant right from the seed germination stage to a fully matured plant. However, the harvesting period is crucial and requires much patience from the grower. In the case of a marijuana plant, if harvesting is done hastily, the plant might experience some undesirable effects, such as a reduction in quality which causes the grower to lose out if his profits.

But no need to worry; the good news is that the marijuana plant shows signs indicating it's ready to be harvested. If the grower is good at observing the signs, which we will discuss further in this article, then he should be able to harvest the marijuana plant at the proper time.

It's important to harvest a marijuana plant when it's ripe because when left for a long time without harvesting, it can increase the level of cannabinoids, influencing its flavor and making it more narcotic.

At the same time, when harvested early, it can cut short the plant's yield and reduce its THC content. Therefore the grower must make every effort possible to ensure the plants are harvested at the right time. The harvesting period also differs for different varieties of cannabis, hence growers cannot say exactly when the plant would be due for harvesting.

But on average, it takes the cannabis plant eight weeks to complete the flowering stage, although this period differs based on the plant variety. When the plant approaches the sixth to the seventh week of flowering, the grower is expected to look out for different micro and macro signs in the cannabis plant that shows maturity.

THE DIFFERENT CANNABIS STRAINS

As mentioned earlier, the harvest period can't be the same for all cannabis strains and varieties, especially when you want to get the best out of the cannabis plant. The Indica strain is known to be ready for harvesting after eight weeks. On the other hand, Sativa strains often require a longer period of flowering, such as ten weeks.

The knowledge of the flowering stage of different cannabis strains is important as it can help to ascertain the harvest period. Auto-flowering also needs a similar number of weeks, such as the Sativa strain. But a more sure way of determining the harvesting period is by observing the signs given off the plant. By doing that, you'll be able to know the period of harvesting accurately. Plant anatomy is also handy in this aspect.

HOW TO KNOW WHEN TO HARVEST MARIJUANA SEEDS

These are some of the characteristics of the cannabis plant that you can observe to determine whether it's ripe for harvesting or not:

The color of the leaf

An obvious sign part of a plant is the leaf, and it's common knowledge that a vibrant and healthy plant ought to have bright green colored leaves. It's important to note that when the cannabis plant is in a vegetative state, it's a very bad sign to have yellow leaves; this indicates that the plant lacks sufficient nutrients. Apart from this, feeding the plant with excessive nutrients is also one of the ways to change the color of a cannabis plant.

Therefore, it's advisable that when a plant is being cultivated in a soil-coco mix, a small number of nutrients should be given to it, and the soil should be left to supply the remaining nutrients. Notwithstanding, a color change can also result from the plant being filled with flowers; the leaves would turn yellow and die when much of the resources are directed to the buds. This indicates that the plant needs to be harvested as soon as possible.

The Pistil color

This is a simple way for a grower to know when the cannabis plant is ripe for harvesting. Having a knowledge of plant anatomy can also be helpful when using this method. The pistils are tiny white structures that appear at the calyx and can be seen by the naked eye even without a microscope. The pistil is the part of the flower that contains the reproductive organ of the female cannabis plant and produces seeds when pollinated by pollen grains from the male plant.

The pistils are naturally white, especially in the flowering stage, but with time, as they approach the flowering stage, the whitish color begins to change to darker shades of brown, oranges, and red. This indicates that the plant is almost ready for harvesting. Therefore once the grower notices this particular color change, he should be on alert to harvest.

Another thing to note is that all the pistils stay the same color at once. If most of the pistils are still white, then it's obvious that the grower needs to wait a little more before harvesting. The grower must wait until at least 50% of the plant pistil has turned darker. This will help to ensure the correct amount of THC needed is obtained. When the grower waits until 60-70% of the pistils have become darker, he can bring a higher THC content.

If the grower desires to have a very high and stony effect, he should wait till 70-90% of the pistils have become darker; this is because, at this stage, more THC would have been converted to cannabinoids.

Trichome

Concluding that a plant is right for harvesting based on its flowering stage or because it has started to produce buds wouldn't be accurate. A better way would be to look at the pistil and trichomes. The trichomes are small mushroom-shaped glands found commonly at the flower and sugar leaves and in a small amount at the stalk and leaves. The trichomes consist of several types that are found in the cannabis plant, but they can be majorly divided into two:

Non-glandular trichomes

These trichomes protect against predators, UV radiation, etc. These types of trichomes don't produce any resin.

Glandular trichomes

These trichomes produce a resin that contains secondary metabolites such as terpenes, flavonoids, and terpenoids. The resin had a ball shape, and it's found on the tip of the trichomes stalk. Due to the small/microscopic size of the glandular trichomes, they can't be properly observed with just the naked eye, and the use of magnifying tools such as magnifying glass, digital microscope, and jewelry loupe is required.

If you're confused about what magnification to use, a 40×60 is good enough to look at the resin and trichomes. A jewelry loupe is a small handheld magnifying device that lets you look closely at the trichomes. But if you desire a clearer image of the conditions of the resin, then it's advisable to go for a digital microscope just because it will incur more cost. When the cannabis plant is viewed under the microscope, these are the three possible outcomes you will see and their interpretation:

Clear-looking trichomes

You observe the hairs to be translucent, and the plant still gives resin in its glands. Therefore, this is not the best time for harvest because the cannabinoid and terpenes are not at their maximum concentration.

Cloudy or milky trichomes 

These trichomes indicate that cannabinoid production has reached the maximum level. When half of the trichomes look like cloudy white hairs, that's a strong indication that the cannabis plant is ready to be harvested. This creates an energizing and soul-lifting effect for certain users

Amber trichomes

These trichomes indicate that the THC content has begun to reduce, and more CBN(Cannabinol) is being formed instead. CBN Is a sedative cannabinoid, and amber trichomes users usually experience a sedating feeling.

Users mostly prefer a mixture of milky and amber trichomes. However, the split proportion is based on the user's preference; some like it to be cloudy, with only a few amber trichomes for psychoactive effects. Others like for it to be a balanced ratio of 50% of cloudy trichomes and 50% of amber trichomes. And people that want to experience a high sedative effect generally prefer 70% amber trichomes and 60% cloudy trichomes.

One can use various tips when harvesting the cannabis plant, which depends mostly on the growing environment and medium. Here are some tips you can inculcate regardless of your increasing background.

• Avoid feeding the plant with nutrients during the last week of flowering. This is to prevent and get rid of the nutrients in the growing medium so as not to corrupt the buds.
• Another method of increasing bud production is called LST, which involves bending the stems and tying them in place to increase the amount of bud production should be highly practiced. You can liken it to an exercise that helps strengthen the plant and improve its yield and vigor.
• Another way of improving bud production is to prune the bottom leaves during flowering.

For new growers, environmental factors play a major role in maturing the plants. Hence, pick a suitable environment that complements the plant's variety. For example, if you're limited to growing in a small indoor space in a cold climate, an equatorial sativa shouldn't be grown.

Outdoor Harvest

In the tropical or subtropical climate, the cannabis plant can be grown all year round, but if you don't fall within this region, then you have no choice but to grow your cannabis outdoors during the spring months and harvest during the fall months. The spring and fall months are different for both the northern and southern hemispheres; they're swapped.

The southern hemisphere's spring months are September, October, and November, while the fall months are March, April, and May. In the northern hemisphere, the seasons are swapped. The spring and summer months are generally known to be the vegetative period of growth during which the cannabis plant gathers resources necessary for flowering and reproduction. Flowering begins when the summer is approaching an end and fall is kicking in. Based on this, 1-2 outdoor Harvests can be done in a year.

Indoor Harvest

Growing cannabis indoors allows you to grow cannabis all year round inside a grow room. Although you might need to pay attention to the conditions outside the grow space. For example, you might need to add more fans when the temperature is hot. When marijuana is cultivated indoors, it will take 7-9 weeks after it has entered 1st stage of flowering. Based on that, you can expect a range of 4-8 harvests in a year which is dependent on the strain of cannabis and how often you grow.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR CANNABIS TO GROW

The growth of cannabis is majorly in 4 parts, these are:

Seed germination stage

This is where the seed starts to germinate/sprout, and it happens after 7-14 days of planting. Sprouting doesn't take many days, especially when the seeds are good and fresh.

Seedling stage 

The seeds open up, and cotyledon (small, round leaves) and serrated leaflets appear.

Vegetative stage

The plants gather the resources needed for the flowering stage, energize its root, and store energy. It lasts for around 3-6 weeks.

Flowering stage

This period differs based on the plant's genetics but lasts for around 6-16 weeks. The production of flowers and buds characterizes the first five weeks; the cannabis plant uses the remaining weeks to ripen. It's important to note that indoor and outdoor-grown cannabis plants share the same flowering period of 8-16 weeks, depending on the plant's genetics.

Also, note that indoor plants can flower for a shorter period using a 12/12 cycle (12 hours light and 12 hours dark) within a few weeks.

• The Indica strains have a flowering period to be for 8 weeks. However, some can have a shorter flowering period of six to seven weeks and others can belonger (up to 12 weeks).
• Sativa strains have a longer flowering period when compared to indica strains. They can take up to 12-16 weeks to flower, especially with plants that tend to be tall and lean.
• Hybrid strains/varieties: This is a mix of short, stout, fast-growing India and tall, thin long-growing sativas and can demonstrate the characteristics of both. Hybrids can have a flowering period of six to 12 weeks.

CONCLUSION

To get a top-quality marijuana plant with the right amount of cannabinoids, we must harvest at the right time. Fortunately, the cannabis plant gives off some signs that show it's ripe for harvest, such as a change in the color of pistils, leaves, and so on. But similar to other practices, the more you practice harvesting, the more you observe and learn different strains, and the better you become at harvesting.