I have three SCROG’d plants (Durban Poison) outdoors and have harvested most of the buds. I’ve left about a quarter of them on the plants in hopes of harvesting well after they shift toward red and become more “heavy”. I can then compare to the early harvest, etc.
But they’re not really shifting beyond cloudy, milky. Some parts of buds, here and there are slightly amber… but no broad show.
Help:
Is it BAD to leave them on the plant too long? What’s too long?
What is a sign of “too long”?
Will they get more “dank” even without turning red?
Tell me what to do and I’ll do it!!! (mostly). (most likely). (maybe).
It is not uncommon for plants to be harvested in stages. Especially if they are grown outdoors and are fairly large in size. Just let them keep going and keep on eye on them for when they are ready.
Yes, Dark-I, I hope one day they will just start shifting. I check em daily with the glass. Just wondering if they don’t, will something negative start… We’ll see. Thanks.
What can happen is the trichomes stop developing because of lack of sunlight or too cold. As time goes on the trichimes become brittle and some of the bulbous heads will begin to break off. If left too long most will fall off and your bud will be junk. Its best to make a judgment call based on a few elements, namely, what does the generaly plant health look like? Are the calyx’s all shriveled and red or brown? No new ones being formed? Is there any rot or powdery mildew? Wgat does the weather forcast look like? Rain? Snow? Sun? Freezing temps? Hard frosts? Can I cover my plants? Can I heat the area? At some point you just have to make that call based on all these things, like it or not outdoor is at the mercy of the elements.
Good luck and have fun!
Thank you, Canabian, Keystone, Dark and HippieR.:
The plants seem healthy, with just a very few buds here and there turning brown and dry. I had a burst of calyx’s last week but mostly they are old ones. Nothing seems to be “growing” in size or number… just sitting there.
Temps aren’t bad near the SoCal coast. 60-75
I guess I can harvest a good bunch of them and then leave a small squad of buds to learn from.
**I do want to compare the same strain with and without a solid turn to red trichomes… just for knowledge…
Well Ive not ever seen red trichomes? More of an amber or kinda orangy color. I have seen some that are tinted from the plants natural fall colors though line hints of purple or pink. So I guess they sorta could be red? Maybe? But I would discount that as a pigment more than a ripeness.
Well, I waited until Nov. 1. There is no pronounced shift toward red in the trichomes. Some here and there. So I’ve harvested Most of the remaining buds. I’ve left about twenty small buds on each plant just to see what happens.
Again, the goal is to test and compare very mature trichomes to normally harvested trichomes.
Some of the buds did dry out on the plant, as the supporting branch started to dry out itself. I had a full harvest so no real loss there. I’ve got plenty for me and my friends for this year.
