At what point are indoor marijuana plants ready for harvesting?
number of indicators some into play in regard to optimal indoor marijuana harvesting. For starters, growth will essentially stop. Older stigmas start to dry up and will recede into the ovary (which is getting bigger). If you look at the glands through a photographer’s loupe, they will be topped with mushroom-like growths that seem to be stretching as a result of the liquid inside. Even though you might find a few new stigmas here and there, the buds are ripe.
I believe it is essential to monitor the trichomes, which are the vessels on the plant that hold THC. Keep in mind that trichomes are merely vessels to contain the THC.
At 1st trichomes will be clear (No THC), then they will cloud up. This happens gradually over a few weeks approx., then as the THC deteriorates the trichome will appear to be amber colored (the THC is deteriorating) and it is time to flush or think about harvesting.
I personally like about a 1/3 clear, a 1/3 cloudy, a 1/3 amber
The more you allow the trichomes to turn amber the more of a “couchlock” effect you will get from the finished product. I
Bt harvesting earlierWhen trichomes are predominantly clear, and cloudy will give you more of an up high.
Always be sure to allow Sativa strains to mature, as they put out less trichomes than Indicas, are harder to read, and take much longer to finish. If you harvest Sativa too early you will get an “Anxiety” high on occasion.
I look for a redish brown color on about 2/3s of the trichomes. At that point I start to flush the plants with straight RO water. It does depend on what strains you are growing. What I would suggest is make notes about what the buds look like when you start to flush the plants, and when you harvest them. Make changes and compare. You will be able to dial it in to what you want. Always learning.