Do these buds look ready to harvest?

[johnrinson]

Hey
This is my first grow. Sorry for asking what I'm sure is a common question but do these look ready for harvest? I was thinking about giving them another week, flushing with plain water during that week, and then harvesting next week. Am I being too hasty, or do they look good to go?
Thanks for your help!

 

[SeniorMoments]

Nope not yet.
Probably around 3/4 more weeks.
The yellowish , white hairs ( pistils) are just starting to turn dark reddish brown.
They just about all need to turn and compress into the calyx .
That is the first tell.
Also feed right up to the end. Don’t stop food.
The buds need those nutrients .

 

[bobrown14]

wait at least until all pistols are not white anymore.

 

[Farmer Reading]

Do you have a jewlers loupe?

 

[NuttyProfessor]

most members send their buds to me to try then i let them know a week later lol only joking you need to look deeper

 

[Farmer Reading]

Dang!
I usually start flushing when I see amber Trichomes and when the buds are pretty hard. If I have the space usually stagger harvest over a week or so.

 

[SeniorMoments]

Dang!
I usually start flushing when I see amber Trichomes and when the buds are pretty hard. If I have the space usually stagger harvest over a week or so.

@Emilya may offer her opinion.

 

[Emilya Green]

The time for a proper flush of your soil is 2 weeks before the end, so that you can clear your soil of all the salt buildup and allow the roots to have full uptake of water and nutes right up to the end. This is a 3x the container size of fresh water in one session, poured through the soil to clean it up.

Thinking that the word flush means that somehow at the end you are supposed to starve your plant, trying to "flush" the nutrients out of the plant, is a mistake in thinking. You can not flush a plant... all you can do is starve her of the nutrients she needs to finish out the buds in full flavor, potency and weight. If you want your plant to fully express itself, flush out the salts around mid bloom, and then feed and even give finishing nutes, right up to the end.

 

[Farmer Reading]

If I am using all natural nutrients would that possibly lower the total time to get out the salts? But I don't use a neutral soil blend like Promix.

Finally, up until three days before harvest I give my plants a liquid sugar solution. Been told I can use it up until harvest, which seems like your saying that maybe ok.

Would flushing out the salts mid bloom disrupt my mycorrhiza balance?

Thanks

 

[Emilya Green]

If I am using all natural nutrients would that possibly lower the total time to get out the salts? But I don't use a neutral soil blend like Promix.

Finally, up until three days before harvest I give my plants a liquid sugar solution. Been told I can use it up until harvest, which seems like your saying that maybe ok.

Would flushing out the salts mid bloom disrupt my mycorrhiza balance?

Thanks

you should have no salts in an organic grow, therefore no need to flush. I think the molasses trick at the end, or your sugar, is a waste of time because that is simply food for the microbes and they are not going to get much of a boost to your plants by eating sugar at the end instead of sticking to the organic feeding cycle. If it makes you feel good and you think it sweetens your buds, by all means go for it... I don't think it hurts anything either.

Even if you were in a synthetic grow with myco growing well in your container, and with the need to flush, rest assured, a 3x the container size flush would not dislodge them... picture a tennis net like structure interweaved within the roots. As far as balancing them... don't have a clue how one would do that.

 

[johnrinson]

Nice, really useful info. thanks especially to @Emilya and @NuttyProfessor
I've used a digital microscope to take some pics of my trichomes. Not the best quality images, but to me they still look transparent. Does anyone who's more experienced than me have any opinions though? Are these transparent and still yet to become cloudy / milky? Thanks again!

 

[NuttyProfessor]

one to two weeks they should be more cloudy , they are almost there even a week could finish them

 

[johnrinson]

Hey @NuttyProfessor - you gave me some useful advice on this thread last week. I've taken another digital microscope photo of my trichomes. I'm struggling to tell if they're cloudy or not - maybe because the image isn't as clear as those crystal clear sharp images in your example. I wonder if you'd mind casting your eye over these and seeing if you think these are cloudy enough for harvest or still need more time? Thanks!

 

[Calvados]

Some are some aren't. You've got up to a week to go I'd say. It's hard to wait. Are you all set for harvesting? Food for thought. Bud Washing

 

[Buds Buddy]

Some are some aren't. You've got up to a week to go I'd say. It's hard to wait. Are you all set for harvesting? Food for thought. Bud Washing

I tried the Bud Washing. Never again. Washed 1/2 the plant & let the other 1/2 go as usual. Bud washed buds got light & fluffy. Unwashed stayed compact & tight. Didn't notice any difference in taste or harshness between the 2.
That was my 1 & only experience with it. Some seem to like it. I think it's all in their head / Bro Science. Weed isn't a vegetable. Why treat it like one ? Just my opinion, nothing more.

 

[Emilya Green]

I run a fairly clean operation, but even still, you should see my rinse buckets after I am finished with a 3 bucket bud wash. The first bucket especially, gets very dirty and each time it reassures me that bud washing really helps my end product. I notice that the buds get brighter looking and really look a lot better after the wash. The trick to making this work is making absolutely sure that the branches are dry before putting them in a still drying area, or the extra water in the buds will ruin them. I put my branches into an aggressive drying step of at least 24 hours in a bathroom with a fan on them, just to make certain all of the wash water has evaporated and only then hang them in my small drying tent to try to hold in some of the humidity for a slow dry.

 

[Northern Hydro]

I tried the Bud Washing. Never again. Washed 1/2 the plant & let the other 1/2 go as usual. Bud washed buds got light & fluffy. Unwashed stayed compact & tight. Didn't notice any difference in taste or harshness between the 2.
That was my 1 & only experience with it. Some seem to like it. I think it's all in their head / Bro Science. Weed isn't a vegetable. Why treat it like one ? Just my opinion, nothing more.

sorry for your experience !
In mine , it dries more evenly, HARDENS THE BUDS like rocks after a proper cure, and spiders, ( ripens) the trics. Not to mention the debris and pests that get eliminated ..just check out your fan blades to see what kind of crap comes off.
Bud washing should be standard practice... not ‘bro science ‘ .

 

[Northern Hydro]

And based on your trics in your lastest pics yesterday I would say you still have at LEAST A week or two left before flush
good luck !

 

[Farmer Reading]

Occasionally I will clean/wash my outdoor buds if they have FM (foreign material on them).

If Folks are trying to do a low grow outdoors than there is a pretty good chance there maybe some soil on the girls lower buds.

 

[Calvados]

I run a fairly clean operation, but even still, you should see my rinse buckets after I am finished with a 3 bucket bud wash. The first bucket especially, gets very dirty and each time it reassures me that bud washing really helps my end product. I notice that the buds get brighter looking and really look a lot better after the wash. The trick to making this work is making absolutely sure that the branches are dry before putting them in a still drying area, or the extra water in the buds will ruin them. I put my branches into an aggressive drying step of at least 24 hours in a bathroom with a fan on them, just to make certain all of the wash water has evaporated and only then hang them in my small drying tent to try to hold in some of the humidity for a slow dry.

Hi. I’ve never had an issue and I just wash and then hang the whole branch. After a couple of days I start to break them up into smaller chunks. What issues do you get with the buds?