When to start counting flowering days outdoors?

[jokerlola]

When do you start counting flowering days/weeks on outdoor plants?

I wasn’t good about noting when I first started seeing buds on my outdoor plants and I’m trying to determine when I should have started counting from the few pictures I took.

The first picture is a Funky Charms plant taken on August 19th.

The next 3 pictures are the Phoenix Fire plants taken on August 22.

And the 4th picture is a Phoenix Fire plant taken on August 27th.

Anyway to guess approximately how many days/weeks those bud pictures look like?

I know the Funky Charms plant started flowering later than the Phoenix Fire plants. Seem like I remember first seeing the start of buds on the PF plants around the first week of August.

 

[Roy Growin]

I count from when they start to flower profusely, a couple of weeks after first signs

 

[SmokingWings]

When do you start counting flowering days/weeks on outdoor plants?

If the plants are growing outside I start the count on August 15th and it seems to work well. Sometimes the first pistils start to show a week earlier and occasionally they will start to show several days after the 15th. Easier to just say August 15th here in my part of the Northern Hemisphere and start to count-down leading up to harvest.

Judging by your good pictures and the description in the first msg I have the feeling you would be safe to go with mid August too.

 

[jokerlola]

I know the Phoenix Fire plants started flowering before the Funky Charms plant and I’ve had it in my head that the PF plants started flowering around August 1st and the FC about 2 weeks later. But if I just go buy August 15th, then I’m on week 12 of flower for all the plants. I’ve never really counted weeks of flowering but 12 weeks seems extra long to not be seeing hardly any amber. I do see some amber on the PF sugar leaves but 0 amber, on the Funky Charms plant, even on the sugar leaves.

I just can’t find good info on growing these strains from their seed companies and what they say the flowering times should be. The Funky Charms plant still has some white hairs but the Phoenix Fire plants hairs have all turned brown and curled in for a while now, maybe 2 or 3 weeks.

 

[SmokingWings]

But if I just go buy August 15th, then I’m on week 12 of flower for all the plants. I’ve never really counted weeks of flowering but 12 weeks seems extra long to not be seeing hardly any amber.

Yes, 12 weeks of flowering so far. I do not look for amber and instead look at the overall development of the buds first and I also consider the health of the plant.

My outdoor growing is rather limited and I have had to grow in less than optimistic conditions with my outdoor plants. They had to grow in shaded areas where any of the plants end up with about 4 hours of direct sun and several hours of dappled or mixed sun and shade condition.

I’ve never really counted weeks of flowering but 12 weeks seems extra long to not be seeing hardly any amber.

What I figured out is happening with outdoor growing in the majority of the US and the northern hemisphere is that each day that goes by the plant is receiving less light as the sunrise and sunset both shorten the day by a minute to minute and half each and every day. Add in days with heavy cloud cover for drastically reduced amounts of sunlight. The days when it rains have even less sunlight penetrating both the clouds plus the falling water. And there are the days when the temperature drops below optimum for both the dark and sunlit hours.

The way I see it if we grow inside with even half-way decent lights we are giving them 11 to 12 hours of light each and every day and the temperatures rarely will drop into a below optimum range. If growing outside some days the temperatures might not even get above 65F even when the sun is shining so we have to believe that the plant is not doing much bud development at all.

I feel that outdoor growers have keep in mind that the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset is a weak light that does not do much to promote photosynthesis and plant growth. The 14 hours of daylight on August 15, as astronomers measure it, is more like 12 hours of usable light.

By the time we get to early to mid-November the length of day has dropped drastically. We are now at 10 hours "sunlight" as the astronomers measure which for the plants is more like 8 hours of usable light. Add in the lower temperatures this time of year and our outside plants are pretty much done for.

I pulled my two outdoor plants a week ago taking what I got. It is what it is.

Side note: Here in southeast Michigan we are expecting freezing nights by the weekend and into next week and our daytime highs will be 40F, maybe 45 on some days, so all the tomatoes, peppers and many flowers are done for. Going to have enough happening moving 30 plus herbs and flowers into the back room and setting them up for the winter will leave little time for harvesting buds for the next week or so.

 

[bluter]

I just can’t find good info on growing these strains from their seed companies and what they say the flowering times should be.

counting days is a mug's game. the suggested flower time is a guess at best, especially outdoor. keep watch on bud development and the trichomes. they won't grow on a schedule.

a lot of outdoor gets pulled early according to what the climate is doing. it's gotta be close if you're not throwing new pistils and the buds have stopped building. temps will play a big part, it will stall and stop maturing if it's getting under 14c for any serious length of the day, they slow down a fair ways before that.

 

[jokerlola]

Yes, 12 weeks of flowering so far. I do not look for amber and instead look at the overall development of the buds first and I also consider the health of the plant.

My outdoor growing is rather limited and I have had to grow in less than optimistic conditions with my outdoor plants. They had to grow in shaded areas where any of the plants end up with about 4 hours of direct sun and several hours of dappled or mixed sun and shade condition.


What I figured out is happening with outdoor growing in the majority of the US and the northern hemisphere is that each day that goes by the plant is receiving less light as the sunrise and sunset both shorten the day by a minute to minute and half each and every day. Add in days with heavy cloud cover for drastically reduced amounts of sunlight. The days when it rains have even less sunlight penetrating both the clouds plus the falling water. And there are the days when the temperature drops below optimum for both the dark and sunlit hours.

The way I see it if we grow inside with even half-way decent lights we are giving them 11 to 12 hours of light each and every day and the temperatures rarely will drop into a below optimum range. If growing outside some days the temperatures might not even get above 65F even when the sun is shining so we have to believe that the plant is not doing much bud development at all.

I feel that outdoor growers have keep in mind that the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset is a weak light that does not do much to promote photosynthesis and plant growth. The 14 hours of daylight on August 15, as astronomers measure it, is more like 12 hours of usable light.

By the time we get to early to mid-November the length of day has dropped drastically. We are now at 10 hours "sunlight" as the astronomers measure which for the plants is more like 8 hours of usable light. Add in the lower temperatures this time of year and our outside plants are pretty much done for.

I pulled my two outdoor plants a week ago taking what I got. It is what it is.

Side note: Here in southeast Michigan we are expecting freezing nights by the weekend and into next week and our daytime highs will be 40F, maybe 45 on some days, so all the tomatoes, peppers and many flowers are done for. Going to have enough happening moving 30 plus herbs and flowers into the back room and setting them up for the winter will leave little time for harvesting buds for the next week or so.

I’m in Denver Colorado. I've been growing outside since 2018 and most of my plants have finished by mid to end of October. I had my first grow go to early Nov. but they were showing 5 to 10% amber. This grow is different than all the others before with the lack of any amber by Nov. 9th. With all my grows I've had to occasionally bring the plants inside because of cold temps below 45 degrees or early snows but for the most part they've been able to stay outside till harvest.

Today was our last warmish day so they are now going to have to stay inside. I'm planning on chopping the Phoenix Fire plants as soon as they've used up a little more water. I think they are as ready as they ill ever be without a grow light. That Funky Charms plant is another story. I'm still seeing way too many clear trichomes and it still has about 25% white hairs. I might see if I can keep it going another week or 2 by keeping it in a south facing sunny window.

How long do you stop watering before you chop? I absentmindedly watered my plants on Sunday and their pots still feel heavy. Should I wait till they lighten up some more or is having some moisture in the soil OK at harvest?

 

[SmokingWings]

How long do you stop watering before you chop? I absentmindedly watered my plants on Sunday and their pots still feel heavy. Should I wait till they lighten up some more or is having some moisture in the soil OK at harvest?

The number one reason I water up to the last minute is that the buds stay moist. This means that the buds will take longer to dry. This might be a down-side for some. I am a believer that the longer & slower drying before putting into jars is the best way of preparing for curing. It does not matter if I dry in the fridge or on a shelf in a closet, a slow dry has been best for me. I am not in a hurry.

The times I let the soil dry out for a couple of days before I start to cut for the harvest I have been disappointed. The buds are already drying out at harvest. No cure process seems to properly fix the buds if they were too dry from the start. There are ways to re-introduce some of the lost moisture which slows down the drying but it seems that there is no way to 100%.

But, it is up to you. Try both ways several times.

 

[jokerlola]

The number one reason I water up to the last minute is that the buds stay moist. This means that the buds will take longer to dry. This might be a down-side for some. I am a believer that the longer & slower drying before putting into jars is the best way of preparing for curing. It does not matter if I dry in the fridge or on a shelf in a closet, a slow dry has been best for me. I am not in a hurry.

The times I let the soil dry out for a couple of days before I start to cut for the harvest I have been disappointed. The buds are already drying out at harvest. No cure process seems to properly fix the buds if they were too dry from the start. There are ways to re-introduce some of the lost moisture which slows down the drying but it seems that there is no way to 100%.

But, it is up to you. Try both ways several times.

I've always read to try to dry slow. Since I'm in Colorado (low humidity) and dry in my unfinished basement which is not humidity controlled, maybe I should go ahead and water my plants again before I chop so they can dry a little slower. I keep reading to stop watering 1 to 3 days, even up to a week before harvesting.

How do you dry in the fridge?

What's your opinion of 48 hours of darkness before chop? I've tried it once. Can't say I noticed any difference but I don't know.

 

[SmokingWings]

How do you dry in the fridge?

There is one long thread which I will link to below. My suggestion is to read the first 5 to 10 pages first to get a feel for the original ideas before jumping to the last several pages.

The fridge should be a 'frost free' model that exchanges cold air from the freezer to the fridge side. This will act like a dehumidifier. The lower temps in the fridge are part of what helps slow down the drying so in theory it becomes harder to go too long and end up with over-dry buds.

There is a stage when the buds are drying where they will feel like they became drier than we might want. The first time some growers experience this they think that they ruined their harvest but do not worry. Others have had the same experience and the recommendation is to take the bag out of the fridge and put it on the kitchen table and let it come up to room temperatures and then check again. Almost always the buds still need more time and on rare cases the buds are perfectly dry.

I recommend a brown paper bag like those from grocery stores. Or if just drying a small amount then the smaller brown paper bags. The white or colored paper bags usually have a coating on them and this slows down the moist air exchange and the drying just does not seem to work as well.

Once dry the buds can be put into the jars for curing if you want to do that. Some people skip the cure and start rolling and smoking. Up to you. I have noticed that after being cured with a "low and slow dry" that most of the time the buds do not need a humidity pack in the jar.

https://www.420magazine.com/community/threads/drziggys-low-and-slow-drying-maximizing-your-harvest.366783/

@Trala started to experiment with the low and slow fridge dry and did post her method with photos in one of her grow journals. She had good photos (even some nice shots of beer bottles) and it was a well done explanation of what she was trying. I invited her over and maybe she has some additional pointers and remembers which journal has the method she used and can point us right to those messages.

What's your opinion of 48 hours of darkness before chop?

No real opinion either way. I don't do it deliberately. Sometimes I take a plant out of the flowering tent and put it on the stairway to bring upstairs later for trimming. It might sit there for a couple of days but it does get some dim light and I have not really paid any attention as to whether it changes anything. If you are interested the best I can suggest is to try it several times and see what happens.

 

[Jonny5]

You can count all the days you want.... But the plant will tell/show you when its prime.. 60/40 on the pistols... Amber on the trich, you can harvest them a little earlier for more of a head rush than a body stone

 

[cbdhemp808]

I’m in Denver Colorado. I've been growing outside since 2018 and most of my plants have finished by mid to end of October. I had my first grow go to early Nov. but they were showing 5 to 10% amber. This grow is different than all the others before with the lack of any amber by Nov. 9th. With all my grows I've had to occasionally bring the plants inside because of cold temps below 45 degrees or early snows but for the most part they've been able to stay outside till harvest.

Keep in mind that most cannabis will go into flower outdoors in Denver around Aug. 8th-20th. That's when the night length reaches 10-10.5 hours, which will trigger flowering in a few days. So, you can time your planting in June/July time frame, so that the plants are a good size by the time August comes around.

When did you plant this year?

Funky Charms is 50/50 hybrid. Your pheno looks possibly sativa-dominant. Phoenix Fire is sativa-dominant.

Sativas typically have a long flowering time, so if you're looking for earlier harvest, consider a fast-flowering sativa. Check out Ace Seeds, they have some early-flowering ones. They are available from some of the 420 sponsors.

happy growing!