Cannabis Aroma, Taste & Strength, WHEN Does It Arise?

[MidgeSmith]

I have posted this elsewhere, but nobody really seemed to know the full answer, do you?

I know that the best time to harvest for optimum strength, aroma and taste is supposed to be at the point of peak maturity, once the trichs are as milky as possible and ambering (or maybe just about to) at the start of the day, before first light. Some say give them 24 - 72 hours of darkness first, keep them cooler the last few days, drive a nail through the stalk, give them more UV, be sure to access the Emerson effect and so on and so on and so on... But...

While I know that the terpenes and cannabinoids are most concentrated in the trichomes, the giant glands of plenty like the swollen shrooms of an alien city which cover our favourite plants, making them look frosty... But... Cannabis stinks to high heaven from about halfway through flowering, if not before that. So terpenes are being made, evaporating, glands are bursting and spilling cannabinoids and terpenes on to the surface of the buds.

We know that buds contain terpenes and cannabinoids inside the bud, not just on the outside, though presumably, those inside grew while the bud was filling out and were then enclosed by the swollen buds, calyxes, sepals, whatever.

So, what I am wondering tonight is... Just how much of the super lovely wonder chemicals of cannabis are from the day of harvest, the precise moment of harvest and just form the trichomes that exist on the plant at the moment of harvest and how much is smeared over the surface and inside of the buds, building up over the last few weeks of the plant's growth, surviving the balmy heat and dryness of the flowering period and creating its impact when the plant is consumed?

TL;DR It can't all be in the final days trichomes can it? There must be quite a bit of flavour, aroma and effect from the last 2 or three weeks of growth that has been burst, rubbed in and smeared about huh?

 

[Phytoplankton]

There are trichomes all over the plant, fan leaves, even stems have them, before the plant even goes into flower. They just aren’t as developed, and never really mature, but they produce some terpenes and THC. Thats where the early grow smell comes from. Unless you handle the buds and vegetation you won’t disrupt the trichs much. Terpenes volatilize in light/heat throughout the grow. Hope this answers at least some of your questions.

 

[Wastei]

Hmmm some of my cuts reeks even in veg. I dont think theres a set answer for this and I dont think it has to be? If a plant is healthy it will smell, when is veeeery subjective even beause we all have different preception and sense of smelll. I can sense my plants in veg smell like weed for sure.

Strength is down to genetics but its more or less at its maximum strength if a plant has been able to produce fully formed calyxes clusters and then be covered with matured thrichomes on top of that. Most people only reach the latter part and the concentration will suffer because the plant didnt fully form and perform to its full potential.

 

[MidgeSmith]

Thanks both for your replies. I basically agree with all that you have both said. What got me thinking was all the talk about drying and curing temperatures. I figured not all of the glands make it to the consumer intact and so maybe some of the flavour and smell was on the plant in a 'ruptured glands have coated the plant' kind of way. However I tend to agree, the ingredients of those ruptured trich heads must have more or less evaporated at the time they ruptured and the remaining smell and flavour of the plant is mainly from at least partially intact heads.

If you have ever looked at a dried bud though, the external trichomes are largely damaged, stretched, ruptured and so on, so it is surprising if they are wholly responsible for the smell and flavour seeing as once ruptured they tend to have their terpenes at least evaporate out. Maybe though even the remaining rockpools are enough for ambient smell and the internal glands (those overgrown by new and swelling buds etc still contain a lot which could not evaporate and becomes volatile once the bud is broken open.

I dont really know the full extent of my question, let alone the answers, but I think as you suggest, we know enough

 

[Treehouseman]

Ive had seedlings that give a pretty pungeant stem rub. Ive pinched dead cotyledons and smelled my fingers. Definitely "terps" which Im putting in quotes because theres more to smell than terpenes. esthers, alcohols, aldehydes etc.

everything is subject to decay/entropy. Ever sample your crop in a ball vape while its still hang drying? you get a moist, dense, very flavourful hit of vapour. some strains almost make you feel like youre huffing acetone or you took a whiff out of a bottle of essential oils. The same bud after the dry is done still has tons of flavour, but that thick chemical pungeancy is reduced, more manageable and doesnt knock the wind out of you.

Jars are better than buds for preserving terps. So good idea to the protective nature of the bud structure, put inside a jar. Most people know now that you want whole buds. same way preground coffee has less flavour. the more exposed surface area, the more points of evaporation. flavours inside the bud/bean, are insulated against decay by the bud/bean

What im curious about is how much is in the green plant matter in terms of smell and potency? In the case of cobbing we see the buds almost melt into themselves. Heat, fermentation, are controlled processes that seek to emulate the same things nature does. THCA is higher in fresh bud, and can be heated to decarb, but will also gradually oxidise into THC. So the innermost trichs, do they actually evaporate and then reabsorb/dissolve (forgive me my fellow chemistry nerds) into the surrounding plant matter? Burst trichs, evaporated terps etc. during growth, can they soak into the bud structure? I wouldnt be suprised

 

[MidgeSmith]

Yes indeed and true re: terps. I am starting a large popcorn cobbing tomorrow. Going to do 24 hours at the highest of the cobbing heats, rather than 48 as I reckon I will have a more aromatic and pleasant cob that way. The longer hot period doesn't make for the taste I am after.

It is the soaking of burst trichs into the bud that I am curious about really in the op. It's a fascinating micro-environment in the bud.