Havesting when pistals are still all white

[SAMtheAPman]

So I have two (supposedly) high-CBD strains, CDB Blue Shark and CBD Critical Cure which are coming up to their havest windows (according to the breeder).

The Blue Shark is at day 60 of 60-70:

And the Critical Cure is at day 52 of 60-65:

As you can see, all of the pistals are still white. Trichomes in both are clear to milky, with amber just starting (mainly on the stalks).

I did a smoke test last night and here's what I thought:

Critical Cure gives a nice clear stone, without much in the way of vision changes. Still very functional.
The Blue Shark (which is at 60 days of 60-70) made me heavier and sleepier, and as it wore off my jaw was quite uncomfortable (not sure if I'd been grinding or something?). Couldn't sleep with that uncomfortableness so vaped some of Afghan Kush that I harvested last week and the pain went away instantly....

These plants are being used for my GF in a daytime oil so I don't really want them to be too sedative.

I've researched a fair bit about harvest times and read on a document from the people who make the Sativex spray (GW pharmaceuticals) that their plants either had a constant CBD level through-out flowering, or diminished over the flowering weeks...

So, I'm thinking that if I harvest these girls now, even though the pistals haven't changed color, then it should be fine for my purposes. Seems if I leave them any longer (especially the BS), then they might get too sedative...

Any thoughts would be appreciated

 

[Antics]

Thoughts:

Ignore pistil color completely. It's an indicator that the plant is maturing, not an indicator of anything else, maturation of pistils varies by strain, and pistil color has absolutely no definite correlation between trichome maturity/color, and pistil color.

Ignore trichomes on leaves. The trichomes can mature at a much faster rate on the leaves. Sugar leaves are usually trimmed and turned into hash, oil, shatter, etc... And are usually not smoked or vaped. Look at trichomes on the buds only. At the absolute earliest, I suggest harvesting with no less than mostly cloudy trichomes. Any earlier and you sacrifice potency. I personally prefer as few clear as possible, as many cloudy as possible, and harvested just as amber trichomes start appearing regularly.

When used correctly in oil, there shouldn't be any sort of high or euphoric feelings.

 

[SAMtheAPman]

I like that advice.... thanks Antics!

 

[Antics]

I'm always happy to help whenever I can!

 

[SAMtheAPman]

Just double-checked under the microscope and I think I will harvest the Blue Shark tomorrow, and leave the Critical Cure for a couple more days... Thanks again.

 

[Dutty Panty]

Yeah antics nailed it on the head. In multiple ways.

 

[gryzzly56]

Thoughts:

Ignore pistil color completely. It's an indicator that the plant is maturing, not an indicator of anything else, maturation of pistils varies by strain, and pistil color has absolutely no definite correlation between trichome maturity/color, and pistil color.

Ignore trichomes on leaves. The trichomes can mature at a much faster rate on the leaves. Sugar leaves are usually trimmed and turned into hash, oil, shatter, etc... And are usually not smoked or vaped. Look at trichomes on the buds only. At the absolute earliest, I suggest harvesting with no less than mostly cloudy trichomes. Any earlier and you sacrifice potency. I personally prefer as few clear as possible, as many cloudy as possible, and harvested just as amber trichomes start appearing regularly.

When used correctly in oil, there shouldn't be any sort of high or euphoric feelings.

hi, unrelated question here, you stated you make hash or oil from the leaves and not smoke it, I only have a small amount of trimmings, is it OK to smoke or vape the trims? There covered in trics so I figured it was ok to smoke, your thoughts please?

 

[Antics]

hi, unrelated question here, you stated you make hash or oil from the leaves and not smoke it, I only have a small amount of trimmings, is it OK to smoke or vape the trims? There covered in trics so I figured it was ok to smoke, your thoughts please?

Yeah, you absolutely can smoke the trim, but most people dont as it can often be a harsher smoke than dried and cured buds. That's why they use it to make hash, oil, etc..

But if you want, you also don't even have to trim the sugar leaves. I've seen a few growers that don't trim them, and just dry and cure everything together.