Harvesting is about preference IMO. . .we all seem to do it a little differently. . This is how I harvest. . .
I first remove all the big fan leaves while their still on the plant. I grab 3 paper bags. Line them next to each other on the floor. 1 will be for trash, 1 will be for trim and hash making material, and finally the last for manicured buds. So like I was saying, I remove the big fans while still potted, and trash them. I begin to remove the lower growth these are smaller buds and such. . clip them at the bottom of the branch, I'll make a quick determination if they would be better suited for my hash making or not. If not, I begin to cut the trim leaves, ( these are the leaves that are covered in crystals and usually abut half way in the bud itself. ) these will go in the hash making bag. I continue to do this working my way up the plant, clipping branches till the buds are really close to the main stem, and into the cola. Its at this point I clip the plant at soil level. I then hang this upside down in front of me about chest level. I do this because towards the top you will find smaller fan leaves. The leaves are pulled down by gravity and expose their connections to the main stem for easy removal. Then I move to the trim leaves, like before. You won't be able to remove these close to the stem, so just cut them down to the bud and no further. with the foliage out of the way, we can see where the cola begins. I clip the manicured buds up to this point. ( you'll be able to determine this because you won't be able to get at the base of the buds any more. . ) then cut the cola off the stem.
Throw the trash out. close and fold the trim and manicured bud bags. This begins the drying phase. The bags slow down the drying process, which is what you want. The slow drying allows for the chlorophyll to break down. The slower the dry, the better the taste will be. Everyday I open these bags for about 1/2 hour, to let out some of the moisture thats been released. I do this for about a week. You don't want the buds to get crispy though so it could take less time. At the end of the week, I take the material and place into my curing jars and the trim and such go into the freezer for later hash making.
Curing will further break down any residual chlorophyll, and make the smoke smoother. Also will increase the potency of your smoke over time. As with the bags, open these jars for a bit each day to let out the gases that have been building up. You'll need to do this for about a week, before you can just leave the buds in the jars without opening them daily. Need to get rid of the moisture first, so you won't get bud molds. Now the longer you cure the better, but at 5 days of cure, I start tasting. .lol
Everyone has gotten their methods for this, and a lot of it is preference. Just keep in mind that slow drying is best. And curing should be in your plans.
Bagz
