What are these?

[Nine Toed Hippie]

I already know that game. I use the plastic tray from as pizza joint and an old playing card. Just wasn't sure about potency.

Patience Grasshopper! Let them finish. Peace Monkey!

NTH

 

[InTheShed]

Is it also possible to harvest outdoor plants too late by only focusing on trichomes?

Not that I've seen. Usually the weather gets them first. Unless you're in Florida or Hawaii.

I've never been told this info either. Please tell me more. I only grow outdoor and I've always used trichome color. A couple plants are trying to seed so now would be a good time to cut f they're ready.

No nanners but what were making Pretty flowers a couple days ago are now covered in little seeds. No male signs at all. I was thinning out some fan leaves today and discovered seeded buds.

Like zigzag and NTH said, let it ripen and deal with the seeds after harvest.

So cut them now so I don't lose any more potency? I won't grow the seeds out. I've smoked worse before it was legal

You will lose potency when you chop early. That's how ripening works.

 

[SCD]

This is a mind bending piece of information, as usual from ITS.
Thank you for asking the right questions @jokerlola to draw this nugget out.

So if I understand correctly, we can put the loupes away outdoor and continue to read the girls like we have been all through the process? paying particular attention to water consumption.

 

[InTheShed]

You can, though @BeezLuiz checks clear and cloudy still and ignores amber.

 

[BeezLuiz]

I’ve never grown this strain before but with all my other grows over the last 4 years, I usually wind up chopping near the end of Oct or early Nov based on trichomes.

I'm not sure where you are located (I'm in northern California), but that's pretty much the case for me as well - usually the end of October and occasionally into November. I've found, however, that by that date if the plant isn't ripe yet, it probably won't ever get ripe. Just not enough sunlight and warmth that time of the season. Sometimes you just don't have a choice but to harvest a bit early - usually because of caterpillar damage and bud rot.

No nanners but what were making Pretty flowers a couple days ago are now covered in little seeds. No male signs at all. I was thinning out some fan leaves today and discovered seeded buds.

This happens in my son's grows almost every year. He gets seeds on his plants with no signs of hermie - most likely pollenated by a neighbor that has male plants outside. Pollen can travel quite far.

So if I understand correctly, we can put the loupes away outdoor and continue to read the girls like we have been all through the process? paying particular attention to water consumption.

I wouldn't put the loupe away. I still look at the trichomes and watch for clear vs cloudy, I just don't pay much attention to the amber. I look at many factors these days: water consumption, trichomes, presence of fresh pistil stigmas, smell.

 

[Azimuth]

You can, though @BeezLuiz checks clear and cloudy still and ignores amber.

How does that help? If the clear turns to cloudy turns to amber, and amber happens earlier in an outdoor grow because of the effect of sunlight, it would seem you'd get amber way before other signs of maturity so checking trichomes' color wouldn't even factor in. I'm obviously missing something in that equation.

Maybe clear can go straight to amber under the sun?

 

[BeezLuiz]

How does that help? If the clear turns to cloudy turns to amber, and amber happens earlier in an outdoor grow because of the effect of sunlight, it would seem you'd get amber way before other signs of maturity so checking trichomes' color wouldn't even factor in. I'm obviously missing something in that equation.

I actually see amber that is still clear. If I see amber on cloudy, then I pay attention to that.

 

[jokerlola]

I'm not sure where you are located (I'm in northern California), but that's pretty much the case for me as well - usually the end of October and occasionally into November. I've found, however, that by that date if the plant isn't ripe yet, it probably won't ever get ripe. Just not enough sunlight and warmth that time of the season. Sometimes you just don't have a choice but to harvest a bit early - usually because of caterpillar damage and bud rot.

This happens in my son's grows almost every year. He gets seeds on his plants with no signs of hermie - most likely pollenated by a neighbor that has male plants outside. Pollen can travel quite far.

I wouldn't put the loupe away. I still look at the trichomes and watch for clear vs cloudy, I just don't pay much attention to the amber. I look at many factors these days: water consumption, trichomes, presence of fresh pistil stigmas, smell.

I’m near Golden. Just east of it. What usually happens is I wind up bringing my plants in at night on the nights it gets down below 40 degrees or the days are too cold. Or put them under the porch of it’s raining or snowing. I’ve always tried to wait until I get about 10% amber but now that you say it, some of those ambers are clear and I see clears go straight to clear amber. I’m growing 4 strains right now and the other 3 are clearly no where near ready for harvest. But the one I started this thread about (Phoenix Fire) has almost 80% cloudy with brown/rust pistils that are curling inward with just a few white ones. So it was looking to me that it was going to be ready soon but it’s still drinking every 2 days so I will monitor its water consumption. So it still might go till end of October based on this new info.

 

[jokerlola]

Thanks for the tag Azi! Here ya go:

With outdoor plants you don't pay any attention to trichome color because of the sun's effect on trichomes. Outdoor growers who harvest by an indoor gauge (clear/cloudy/amber) are losing a lot of their potency.

@BeezLuiz discovered that by harvesting based on the standard tent-based reading of amber it left him with low THC numbers and zero CBN. Here are his tests results again.

Best way to know when outdoor plants are done is when they're done drinking. Sometimes they will change smell around the same time.

How do I differentiate a plant slowing down on drinking from being ready for harvest and just not drinking as much because of lower outdoor temps?

 

[InTheShed]

Keep an eye on the overall look of the plant as well as a change in smell. Unless the temps have taken a serious turn south the plant should still be drinking if it's not ready.

 

[jokerlola]

Keep an eye on the overall look of the plant as well as a change in smell. Unless the temps have taken a serious turn south the plant should still be drinking if it's not ready.

They’re still drinking, they just slowed down a bit. They were needing to be watered every other day and now they are going 2 to 3 days between waterings. The temps went from 80’s and 90’s during the day and 70’s and 60’s at night to 70’s and 80’s daytime and high 40’s to 50’s at night.

 

[InTheShed]

Sounds like they just slowed down due to the dip in temps. Carry on!

 

[jokerlola]

Sounds like they just slowed down due to the dip in temps. Carry on!

OK. Thanks. So when you say to watch for them to stop drinking, it's more than just a slow down of a day or 2. Got it!