Are you a cannabis grower? If you are a cannabis grower, then you should know some of the things when it comes to planting and harvesting weed. If you are just starting your cannabis garden, then you should also know those things.
Aside from learning the process of growing weed and how to grow weed successfully, you should also know the essential things about harvesting, especially as to when to harvest outdoor weed. If you are very much interested in knowing the perfect time for harvesting, then you are in the right article. In this article, you will have an idea and a guide to harvesting your marijuana plants. Let us start to find out when the perfect time is.
When to Harvest Outdoor Weed: Brief Explanation and Further Details
During the harvesting period of your plants, you must expect that it will not be going to be so easy and it can be very crucial and that is the reason why you should know when the perfect time is.
If you are an outdoor marijuana grower, then you might have the rewarding feeling of growing marijuana outdoors because it is cheaper compared to cultivating them indoors. Aside from that, it is so rewarding because it will provide greater yields. However, you have to think that growing it has advantages as well as disadvantages.
Part of being a cannabis grower is to be able to determine the right harvesting time for your crops. You might be wondering what will happen if you do not know when to harvest your plants. There will be so many risks if you do not have any idea about harvesting.
It would be important that you will allow some time for your plants to be fully matured and ripe before you harvest them. When you harvest your plants at the exact time of harvesting, then you will be able to maximize your plant’s yield, the content of the terpene, as well as the potency. It will provide you a high you want, more plants, as well as good flavor.
However, when you grow your marijuana outside, you cannot control the conditions of the environment. Therefore, it might be very risky. The harvesting period would be depending on some factors such as the flowering period of the cannabis, trichomes, and the conditions of the environment.
For you to be able to understand well here are the brief descriptions of each of the following factors:
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The strain’s flowering period
In cultivating a strain, you have to know something about the strain such as the breeder of it so that you will be able to find the best harvesting time for your plants.
You can also use the harvesting date estimated with the breeders in which it provides some ideas for you as to when your cannabis should be harvested. However, you need to know that there will be a different growing process for each strain.
For those largely indica strains, they will have a short period of flowering compared to largely sativa strains. It means that you can harvest those strains earlier. Most of the strains that are sativa have the sixteen weeks of the flowering time and before you see the trichomes, it needs twenty weeks of the flowering period.
It will be very tough if you do not have a breeder’s details. You can also consider checking your plant trichomes which can be found in the buds. It is for you to determine the maturity of your plants before you harvest them.
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The trichomes maturity
If you are looking for the best way of determining whether your plants are ready to be harvested, you can check your plant’s trichomes. For you to see the trichomes well, you might need to prepare a microscope. If you see plenty of milky trichomes, then the harvesting period is near.
If you notice clear trichomes, you have to know that they are still immature and they are not yet ready to be harvested. You can harvest if there are plenty of trichomes that are milky because it can provide a good high. Some growers who cultivate weed in wet, as well as cold climates, harvest their crops during this phase.
When there is about 10 % to 20 % of trichomes is amber, and then it is another indicator that you can harvest your crops. These trichomes will lead to a couch-lock effect as well as to a good high. If you are cultivating strains that are largely sativa, then you should know that there is a possibility that they will amber trichomes will not appear for a long period.
Therefore, for outdoor growing, you need to be prepared for the harvesting time if there are 90 % of milky trichomes.
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Conditions of the Environment
For outdoor growing, it would be very difficult to control your plants’ environment. Therefore, you should be well aware of the changes in the seasons and temperatures.
Those marijuana plants that were grown outside should have a harvesting time between the middle of September until the middle of November for those in the Northern part of the hemisphere. While for the Southern part of the hemisphere, it will be in the middle of March as well as May. The flowering stage would depend on what kind of strains you cultivate.
The environment cannot be controlled, therefore you have to check your plants and monitor them for any possible rot or mold on the plant’s buds. If you notice rot or mold, then you probably need to harvest your plants early. However, you should check for the maturity of the trichomes as well.
Conclusion
Determining as to when to harvest outdoor weed might be so difficult for you. You should know when the perfect time is so that your plants cannot be exposed to some risks. It will not be very easy, but with the help of the listed things above, it will become very easy for you to determine the harvesting time of your crops.
You just have to comprehend everything well, so that you will be able to do the harvesting process properly. Aside from preventing risks for your plants, harvesting at the right and exact time can result in better high and better yields. Hence, as a marijuana grower, it is essential to know the indicators of harvesting your crops.
