Just like the complete growing process, the right time to harvest your cannabis is essential to get good results in quality. While your flower is blooming, the cannabinoids and trichomes will start to develop and turn in the right form to give the psychoactive and medicinal effects users are looking for. The trick is to recognize the right harvest time based on the looks of your buds.
We recommend to use a microscope/magnifying glass, but thats not necessery.
If you a have a microscope, you could choose the right harvest moment by looking at the trichomes on your buds. (the little mushroom shaped crystals) The colour of these trichomes will tell you when most cannabinoids are formed wich means the best time to harvest. This way you’ll be measuring the right time very precisely.
The first sign you need to be looking for will happen in the first stage of blooming phase. Keep a good watch on the hairy like parts that will grow between your buds (pistils). The first few weeks of blooming they start growing in the colour white/green. After a while there will be a moment that there are no new hairs growing on your buds and some start to change colour. This is the time to start paying attention!
Choosing the right moment to harvest cannabis
Once the hairs stop growing, your buds should already look big, filled and plumb next to that, the smell should be very intense when entering your growroom. At this time the cannabinoids on your buds start to develop and the potency changes every day. Once 40% of your hairs are brown and dried, your cannabis is theoretically harvest ready but it’s recommended to wait a longer time.
When harvesting early (40% of hairs/pistils are brown), your cannabinoids aren’t that developed yet wich results in a more energetic, light high. Wait a little longer if you want to get a more potent product. To find the moment when the THC levels are the highest (most potent). We use a little rule:
- If 40-50% of the hairs on your buds are brown and dried, you will get a a light quality which is not that potent. Like said before this will result in a energetic effect.
- If 50-70% of the hairs are brown and dried, your cannabis will be at it’s most potent. This means the THC levels are the highest they will be. If you want to go for a high psycho-active, strong cannabis quality. You should start harvesting now.
- If you wait a little longer and 70-90% of the hairs are brown and dried, you will get a relaxing kind of cannabis with an physical effect mostly known as “couch-lock” (It’s hard to stand after smoking) This is because the high THC levels we had before are now turning into a substance known as CBN. If you are looking for pain relief, this is a good moment to harvest your cannabis!
Like i’ve told before, there are more precisely methods to look for the right moment to cut your buds. By looking at the trichomes on your cannabis plant you are able to choose the right moment very precisely based on the effect you like and the plants cannabinoid levels. However you will need a microscope to do so. We recommend to use a small pocket microscope as it makes it more easy to research a living plant.
