>>15775435 PB

>To harvest the buds, the whole plant has to be harvested or can the plant continue to grow and just collect the buds when ready ?

 

the flowering cycle goes from start to finish

there is a period of time, and it is different for every different genetic, where optimum maturaty has been achieved

 

this can be noted by examining the HEADS of the trichomes under a magnifying glass

 

when the trichomes first develop they will have no head, they are like a waxy filiment, that appears like hair or fuzz coating the flowers (and to a lesser extent on the leaves)

 

as maturity progresses, a grower will note small round spheres will develop at the very tip of each trichome hair

 

at the early stage, this spherical "head" on the tip of the trichome will be completely clear

 

in reality, this is a VERY THIN wax membrane layer surrounding a 'bubble' of oil

this oil is the cannabinoids produced by that plant

 

the plant CAN be harvested at this "clear" stage

it will have different effects, as the cannabinoid ratios are different early in maturaty than they are late in maturity

 

to make a very simple comparison that is easily referenced

 

early harvest "highs" are more sativa like

later harvest "highs" are more indica like

 

when comparing different havest times for time same exact plant

 

Harvesting flowers from the plant in the early stage will not harm the plant, or stunt its growth, so long as you do not remove more than about 25-30% of the total biomass of the plant at one time

 

the plant grows over time, so yield weight will go up if you allow the plant to mature longer

 

if you continue to study the "heads" of the trichomes as the plant matures, they will go:

 

clear -hazy -> milkish white -> amber/orange/red (and sometimes other colors as well)

 

the "optimium" time to harvest her is when the heads of the trichomes are 50/50 milkish white and amber

 

if you allow it to mature until all of the heads are dark amber/orange/red then the quality of the flower itself will suffer slightly and the terpene profile (essentially, what it tastes like when smoked, or what you will get if you attempt to extract and isolate the terpenes) will have lost some of its full complexity

 

any time beyond 100% amber terpene heads and you are starting to loose many of the quality charectoristics of the plant

 

 

one final thing

the drying and curing process is JUST AS IMPORTANT as the growing process

 

you can RUIN an entire harvest is you dont dry it properly

 

and if you dont CURE it properly, you will never have the best flower you could possibly have

 

 

good luck

o7