Harvesting and Drying Cannabis

Harvesting your cannabis the reaping of the bounty, and is the most enjoyable time you will spend with
your garden.
Cannabis Plants are harvested when the flowers are ripe. Generally, ripeness is defined as when the
white pistils start to turn brown, orange, etc. and start to withdraw back into the false seed pod. The
seed pods swell with resins usually reserved for seed production, and we have ripe sinse buds with red
and golden hairs.

for more marijuana pictures

It is interesting that the time of harvest controls the "high" of the buds. If harvested "early" with only
a few of the pistils turned color, the buds will have a more pure THC content and will have less THC
that has turned to CBD and CBN. The lessor psychoactive substances will create the bouquet of the
pot, and control the amount of stoneyness and stupidness associated with the high. A pure THC
content is very cerebral, while high THC, high CBD, CBN content will make the plants more of a stupid,
or hazy buzz. Buds taken later, when fully ripened will normally have these higher CBN, CBD levels and
may not be what you prefer once you try different samples picked at different times. Don not listen to
the experts, decide yourself based on what you come to like yourself. for your experience from
harvesting and drying your own cannabis
Keep in mind, a bud weighs more when fully ripe. It is what most growers like to sell, but take some
buds early for yourself, every week until you harvest, and decide how you like it for yourself. Grow the
rest to full maturity if you plan to sell it.
Most new cannabis growers want to pick early, because they are impatient. That is OK! Just take buds
from the middle of the plant or the top. Allow the rest of the cannabis plant to keep maturing. Often,
the tops of the plants will be ripe first. Harvest them and let the rest of the plant continue to ripen. You
will notice the lower buds getting bigger and fuzzier as they come into full maturity. With more light
available to the bottom portion of the plant now, the plant yields more this way over time, than taking
a single harvest.
Use a magnifier and try to see the capitated stalked trichomes (little THC crystals on the buds). If they
are mostly clear, not brown, the peak of floral bouquet is near. Once they are mostly all turning
brownish in color, the THC levels are dropping and the flower is past optimum potency, declining with
light and wind exposure rapidly.

Do not harvest too late! It is easy to be too careful and harvest late enough potency has declined.
Watch the plants and learn to spot peak floral potency.
Do not cure pot in the sun, it reduces potency. Slow cure hanging buds upside down in a ventilated
space. That is all that is needed to have great sensi. Drying in a paper bag works too, and may be
much more convenient. Bud tastes great when slow dried over the course of a week or two.
If your in a hurry, it is OK to dry a small amount in-between paper sheets or a paper bag in a
microwave oven. Go slow and check it, don not burn it. Use the defrost power setting for a slower,
better drying. It will be harsh smoking this way though.
A food dehydrator or food preserver will dry your pot in a few hours, but it will not taste the same as
slow-dried. Very close though. And this will speed your harvest time (which can be nerve-wracking,
with all this pot hanging around drying.)

Dry cannabis buds until the stems are brittle enough to snap, then cure them in a sealed tupperware
container , burping air and turning the buds daily for two weeks.
Once experienced cannbais grower told me to dry in an uninsulated area of the house (like the garage)
so that the temperature will rise and fall each night, as the plant is drying. If you treat the plant as if it
were still alive, it will use some of it is chlorophyll while it is drying, and the smoke will be less harsh.
enjoy the weed.

Harvesting, cutting, trimming & drying

your marijuana, weed & pot plants.
How to properly cure your cannabis buds.
This chapter will address the proper harvesting and then move onto the proper drying (curing) of your
marijuana plants. It is very important that you take the time to cure your cannabis properly... it makes all the
difference in the pleasant consumption of that harvested bud.

Time to Harvest Hint: When the resin glands or trichomes

(on your buds) are about one-half turning a milky white or
amber in color (versus clear or translucent), and the small
hairs have begun to turn orange, brown or reddish in color,
it is then time to harvest your weed. You have a window of
5-7 days for peak harvest and potency. I will tell you, the
more amber the trichomes have turned, the 'stonier' the pot
will likely be.
This is why I recommend harvesting when about 1/2 of the
resin glands have turned amber in color - be patient, and be
sure of what you see. You will harvest excellent weed at
this point without passing the premium harvest window
and the weed will generally NOT make you completely
lethargic when smoked.
When you see the first signs of amber trichomes, water
with water only... no more nutrients are needed at this time.
This allows for a cleaner taste and smoking pleasure
(IMO).
(click to enlarge photos) I quite often have trimmed buds
from the different 'tops' of the plant based on how they look
individually, before I took down the entire plant. So as the
plant progresses, you may have already harvested half of
the buds before you 'chop' the plant down (so to speak).
This also helps with being able to smoke some of your cannabis and "test" your crop using a quick drying
technique.

Harvesting Time: Now that we know when to harvest our

is; How do we actually cut and trim our plant (buds)
cure it for the best taste and smoothest smoke?

cannabis, the next question

and then dry it properly to

Environment: Should include good air circulation for both

- As you will find the odors can be quite strong at this
around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, heat is not necessary at this
odor.

trimming and drying rooms

stage. Keep the room
stage and only increases

Temps over 80 degrees and too much moisture and even

decrease your THC potency. Be gentle with your buds
drying, it will pay off in potent reefer.

rough handling will actually

from trimming through

Trimming & Manicuring: I trim my buds the

or top. The leaves are firm and cut off quite nicely.
marijuana are different to trim. You want to remove all the
leave tips that are all around the buds themselves. I take

same day I harvest the plant

Different strains of
large leaves and trim off the
the time to remove the large

leaves right to the stem, leaving little to no stem stick in my buds. This is a learned skill, but not too difficult
to improve as you go (grow). Makes for a great smoke.

Beautiful weed.
I'm still working on this...
Thank you for your continued patience my
friends.

Drying marijuana quickly.

Fast and quick ways to dry your cannabis buds.
I'd like to share a few different ways to quick-dry your marijuana and cannabis buds for sampling or more
immediate pleasure.
Please remember though... that properly dried and
cured marijuana only gets better with time. It
smokes smoother without harshness or the green
taste. However, these tips to drying your weed
quickly work very well.
You do retain THC levels, they may get crispy (the
buds silly), but these function just fine. These
processes will help you dry your pot quickly and
be able to enjoy it in minutes or a few hours. And
then you should be 'crispy' too.
Place your trimmed buds on a cookie sheet spread out evenly. Set your oven to 125-140 degrees Fahrenheit
(no hotter!). Leave for 10 minutes, remove for 5 minutes and turn buds. Repeat once more.

Rig a flat piece of 10" foil to be held under a 100 watt light bulb (no hotter) within 2-4 inches. Turn your
buds every 1-2 minutes. Should be smoke-able within about 10-15 minutes time.
water
overnight.

Take your buds and flatly wrap them in paper or use a paper envelope and place them over your
heater, radiator, or the back of your TV. Pot should be dry in a few hours or

Place buds flat on a plate. Use your microwave on 50% power or less (important not to burn). Set for only
10-12 seconds at a time, remove and turn, repeat as necessary. Done quickly, be careful.
I've heard you can use a food dehydrator, it takes a little longer (hours) but should work as well
if you have one one of these.
Also, if your buds get too dry (crispy), you can put them in a ziploc bag or glass sealable jar with a piece of
orange peel... yep, it will smoke much nicer by morning.
NEVER have your heat source be more than 150 degrees Fahrenheit! Any hotter will actually burn or
vaporize the THC or resin glands...this IS what gets you high, so be careful of this.
These tips should help you enjoy a little of your smoke a little faster... however - I still recommend
proper drying and curing - you WILL notice the difference.

Harvesting Marijuana! When To Harvest

Marijuana
Harvesting Marijuana! When To Harvest Your Marijuana Crop
By DJ Short
There are several important points to consider when choosing the optimum time to harvest your marijuana
crop. There are different factors to consider between indoor and outdoor marijuana plants. There is the
difference between Sativas and Indicas in bloom duration and final effect.
There is the difference between early and late harvest to encourage head to body high respectively. There is
the issue of chemistry because what we are really considering in terms of the ripeness relates directly to the
chemical nature and state of the plant at harvest. Last, but not least, is the concept of the window for
marijuana harvest, where I will begin.

Window For Harvesting Your Marijuana Crop

This term indicates the period during which the plant is at its optimum state of ripeness. The window opens
when the plant is first ripe. Somewhere along the line the plant becomes over-ripe which signifies the
closing of the window of harvest.
For most Indicas grown indoors, the window of harvest is about two weeks long give or take a couple of
days for various strains. Indoors, if going directly from an 18/6 hour vegetative light cycle to a 12/12 hour
bud cycle, most indicas take about eight weeks to fully mature.
As to outdoors I can only speak from experience at the 45th parallel and the bloom times there. At the 45th
parallel I've found most Indicas to be at peak harvest starting at the beginning of October, sometimes very
late September, and running until the end of October, sometimes running into November during mild years
or in a greenhouse. My favorite time to harvest a nice Blueberry Indica outdoors is in the second to third
week of October.
For Sativa grown either indoors or outdoors, the window may be open much longer. Some Sativas take up to
thirteen weeks to mature indoors. Outdoors many will go well into November and even December, if
conditions are right (again, this is near or at the 45th parallel). Head High or Body Stone?
An important consideration has to do with one's preference for a head high or more of a body high. A good
head high can positively influence one's mental state much like a psychedelic; whereas a good body high is
more similar to a narcotic effect. Generally, head highs tend to be more up and body highs tend to be more
down. Suffice it to say that a good healthy mix of the two is a fine goal to achieve.
Sativas and early window harvests tend to be more of a head high, whereas Indicas and late window
harvests tend to be more of a body high. Given this rule of thumb you can pretty much come up with what
you want. That is, if you prefer a very psychedelic head high, then an early harvested Sativa might do best.
If a very narcotic body high is desired, then a late harvest indicas would probably do best. For that best-ofboth worlds high, experimentation with late harvested sativas and early-to-mid harvested indicas usually
proves interesting.

Magnify Your Buds

When we speak of various highs experienced by different products, we are noting variations in plant
chemistry. The chemicals we enjoy are produced within the glandular stalked trichomes, along the surfaces
of the bud flowers (calyxes), bracts, leaves and stems, starting in or around the fourth week of the bud cycle.
More and more of these trichomes develop as the plant matures.
I highly recommend that the serious cannabis student acquire a 30X power, illuminated magnifier. These
can be found at most local electronics stores, often for under fifteen dollars. With the aid of the magnifier
one can learn more about the detail of trichome development and ripeness.
As far as trichomes are concerned, the tall ones with swollen, clear, bulbous heads are what to shoot for. The
denser the concentration, the greater the potency.

The Cycle Of Marijuana Plant Maturity

Starting in the third or fourth week of the flowering light cycle, glandular stalked trichomes will begin to
form along the surfaces of leaves, flowers, bracts and stems. At the same time, more and more flowers (also
called calyxes) develop into densely-packed floral clusters.
The pistils of the young flowers are bright white and turn reddish brown with age. The pistils and flowers
develop from the bottom of the bud to the top. The older, lower pistils are the first to turn reddish brown.
For most basic indicas this usually happens by the sixth week in the flowering cycle. It is about this time
that the calyxes begin to swell.

Calyx swelling is a major indicator of peak maturity. The lowest, oldest calyxes swell first and the swelling
works its way up to the highest, youngest flowers on each bud. At peak maturity about 90% of the calyxes
will almost look seeded, they are so fat.
Three quarters to 90% of the pistils will have turned reddish brown as well. For a basic Indica this takes
well into the seventh week of the flowering cycle.
By the end of the eighth week most of the calyxes will have swollen and a surge of trichome development
has coated most of the buds. It is now that the development of a very discerning palate comes into play to
determine the finest harvest time. Remember - patience is a virtue and often a discipline.
The ripening signs for most Sativas are highly similar, except extended over a longer period of time.
Occasionally, some Sativas have windows of peak harvest that actually open and close. That is, for a week
or so the plant may exhibit signs of peak ripeness.
However, a week later the plant may have a growth spurt, which lowers the trichome-to-fibre ratio and
overall potency for a little while. Usually a fibrous growth spurt is accompanied by a corresponding
trichome increase. Again, time and experience are the key elements in this regard.

Changes In Marijuana Chemistry

As the plant matures through its window of harvest its chemistry changes. As the window closes, the more
desirable compounds begin breaking down into less desirable ones. Primarily it is THC breaking down in
CBNs and CBDs.
Which particular combination of chemicals is the most desirable is purely a matter of taste and choice,
developed over time and with experience. Set and setting also play an important role in determining which
type of product is best appreciated.
Pleasant head highs are often desirable for social occasions, whereas a narcotic late-window Indica may
work better as an evening medicinal herb. The main point is that these differences are chemical in nature
and more research is needed to more fully understand this phenomenon.
Another important point is that much can be done to further enhance the chemical process, especially in
regard to bouquet, aroma and flavour, given the proper curing process.
bibliography - November 6, 2004 from a1b2c3.com