How to Tell When Your Cannabis is Ready to Harvest

How to Tell When Your Cannabis is Ready to Harvest

By Jasper Shotts and Donald K. Wilson

Video on how to Examine Trichomes

One of the most important things to know when growing cannabis is when to harvest for optimum flavor and strength.  This is best decided by looking at the trichomes on the bud of the plant being considered for harvest.  

You can examine the trichomes with a phone at 8X magnification or higher if it has a good camera, a jewelers loop, or a scope made specifically for growers.

If the trichomes are clear, that is a sign that your cannabis plant is not at optimum maturity, and pulling it now would not give you the best outcome for quality.

Once the trichomes change to milky white, or quartz the plant is mature, but often the desired maturity is a combination of milky white and amber trichomes.  This combination will give you a potent combination of stoney, but aromatic results if cured correctly.

The more amber the trichomes become the more the cannabis imparts  a couch lock high, but if left for too long you risk beginning to degrade the overall quality.  The best results are often 10%-50% amber trichomes, with the rest being the milky white/quartz color.

Article Produced by Green Magi Labs