There are different types of marijuana seeds available in the market, and the different strains have different maturation patterns. There are various ways in which you can determine whether your plant ready for harvest. One of the methods is by looking at the color of the trichome, which changes over time.
Some of the plants mature as a whole, whereas the others mature from top to down or outside-in. The varieties of buds that start ripening from outside in the outer buds ripe faster due to direct sunlight exposure, unlike the inner branches. It takes around two weeks to choose the matured buds before picking the buds from all over the plant. It’s always better to only select the ripened buds instead of picking out the whole plant to ensure high quality and high potency.
The vegetation period, flowering period, and ripening and harvesting time depend on the strands as they are programmed to respond in different ways depending on the light cycles.
The critical period for outdoor flowering varies between nine and eleven hours, whereas indoor plants cutting down the light period to 12 hours accomplishes the situation. Apart from genetics, the flowering period also depends on the light cycle, the intensity of light they receive, and the temperature fluctuations and nutrient content.
The Best Way To Determine The Picking Time
The best way to determine the picking time is by considering the trichome’s changing colors, a stalk-like resin gland containing active components and grows surrounding the leaves.
The growth stage lasts for around two to three weeks, but these ripen in seven to nine weeks in the modern varieties. Once the plant reaches its flowering period, the caps on these glands start swelling with resin and become more prominent
Once the sticky liquid accumulated in the trichome cap, these release a high and distinctive odor as they contain terpenes and cannabinoids. At this point, the trichomes start to glow, and in some varieties, it is so prominent that the buds start sparkling.
Using a microscope can help monitor the buds’ ripening progression by seeing the change in color. When the buds are ready for harvest, the individual glands start turning from clear to cloudy white to amber. The color changes show the degradation of THC into cannabicyclol and cannabinol, which are not as potent as the THC.
Different Types Of Trichomes
Stalked Capitate Glandular
These are available abundantly and contain the desired amounts of cannabinoids, flavonoids as well as terpenoids.
Bulbous
This dont have stalked and is smaller in size as compared to other trichomes. These appear on the leaves rather than on the buds.
Crysolith
These grow at the bottom of the leaves to deter pests, and dont contain cannabinoids.
Sessile Stalked Capitate
These mainly appear during the vegetative stage and contain tiny amounts of cannabinoids.
Conclusively it is essential to know when to harvest your crops and know when your crop is ready for harvest, and hopefully, the guide will help you figure out the various factors.