When should I harvest my plants?

The 30X and 100X lighted magnifier are tools everyone serious about harvest timing should have. They make it easy to monitor the resin development process. After seeing 400X images of resin glands, I decided to also buy the 100X magnifier. It supplies a superior view, providing an enhanced perspective of resin gland condition and development.

I recommend buying the 30X model first and if you would like to expand your analytical capabilities, buy the 100X model. They both allow for a much closer inspection of the clarity, color and condition of the resin glands, which should be swollen and unbroken while remaining transparent and slightly amber, if at all, at the peak of ripeness. Some prefer harvesting earlier, as THC degrades to more sedative cannabinoids as the glands ripen.

Harvest timing is a matter of personal preference. When the glandular trichomes are clear with very little, if any coloration, THC levels are at their peak with CBD and CBN both at levels that will not overly influence the THC with their sedative effects. Some prefer more overwhelming narcotic type effects, allowing the resin glands to cloud and begin to amber or darken to increase overall cannabinoid content. The resin glands appear and therefore will mature at different times. A compromise is made when determining the desired overall maturity level to harvest. It depends on the growers preference in effect and palate.

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CBD is what gives a true body stone, a true couch-lock stone. Since CBD has almost been totally bred out of modern strains smokers who like couch-lock have had to resort to giving up THC, throwing away THC, intentionally allowing the level of THC to drop as it oxidizes and become CBN so they can get a fake body stone from it, a false couch-lock stone from it. That is what amber trichomes actually mean. Amber is a sign of oxidized THC, THC that has been lost and transformed into a substance that is only mildly psychoactive.

Most couch-lock lovers refuse to accept and believe that fact, but nonetheless, it is a fact.

CANNABIDIOL (CBD)

Cannabidiol is nonpsychoactive and was initially thought to have no effect on the psycho activity of THC. Recent evidence however show that smokers of cannabis are less likely to experience schizophrenia-like symptoms if there is a higher CBD to THC ratio. Experiments show that participants experienced less intense psychotic effects when intravenous THC was co-administered with CBD. It has been hypothesized that CBD acts as an allosteric antagonist at the CB1 receptor and thus alters the psychoactive effects of THC, resulting in a more easily manageable high.

CBD is generally considered to have more medicinal properties than THC. It appears to relieve convulsion, inflammation (and thereby also migraines), anxiety and nausea. That is why strains with a high concentration of CBD is suitable for medicinal use.

Although CBD has its own particular medicinal value it is not more important than THC when it comes to treating various afflictions. It is the interaction between the two that gives rise to the effect that sometimes alleviates the symptoms of various medical conditions.

CBD has a greater affinity for the CB2 receptor than for the CB1 receptor, meaning that its effect is mostly in the body and not so much in the head. CBD shares a precursor with THC and is the main cannabinoid in low-THC cannabis strains like hemp.

Landrace strains, usually of indica heritage, contain higher concentrations of CBD than recreational drug strains, which are usually bred towards a higher concentration of THC. This is the reason why strains containing high ratios of CBD can be difficult to find.

TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL (THC)

Tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), is the primary psychoactive component found in the cannabis plant. It was first isolated by Raphael Mechoulam, Yechiel Gaoni, and Habib Edery from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, in 1964.

This is the main compound that gives rise to the high that is tightly linked with the cannabis plant. It affects several areas of the brain simultaneously and can therefore give rise to an assortment of experiences, ranging from altered perception of time and the self, to feelings of euphoria and relaxation all through the body.

Medically, it appears to be analgetic, meaning that it is capable of alleviating even severe pain. It is also known to be neuroprotective, which rules out the possibility of brain damage, which was initially proposed to follow from heavy use of the plant. It has approximately equal affinity for the CB1 and CB2 receptors. By binding to CB1 receptors (the ones in brain) it produces the high that we are so familiar with. That is why the effects of THC is more cerebral, than the effect of CBD, which seems to have a greater affinity for the CB2 receptor.

CANNABINOL (CBN)

Cannabinol is the primary degradation product of THC and increases in concentration with plant age. The concentration of this product in the bud is heavily dependent on the time of harvest. Harvesting the bud at a late stage also means that the concentration of CBN in relation to THC will be higher when compared to the peak of THC production.

CBN content increases as THC degrades. It is only mildly psychoactive and can cause “fuzzy head”, drowsiness, disorientation and sleepiness in the smoker, properties that can be considered unpleasant in nature compared to the clear high of the THC. Its affinity to the CB2 receptors is higher than for the CB1 receptor, meaning that it mostly affects the body.

Text taken from another forum. MadScientist.

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Hi bro,

do you have any pics or info, which shows where i need to watch, and how good buds should look? thank you

Only true fire way to judge harvest correctly is via the trichomes.

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But how correctly trichomes should look?

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You need a magnifying glass or microscope to check them.

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I bought 100x scope, its enough or i need stronger?

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Thats enough.
It’s also cool looking at other things with too.

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Yeah that’s perfect. They can be fiddly to get focused correctly though. I use a USB microscope from Amazon :+1:

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You can zoom in even further and see things very close up too. You just need to turn the dial in very small increments…( wow where did that word come from) Word of the day :sweat_smile::sweat_smile::sweat_smile:
Increments… not even sure it’s real but it sounds good :sweat_smile:

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Thats not cool, when you need to look at these things… :smiley:

I zoomed in on a springback that I picked off the back of my baby mexican redknee tarantula and it looked amazing. It was tiny, on further inspection there were actually a few bugs together.
They were all caught in the tiny urticating hairs.
Which looked little tiny harpoons.
You can even see the lungs breathing on one of the creatures which I think is a mite.
It was quite interesting to see.
I took a video of it, I’ll put it on here sometime to show you.

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The 100 X magnificent Is essential to checking trichomes I like mine 75 %cloudy and 15 to 20 % amber very little clear
This Varies depending on indica vs sativa
But the plant also gives you signs all hairs swiveled and changed color no white , fade the fall colors , and have slowed down drinking , looks swollen
When all else fails I clip a small bud and quick dry it the give it the taste test
We all have our ways
This works for me

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