Home Growers Corner
It ’ s Time to Harvest
Tried and True Methods to Harvest Big Plants .
by Jay Richardson , contributing writer We started here in March ( part 1 ) with six clones .
Let ’ s start by saying that you guys are lucky . Because of the way publishing a magazine works , we write our articles a month or more before you see them . Now , it ’ s September , and the fall season is approaching . Football has started , and life is good . However , as I write this , it ’ s hot and humid , and pre-season hasn ’ t started yet . I wish I had a time machine so I could skip August and join you guys in September . I guess I ’ ll have to amuse myself by consuming the buds I have been growing in real time for the last few months . If you have been following along with our home-grow series of the past five issues , we started with some marijuana stem cuttings ( clones ) and grew them to full maturity . I have shown the progress each month to give you an idea of the time and effort it might take to have your own cannabis garden .
Now it ’ s time to harvest . We grew six plants , and as I have previously mentioned , I didn ’ t flower them all at the same time . So now it ’ s time for the spoiler alert . Some of it is already finished , and it is awesome . The strain I grew is MMXX from the respected California breeding company , Twenty20 Mendocino . Because of its high THC content and its other cannabinoid profiles , it is considered to be cannabis recommended for highly experienced users , and many people consider it best for evening use . Personally , I smoke it with my morning coffee . It also makes wonderful gummies . You can find Twenty20 Mendocino seeds at several brick-and-mortar stores in Missouri . You can find a store near you on the company website . Beware of seeds you might find at liquor stores and some smoke shops –– those seeds and other products are most often hemp .
Growing with clones is advantageous because you know what you are going to get . Once you have an established strain , you can keep it going indefinitely . I planted the original MMXX seeds on September 1 , 2022 , and have been taking cuttings ever since . Coincidentally , that is the day I met Clayton Stallings , the marketing director for The EVOLUTION Magazine . I asked him if I could submit some articles , and much like the MMXX clones , my relationship with the magazine has grown ever since .
Novice growers , and sometimes veterans , are always in a hurry for the flower to ripen and quickly ready to smoke it . Much like fine wine or cheese , growing quality marijuana requires time . You can cut small samples early , but it ’ s best to be patient . The advantage to growing indoors , as opposed to outdoors , is that you are not at the mercy of the elements . Sometimes , an early frost will cause an outdoor harvest to become necessary quicker to avoid the loss of the whole crop . Indoors , we can let the plants flower for as long as they need . Normally , the harvest stage of development takes around eight weeks . The MMXX takes ten to eleven weeks to ripen , so it ’ s lucky that I love it .
The best way to know if your buds are ready is to look at the color of the trichomes . Trichomes are the sugary , crystalline substance that coats the buds . When the buds are dry , they will become kief . As the plants grow , the crystals will begin to form as the flower starts to take shape . In the beginning , the crystals start out clear . You will need some sort of magnifier to observe this . Most smartphones can zoom in to see what you need . When it is time to harvest , you will see that the crystals are cloudy . This is when your flower is at peak potency . If you wait a little longer , the trichomes will turn amber . Cutting the buds at this point will cause them to be mellower than they would be otherwise .
� White pistils ( or hairs ) = Not ready to harvest .
�
�
� Red or orange pistils ( or hairs ) = Ready to harvest .
If you follow my articles , thank you , and you ’ ll know that I ’ m old school , so I don ’ t use a lot of science . I have old eyes and a flip phone , so I have no idea what color my crystals are . I simply watch the buds and wait until the pistils ( or hairs ) have turned from white to red or orange . I also observe the buds and look for them to be fat and solid . The final two or three weeks of growth are the stage when the flowers put on their weight . The MMXX often gets so heavy that it needs to be trellised . When the hairs are red and the buds are hard and solid , it ’ s time to cut .
36 September 2024