by Nebula Haze
When it comes to growing weed outdoors, figuring out the perfect time to harvest is both an art and a science. However, getting the harvest timing just right rewards you with maximum yields of the best quality buds. Today’s tutorial on when to harvest outdoor marijuana plants will tell you what to look for when it comes to bud maturity, and then I’ll show you a ton of pictures so you don’t have to do any guesswork even if your buds don’t look like most other strains.
When to harvest outdoor cannabis plants? Find out in today’s outdoor harvest tutorial.
What to pay attention to when it comes to harvesting your outdoor cannabis plants:
- Appearance of buds – Hairs should have all darkened and curled in. This is the best way to know when to harvest your buds. Learn what your strain looks like when outdoor buds are fully mature, and pick that moment. Today’s article will focus on how to choose when to harvest buds based on how they look.
- Trichome color – The tiny mushroom-shaped trichomes (“glitter” on the buds) typically look white or gold (“amber”) when the buds are ready to harvest. You need a magnifier to see the trichomes clearly, and trichome color is not as consistent an indicator on outdoor plants compared to indoor buds. Therefore, checking the trichomes is not a bad idea, but also not as important as the other factors on this list. Learn how to look at trichomes with a magnifier.
- Watch out for round leaves – Pay attention to the leaves touching your buds for signs of re-vegging (re-vegging causes round leaves), which causes your plants buds to stop developing.
- Strain-specific harvest time – Different strains take more or less time before buds are ready to harvest. Typically when you buy a strain, the breeder gives an estimate as to how long the buds will take before they’re ready. When in doubt, it can’t hurt to contact the breeder directly and ask if they have any info about when to harvest this particular strain outdoors. You never know.
- Weather conditions – Keep a close eye on weather forecasts because you don’t want to let some bad weather ruin your whole crop. If you see predictions for heavy rain, frost, or freezing temperatures right as buds are looking mature, it might be best to harvest early to avoid bud rot or other damage.
- Bud density and size – Big fat buds are more susceptible to mold and pests. If you have very big buds on your plant, consider harvesting those ones early just in case.
- Mold and pests – Inspect your plants regularly for signs of bugs, webbing, mold, or spots of major discoloration. It’s always better to harvest a little early than harvest buds covered in bugs.
Over time, cannabis growers gain experience and a sense of intuition about the best time to harvest their outdoor marijuana plants. I recommend writing down any observations for next year, pay attention to the plants, and besides that trust your gut and don’t hold it against yourself if you make a mistake. Gardening and life is a learning process.
Until you gain that cannabis grower’s intuition, here’s a bunch of pictures to help.
Pictures of When to Harvest Outdoor Cannabis Plants
First, let’s look at outdoor cannabis buds that are NOT ready yet. You can tell because the hairs on the buds have not fully darkened and curled in ed in.
Outdoors Buds – Not Ready Yet
You can tell that these outdoor cannabis buds are still not ready to harvest because they still have lots of white hair sticking straight out.
Still a lot of white hairs. Getting close but still a few weeks until harvest.
Outdoors Buds – Ready to Harvest
These outdoor cannabis buds are ready to harvest. Sometimes outdoor buds look a little different than indoor ones. For instance, they’re often leafier (though not always).
Beginning of outdoor cannabis harvest window – buds are mostly solid and most hairs have curled in.
This outdoor cannabis bud is also at the beginning of the harvest window. It’s normal for outdoor buds to be a bit more leafy than the same strain grown indoors.
The hairs on these cannabis buds have all turned purple. Ready to harvest.
There’s still a few white hairs left, but they’re a very small percentage of the total number of hairs. This purple bud is in the harvest window and can be harvested now if necessary.
3 Signs It May Be Time to Harvest Immediately
Sometimes it’s better to harvest buds a little early to prevent other kinds of damage to them. Here are the 3 most common reasons to harvest buds earlier than you normally would.
Bad Weather Coming
These cannabis plants are getting close, but still have a lot of white hairs left. However, a huge rainstorm is predicted in a few days, and then it’s going to be cold. Best to harvest now, because you don’t want to lose your harvest to bud rot!
What’s the matter with a little bad weather? The biggest issue is it can trigger bud rot, which can decimate and entire outdoor harvest almost overnight. What do outdoor cannabis growers need to know about bud rot?
Bud Rot
If you see bud rot, harvest now! This problem is caused by a fungus and spreads quickly, especially outdoors.
The first sign of bud rot is usually the leaves around the buds get discolored
If you look at the base of the discolored leaves, you’ll see the bud is rotting at that point. It may appear moldy, brown, gray, or otherwise have dead patches.
Bud rot is most common after wet weather (or a lot of dew in the mornings) as it’s caused by a fungus.
A bud with bud rot will often “open up” or split open where it’s rotting.
Learn more about cannabis bud rot.
Pest Infestation
If your buds are already close, and you’ve got bugs, it’s best to harvest now before they reduce your bud quality further.
Harvest now if your plants are overrun with bugs.
Learn about “bud washing” to help clean buds that were infested by bugs.
Conclusion – Pick the Perfect Time to Harvest Outdoors
With outdoor growing, the visual appearance of the buds is often the best method to know when to harvest. The most important things to keep in mind…
- Watch the Hairs – Wait until the white hairs have all darkened and curled in. This is the most consistent indicator of cannabis bud maturity for most strains.
- Watch the Weather – Watch the weather forecast and harvest before days of heavy rain or freezing temperatures
- Watch the Plants – Check your plants and buds closely to immediately identify any issues that mean you should harvest early.
You’re now armed with the information to harvset your outdoor cannabis buds at the perfect moments!
Learn how to dry and cure your buds after harvest.
