by Nebula Haze of GrowWeedEasy.com
It’s important to harvest at the right time for your strain. Just like fruit on a tree, your buds on a cannabis plant become “ripe”. Ripe buds have reached peak size, potency, smell, and density.
How do you tell when buds are ready to harvest?
Visually checking buds is the fastest way to determine if buds are inside the harvest window.
Not Ready Yet – At first, buds look like fluffy, white hairs. Low THC.
Ready to Harvest – Buds look solid, most hairs curled in. Max THC levels. (Pictured: White Rhino)
For most strains, the harvest window is about 2 weeks long. This is the period when overall bud yields, density, smell, and THC are at their peak. After the harvest window has passed, buds slowly start losing potency as THC begins converting into sleepier CBN.
Many growers look at trichomes under magnification for extra information on the best harvest time, though just looking at the buds can give a useful ballpark estimate.
Ready to Harvest – Trichome heads look white or amber under magnification (most strains)
The 3 “Ready to Harvest” Signals
- Most hairs darken and curl in.
- Buds appear solid and feel firm.
- Trichomes turn white or amber (most strains)
Ready to harvest – Get max THC and density when you harvest at the right time. (Pictured: Runtz)
Exceptions: What if Hairs and Trichomes Don’t Agree?
Unfortunately, some buds don’t mature exactly the same way as others. When the hairs and the trichomes seem to be sending different signals, trust the trichomes.
I recently harvested a GG4 x Zkittlez plant that had several white hairs left, but the buds were solid and trichomes indicated peak THC.
Dense, hefty buds, but some hairs still white. Is it ready to harvest or not?
With my phone camera, trichomes looked mostly white.
My handy new magnifier confirmed trichomes were milky white. This bud is ready to harvest.
I harvested the GG4 x Zkittles plant that day. After being dried and cured, those buds are now rock hard, with lovely bud effects.
Buds are dense and potent after drying and curing.
Standard advice works most of the time, but some strains are rebellious and almost seem to enjoy breaking the rules.
Rebel Without a Cause (Endless White Hairs)
Another common “rebellious behavior” is some strains continually grow new “waves” of white hairs, even though the buds underneath are mature. That looks like this.
This cannabis plant is ready to harvest, even though it just put out a bunch of white pistils in the last day or two. This type of strain can keep doing this for weeks, even though bud quality and yields are no longer improving.
Buds are solid, but this is the 3rd “wave” of white hairs since flowering started. Will it ever end?
A closer look at the trichomes under a magnifier shows several amber (gold) trichome heads. That means the bud has already reached peak potency, and THC is now starting to turn into sleepier, less-psychoactive CBN.
When you see this many amber trichomes, it’s time to harvest! (Even if there’s still white hairs)
Since the genetics of each strain expresses buds differently, it helps to see examples of what “ready to harvest” looks like for different strains. That’s why we have over 60 different strains featured in our Ready to Harvest picture gallery.
But if you want a more structured visual guide to get a deeper understanding of what to look out for, we’re adding a picture-heavy decision guide PDF to accompany our digital book HARVEST.
This new accompanying visual guide makes it easy to scan through pictures and identify your exact bud type, for ideal harvest timing (even if you can’t clearly see those darn trichomes). All book owners get it free, released March 19!
About the Author: Nebula Haze
Nebula Haze is the co-founder of GrowWeedEasy.com, one of the most comprehensive cannabis grow resources on earth.
Since 2010, Nebula has written over 700 articles and tutorials covering every aspect of growing weed at home, including the free 10-Step Guide to Growing Cannabis. Her work focuses on creating clear instructions using proven techniques to make home growing smooth and productive.
She is an instructor for the online 5-week course Home Grow Masterclass. She is also the author of the book Harvest, a step-by-step guide on preparation, harvest day, and drying/trimming/curing. Join our free weekly home grow newsletter and learn how to ensure your homegrown buds come out dense, potent, and smell great.
