How To Harvest Weed Step By Step

Your cannabis growing has finally hit its zenith and harvest is in sight, that reward for your hard work. There are still some very important steps you must follow to harvest your weeds, this way you can easily gather supplies and get set for the work at hand.  Our article will go over everything you need to know on how to harvest weeds step by step.

Knowing what to do and how to do it, will ensure the quality of your buds is high. So here is a guide on how to go about this.

How long will it take before your harvest?

Your weed germination and growing stage can take a little time, how about the wait for the harvest? Interestingly, harvest doesn’t take the entire day or year. Within a 1-3 days period you can get done with your harvest, this off course did not cover drying and curing stages that take longer periods.

The timeline may vary further depending on the height and yield of the strain, and the level of experience you have. Your experience will help make certain processes smooth and easy. Don’t rush through your harvest, so you don’t make mistakes.

Preparations for your harvest

Three essential things must be done before you take on with your harvest, these are:

 

• Flushing  the plants
• Get your harvest tools together
• Prepare your safe room for the harvest

 

Flushing your plants

The process of feeding your plants water is an important part of growing them, too much water is what we don’t advise. For flushing, too much water is necessary to clean excess nutrients from your plant roots and ensure the taste of your cannabis comes good on the harvest.

When your plant’s trichrome gets milky white, it is a sign that the plants require flushing to stay afloat. Some farmers get down to flushing their roots a week preceding the harvest, regardless, ensure your plants are not too wet or dry before your harvest.

 

Get your harvest tools together

Another key preparation to take is to get your harvest tools ready for work, having all of them in place is necessary for a successful harvest, so here is a list of the tools you will need:

Your Gloves: your plants will always often have a bit of moisture in them, this is where having a glove becomes necessary, as harvesting at times can become sticky. You will avoid having stinking smells on your hands and cross-contamination when you use gloves.

Safety clothing: not necessarily safety clothing, your clothing should give you enough coverage, and these should be clothing you can sacrifice for this phase.

Scissors: you will need to trim your buds, this is where scissors come in. You also enjoy fantastic control over your trims.

Pruners: just like scissors, you will need pruners to cut where scissors cannot and this makes it important.

Lines: you will need to hang your trimmed plants, lines will do the job of stringing them for you.

A clean surface and trays for your trimmed plants: you want to keep things in their place and prevent cross-contamination, a clean surface and tray will help here.

 

Alcohol: Rubbing some drops of alcohol on your scissors and pruners will keep them free of trash and get you going.

A comfy chair: it takes time to complete your harvest, and your legs will surely show signs of fatigue. A comfortable chair will make the difference!

Table: you will need a table to work on, which makes it one of the most basic things to get.

Music: harvesting can become boring all of a sudden, a piece of good music will keep you going.

 

Prepare your harvest room

Just like having a grow room, you will need a harvest room to store your proceeds from your harvest. And an area you should keep your eyes on should be your temperature. It should be about 70°, while humidity can hit 50%. High humidity will give room for mold to grow and delay your drying.

Airflow is needed to keep your harvest intact, so ventilation and adequate lighting are essential points here. Your lighting should be moderated so you don’t affect the THC levels of your plant.

If you are harvesting outdoors, ensure there is adequate wind and it is dry out there, while the sun is at its minimum.

 

How to harvest weed step by step

With all the details now in place, you can begin harvesting your marijuana, here are four steps to achieve this:

 

• Start by cutting the plants
• Chop down the branches
• Trim your cannabis
• It’s Time for drying

 

1.  Start by cutting plants

You will need to bring down the whole plant, this is where you begin with your job. Ensure you cut it at the base of the main stem, and not the branch.

For some growers, this step is an unnecessary hustle, going straight to the ripe buds seems like it for them. If you also go with this, ensure you leave the immature branches, and check them back in 5-10days, they will be ready for harvest then.

 

2. Chop down the branches

The next phase is to focus on the branches, chop them one by one, keep the flowers intact when you do this. You can use a tray to divide them and get the best results. You can place the pile with small twigs in one tray and the ones with buds in another.

Use string or better still clothespins to hang the branches on your line and place a tray under to get your falling remnants.

 

3. Trim your cannabis

There are two methods to go with when it comes to trimming, for some the dry trimming method works because it saves them from dirt. This simple process involves hanging out the plant to dry for a few days and removing the buds after the plant must have dried.

Other growers prefer wet trimming, it doesn’t allow mold, in its humid structure. Here you will have to cut down the plants and their buds after harvesting them and have the trimmed buds placed on your rack to dry.

Begin by cutting off the fan leaves, where you can see signs of pests and fungus attacks. Your buds will get the best of air when they dry, ensure you take off the smaller leaves and stems which might poke from your bud.

Trim your buds to a small size and you can keep your sugar leaves for use later on.

 

4. It’s time for drying

Once trimmed, drying is the next and final stage, moistures in weed can take away the pleasure of enjoying weed at its best, dried weeds come good at all times for supreme flavors. This period can take up a few weeks!

Leave the buds on their branches, this is one of the best ways to prepare for your process. If they ever fall out, you can easily get them back on the rack to dry. If you have a lot of plants to deal with, getting a drying net is ideal.

Having your fan on during this process will help with the air circulation and a dark room that has minimum humidity will get this job done for you.

 

Harvest tips

Now that you have the details on how to harvest weed step by step guide, Here are some fine tips to keep in mind when you harvest your crops.

 

1. Timing is crucial

When it comes to harvesting your cannabis seeds, timing is important. You should not harvest your crops too early, or too late. The best time to harvest is when the plants are at resin production.

When you wait too long to harvest your crops, you will miss out on the THC contents, your end product won’t be as effective as you would want. A quick guide here should be your trichrome, if the majority of your plant pistils are brown, you have missed a good chance at your harvest.

The result of not keeping to timing is that the buds of your plants will instead have high THC levels and have higher CBN levels. The taste can also be impacted. Another time when you should keep your eyes on your weed is during the drying phase, if your buds are too dry, your cannabinoids are on the decline.

 

2. Not all of your Trichromes will change its colors

Not all of your strains will have trichomes that change their appearance when it is time for harvest, most Sativa strains are known for growing few trichomes when compared against Indica strains. The changes might not be noticeable here!

You can choose to wait to see changes with the trichrome, however, if the changes don’t come, wait no further, you might be standing the chance of losing your bud quality, so go ahead and harvest.

A good way to stay afloat here will be the use of a magnifying glass, use it to look at your resin glands for changes, instead of just waiting for changes with your trichrome.

 

3. Plan for double-fold harvest

The good thing with auto flower strains is the opportunity it opens to growers to have double-fold harvests.  While the growth span of this strain is shorter than others, you can easily get a second fold in the same year, especially when you are growing indoors.

Water and fertilizers are what you need to continue this growth cycle, with more nutrients thrown at the plants you can easily manipulate plants to enter the flowering stage once again. To do this even better, leave many leaves on the plant, so your plant can absorb light easily.

Adequate light here will easily kick start your flowering stage with ease, constantly interrupt the dark phase with light, and you will be ready for harvest in no time.

 

4. Know the seasons if you are growing outdoor

When it comes to harvesting cannabis outdoors, the seasons are your best bet. This way you can know the best time to check your pistils and trichomes. After your summer, you will be able to track the level of sunlight your plants receive every day. When autumn comes, you will not experience differences in the day and night.

Plants will show when the night and day are the same in terms of length, you will see them put all the energy into flowering other than the vegetative state. You can easily make plans for harvest at this point, other growers will opt for a grow calendar to keep hold of the weeks.

For outdoor cannabis growers, harvest is usually during the mid-late fall.

 

5. Preserving your harvest

Once harvest is done, you will have the additional responsibility of maintaining your buds until it is time for consumption. Where you chose to store your cannabis should be a dry, cold, and dark spot. For some using an air-tight jar, preferably glass before putting it in the refrigerator works for them.

Another alternative here is the use of darkened jar or just any container, ensure it is properly sealed to stay oxygen at bay and you are good to go.

Using the freezer to store your marijuana is yet another fantastic thing to do. The freezer’s low temperature will slow down your degradation rate, while your bids stay frozen for up to 2years. Your marijuana can become brittle at this point, handling them as delicate objects will ensure the trichomes don’t break off, which can affect your weed potency.

One great way to handle the marijuana you have frozen will be to carefully take it out of your freezer and allow the buds to thaw naturally.  Preserving is a big step when knowing how to harvest weed step by step.

 

6. Stay patient and consistent

To harvest your marijuana with huge success, you will need to stay patient and consistent on this part. Just like the growth stage, if you rush this process you will end up with low-quality cannabis as your end product. Early harvest is another issue you should avoid, as it will result in a small yield and this can affect your cannabis taste and smell.

While trimming can take time, a reason why most farmers are impatient with timing. You cannot avoid mistakes if you go too fast here, you will end up disturbing the flowers, and if your buds get shifted ending up with low potent marijuana is the result you will get. Stay patient with your harvesting phase.

Making mistakes during your harvest phase is part of the process of becoming a great cannabis farmer. While some mistakes on this part are common, you can never run out of advice when it comes to successful harvesting tips. Visit our website to read more guides and tips, or get in touch with us to find out more.  Hopefully you have a better handle now on how to harvest weed step by step.