Can you over flower a plant?

[DaveTheNewbie]

i have a bunch of seeds from various sources.
all flowered at the same time
most i have chopped now, i chop when i can see the white mist on the leaves
this one plant has 2 x foot long colas, plus other buds, but no white mist at all.


1) do i wait, or do i chop
2) what happens if i keep waiting, can i do bad things?

 

[Tryingtomastrkush]

well dude thats a hard question to answer....usually with flowering people go by either the color of the hairs or the color of the trichomes. on all of the strains i have grown they have had crystals on them far before they were ready to be harvest.....what exactly do you mean by a "white mist" and photos would help a lot with being able to tell whether or not its ok to chop down

 

[TRICKKY]

what happens if i keep waiting, can i do bad things?

The longer you flower, past the peak of THC production, the more the THC will degrade. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It depends what type of high you want? And yield.

I chop when pistils are 75% amber, Mainly, because I prefer to get a sleepy high than a trippy high, but also because I achieve a slightly bigger yield this way.

As with the previous post, I can't see how far yours have flowered with no pics.

One last thing tho, I also grow strains that show quite heavy "misting". But I've come across strains which have very little "misting", instead the resin produced has been more of an oily substance, it's resin nonetheless.

 

[robert 14617]

white mist like a fog or what?

 

[GreenphoeniX]

Too put it very very simply:

'Can you over flower a plant?' = Yes

But the way you determine when to harvest seems very strange and I doubt your getting the most out of your plants.

How many weeks into flowering are these plants when you harvest? (generally).
What is the 'text book' flower period for the strains you are growing? (if known).

You should invest in a Jeweller's Loupe or mini-microscope so you can observe the colour of your plants trichomes to see exactly when they're ready for harvest.
Many strains put on the most weight and THC in the final 2 weeks of flowering, harvesting too early can devastate the quality of your herb, as can harvesting way too late.

What exactly do you mean by you harvest when you see white powder (trichomes) on the leaves? [just to clear this up] - I have AK's 3 weeks into flowering at the moment with white on their leaves, but they still have around 5 weeks of flowering left to go before I will even consider harvesting.

Just trying to get some more info.
Cheers!

 

[DumbleDank]

It sounds to me like you harvested way too early, just do some google research on when to harverst, It will depend on a couple of different factors. But like Greenphoenix said, the white trichomes begin appearing way before you harvest.

 

[OregonMeds]

Yea I don't think you've grow a single mature plant yet.
Let that one go until you can see with a magnifying glass that half the trichomes or more have turned amber color if not all, just so you know what a full term plant is like.

If it's too strong cause you're used to chopping way too early then you can go back to harvesting earlier.

The only time you have gone too far is when it's sitting on the ground covered in mold with bugs coming out of it. (cept that aint ideal)

 

[DaveTheNewbie]

ok its been 10 weeks in flower so far to the day.

the one i did chop a week ago yielded about 2 and a bit ounces dry ... cant really say till its been fully cured, and i smoked a bit already for quality control.

how you guys can say that i cut it early at 9 weeks, when the other one is still going at 10 weeks i dont know

i can usually work out when i want to chop (i like early and i like trippy), this is the first plant that hasnt even pretended to show any crystals after 10 weeks.

still i read that there are 14 week flowering plants (pure sativa) so im not panicing, just suprised.

and yes i do have a magnifying glass, its usually enough for me.

ps images to follow.

pps wouldnt the fact that i have 2 over a foot long colas on 1 plant imply that im not cutting too early?

edit : photo of the harvest from first plant

 

[DaveTheNewbie]

ok so i have a crap phone camera.
and the HPS is on so the photos are all stripey
but here are 3 photos of the plant in question

 

[DaveTheNewbie]

these photos are taken without a HPS on
i had to aim in the dark and rely on my phone flash

 

[OregonMeds]

Size has nothing to do with being fully mature, the only thing that tells you that is the color of the trichomes. What do they look like under the magnifying glass are they clear, cloudy white, amber, amber but starting to deform and droop?

And what did you do to that plant it looks like all the leaves are half burned. I hope it's the camera but I get a feeling maybe it's stunted because you have been overfertilizing it, could be just trying to stay alive.

You have nice bud on it and it's good size. I think you just over did it on the nutrients. And maybe you have spider mites from what little I can see in the photo's.

 

[DaveTheNewbie]

yes to fucking spider mites, they are the bane of my life
after that plant gets chopped, the whole room gets a spray with spider mite shit, then a bomb, then left alone for a few days then fuck knows, some sort of voodoo ritual dance i think.

EDIT : HOW THE FUCK DID YOU SEE ANY EVIDENCE OF SPIDER MITES ON SUCH CRAPPY FUZZY PHOTOS?

your skills are beyond my imagination.

double edit : yeah i think the ferts are over the top, even with rainwater. but it was the spider mites that have given me the most grief all grow.
its one of those self watering/wick/hempy pots, not a 'real' hydro system, and its in a really hot part of the world. I also have airflow issues too. The grow op is an evolutionary thing, not a huge up front cost thing. its a hobby.

and the trichomes are totally clear, there is a smell and sticky residue, but its low compared to other plants ive grown.

this goes back to my original question : i dont think its ready yet, after 10 weeks, is there harm in waiting a couple more.
the answers vary from yes to no it seems

 

[OregonMeds]

There is no harm but I think it's too late for this plant to get anywhere now with spider mites and being burned to a crisp.

How did I see spider mites when you can't even see them in person half the time? Cause I see them all the god damn time, it's like second nature. I've had to go rescue many crops. I ignored my last crop matter of fact and had to shut down because they took over again in just a month or so. Caused me to run out of medicine I need for the last week and will have nothing for a whole flower cycle now and can't afford to buy any. Febuary I'll have smoke again and that's not fun when you live with chronic pain.

Next time never give more fert than the plant can take. It will point the tips of the leaves down and the slightest hint of that tells you not to feed for a week or more. Long before half the leaf is dead.

When you bomb, do it once, then wait a week and do it again to get the borgs that have just hatched. You can bomb a third time even, you can bomb while in veg. Pyrethrum is what you need.

Get those little shits! Show em who's boss.

 

[dannyking]

Whats all that brown stuff under the pot in your first pic??? I hope you have trays to collect the runoff water from?? Do you know what strain or are they just bagseed???

 

[DaveTheNewbie]

just bagseed and in theory there shouldnt be any runoff, each pot has a tank under it.
once or twice i overfilled it and got a small amount of runoff

anyway i dont have any plants clones or seeds or anything at the moment, will be some time till i do. so bombing it twice or thrice is not a problem. I have some spray concentrate and an air pressure sprayer that im gonna give the whole room a once over with as well, cant be too over the top with spider mites

 

[OregonMeds]

cant be too over the top with spider mites

Most accurate info I've seen yet this afternoon.