Blueberry Harvest - White Pistils?

Hey everyone, I have three PeakSeedsBC Blueberry plants that are at exactly 10 weeks of 12/12. I can't believe they're still alive at this point, lol, they're so tough for me to grow.

If there are a lot of white pistils still, but some of the trichomes on the calyxes are turning amber, I'm getting mixed signals. According to the pistils, it's too early to harvest. According to the trichomes, they're just about ready for harvest.

So my question is ... do I harvest or do I wait? I'm just wondering if anyone might be able to shed some light on this for me.

Thanks so much.

You could try the partial harvest. Harvest all but the largest concentrations of white pistils. Just a guess, I really don't know. I harvested mine early on my last grow and it smokes well but it could have been better had I not been forced to harvest.

probably not ready yet. Post some pictures we can help a lot more when we can see what your talking about.

Looks not ready, but there are amber trichomes on the calyxes. Here’s a closeup:

Thats nowhere near ready. LOOONG way to go.

Harvest a bud for a smoke test

JoeBlow5823 said:

Thats nowhere near ready. LOOONG way to go.

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I agree, that's why I felt kind of dumb posting the question, especially when looking at the pic. It's just that with my loupe, there's amber starting on some trichomes, right on the calyxes, totally confusing me.

Yeah, I'll keep them all going until the pistils darken and recede, there's no way I'm going to harvest these early, unless they herm on me or something. Blueberry is one strain I don't want to mess up, lol. Thanks.

10 weeks @ 12/12? either sativa or somethings wrong.

budman111 said:

10 weeks @ 12/12? either sativa or somethings wrong.

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no not really most “8 week” strains go at least 10 weeks of 12/12.

jondamon said:

no not really most “8 week” strains go at least 10 weeks of 12/12.

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Maybe your plants are that immature after 10 weeks, certainty not mine buddy.

budman111 said:

Maybe your plants are that immature after 10 weeks, certainty not mine buddy.

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You realise plants need time to adjust to the 12/12 switch right and that they don’t instantly start flowering straight away??

Most people who grow from seed with plants that are 8 week strains are often pulling them too early!

jondamon said:

no not really most “8 week” strains go at least 10 weeks of 12/12.

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I’m my experience, everything takes a few weeks longer than what the breeders recommend.

GiovanniJones said:

I’m my experience, everything takes a few weeks longer than what the breeders recommend.

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Apprently not if your budman111 lol.

For a point of reference OP here are some done buds from my last harvest.

buds are swollen and fat, hairs have almost all gone red and receded, buds look “ripe”

Don't fall for the 8 week pull from flip. That's a marketing gimmick to get you to buy your first piece of grow equipment.

These went 12/12 June 13th (7.7 weeks so far). I'd estimate another two or three weeks for sure.

GiovanniJones said:

I agree, that's why I felt kind of dumb posting the question, especially when looking at the pic. It's just that with my loupe, there's amber starting on some trichomes, right on the calyxes, totally confusing me.

Yeah, I'll keep them all going until the pistils darken and recede, there's no way I'm going to harvest these early, unless they herm on me or something. Blueberry is one strain I don't want to mess up, lol. Thanks.

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It needs more time for sure(3-4 weeks it looks like).

Don’t worry about a few random ambers. They easily could have been damaged or just be the first trichomes that formed so they have been maturing longer. The letting a small percentage of ambers form is going to happen in order to let the rest of the plant actually mature properly.

budman111 said:

10 weeks @ 12/12? either sativa or somethings wrong.

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First 10 weeks of 12/12 is totally normal for most hybrid varietals, and 11-12 is way more common then many people will acknowledge because they are impatient and don’t actually let their crops finish. Or because the breeder says it’s “ an 8 week strain”. But the fact is there are not many varietals that are properly finish in 8 weeks of 12/12 time.

Secondly it’s also very possible the OP has had some challenges like you said, which has down the growth and maturation process. Just from the picture it looks decent but a little haggard.

jondamon said:

For a point of reference OP here are some done buds from my last harvest.

buds are swollen and fat, hairs have almost all gone red and receded, buds look “ripe”

View attachment 4646064View attachment 4646065View attachment 4646066View attachment 4646067

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Forgot to mention.

everyone of these strains were listed as between 50-55 days of flowering.

they all went 70days.

rmax said:

Don't fall for the 8 week pull from flip. That's a marketing gimmick to get you to buy your first piece of grow equipment.

These went 12/12 June 13th (7.7 weeks so far). I'd estimate another two or three weeks for sure.

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oooh those yellow leaves vex me so much.

those buds would probably be twice the size of you were feeding more N during flowering.

those yellow leaves are barely photosynthesising any more.

jondamon said:

oooh those yellow leaves vex me so much.

those buds would probably be twice the size of you were feeding more N during flowering.

those yellow leaves are barely photosynthesising any more.

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Thanks. In the past my plants would be fried by now from over fertilizing (EC was up in the threes). I got an EC meter and am learning how to use the ferts effectively. These are actually must nicer.

The original pic I posted is Blueberry, they all looked haggard from day one, it's such a weird strain to grow.
When I flipped to 12/12, it probably took three weeks for the first pistils to come out, and after that I'm guessing 8-9 weeks of flowering. That's 11-12 weeks in total.

I've already harvested other strains in this grow, all with fat buds and a good amount of amber, although most of my plants are still in the room at over 10 weeks. Even so, these Blueberries like to take their time more than the others. They're supposed to be mostly indica but my hybrids are further along than they are.

I hope it's worth it, I've never tried homegrown BB, just a few nugs of over-dried stuff from a licensed producer in Canada, that was probably harvested early.