How far can "ripeness" be pushed?

DoobieDoobs

Well-Known Member
@weedstoner420 very cool experiment, you went past the "peak" by a lot of weeks, and didn't change much in terms of high and smell, I would have thought past the peak the high and smell become less and less powerful as the terpenes and trichomes get older. That plant at week 11 looks delicious btw.
 

dizzygirlio

Well-Known Member
Yeah, this pheno always turns real dark purple, almost black, not sure which brown you mean but it's a combo of amber trichs, wind damage, and senescence...here is a pic from week 11ish:
View attachment 5108933
I think it's my eyes. I was one of the gold dress people a few years back when they had that blue dress/gold dress debate on fb. you might not remember. Anyway, I see the purple now.
I think it's the trichomes on the leaves because they're amber that I was looking at.
 

weedstoner420

Well-Known Member
@weedstoner420 very cool experiment, you went past the "peak" by a lot of weeks, and didn't change much in terms of high and smell, I would have thought past the peak the high and smell become less and less powerful as the terpenes and trichomes get older. That plant at week 11 looks delicious btw.
Thanks, yeah it's a pretty one!
 

tstick

Well-Known Member
Yeah, this pheno always turns real dark purple, almost black, not sure which brown you mean but it's a combo of amber trichs, wind damage, and senescence...here is a pic from week 11ish:
View attachment 5108933
Wow! If THAT doesn't convince growers to go longer, then I don't know what would! That's a gorgeous plant. When I see stuff like that, it just "says" that it's ready! This is what the home grower can achieve, in a practical way, that the commercial grower can't. The home grower can experiment and try things that might end in failure....So what? That's the way new things are discovered, right? Some experiments end up in success!

Somewhere along the way, it just got determined that 8-10 weeks was the window of harvesting for most hybrids. I think this is because of the initial idea that THC level was the determining factor...and that most hybrids' THC peaked at around that stage. But even if the THC begins to degrade in later stages of flower, I think the "entourage effect" may have more time to develop into something deeper and more complex, both in terms of flavor as well as effect.

I just started week #10 flower and the plants look like teenagers to me, now!
 

weedstoner420

Well-Known Member
Wow! If THAT doesn't convince growers to go longer, then I don't know what would! That's a gorgeous plant. When I see stuff like that, it just "says" that it's ready! This is what the home grower can achieve, in a practical way, that the commercial grower can't. The home grower can experiment and try things that might end in failure....So what? That's the way new things are discovered, right? Some experiments end up in success!

Somewhere along the way, it just got determined that 8-10 weeks was the window of harvesting for most hybrids. I think this is because of the initial idea that THC level was the determining factor...and that most hybrids' THC peaked at around that stage. But even if the THC begins to degrade in later stages of flower, I think the "entourage effect" may have more time to develop into something deeper and more complex, both in terms of flavor as well as effect.

I just started week #10 flower and the plants look like teenagers to me, now!
Thanks! Yeah commercial growers definitely have some motivation to cut as early as the market will allow, because capitalism, but somehow that mindset got filtered down to home growers too...that and the whole idea of trichomes being the end-all factor for determining ripeness, leading to many "is it ready" threads with photos of amber or supposedly-cloudy trichs, then when they post a full bud shot it's clearly nowhere near done...not to mention folks seeking an "up" or "energizing" effect and thinking they can get that by harvesting a little early. The effect of early weed, vs a strain with an inherently energizing high, left to ripen fully, is night and day (at least in my experience).

I think the first time I grew a plant until the buds got that popped-popcorn look to them (see my avatar), was the last time I bothered looking at trichs trying to decide when to harvest. There is a certain "it's done" look that folks talk about, and once you've seen it in person it's easy to recognize, but the only way to really know what it is is to let the plant get there. I guess some people just don't have the patience for it. Or are hung up on the myth that harvesting earlier or later will change the effect and don't bother trying. Or both, their loss. How else do you know what you might be missing out on? End rant.
 
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tstick

Well-Known Member
I'm still watching my two Chemdozer plants ripening. Already, it's amazing how the terpene profile has changed from what it started out as! When I unzip the tent, that first waft of air coming out is almost sweet and kind of weird, spiced pineapple. And that's different from a couple weeks ago, when it had a sour smell. But, when I moved the containers around for watering and the branches bumped into each other a couple times, it filled the room with a smell that was like straight-up creosote/lighter fluid funk.

I'm hoping to chop the plants around Easter ...or maybe 4/20! ;)
 

StonedGardener

Well-Known Member
Many sativa strains trichomes won't change to amber, unless you wait 20 weeks or more. Indica's show their ripeness much easier. Trichome coloring is just one indication, of many.
You're so right about the time it takes to see that transition....I have a Chocolope crop....close to harvest that's been flowering for months.....amber seems to show after an eternity.
 

Left thumb

Member
I ran a white Rhino many years ago that looked ready by week 9( very indica Dom) I left it go another couple weeks and by this stage it was 95% amber trichomes, heavy yield, absolutely stunk and after the cure I’ve never smelt anything like it to this day. I always try to grow so they become overripe, I find the best smells and tastes at this stage.
What was high like
 
My understanding has always been that the flowers are at their peak ripeness when the trichomes become milky with about 20% of them turning amber.

But when did this become the common ideal?

I'm pretty old and been growing off and on (mostly with no idea what I was doing, tbh) since the mid 1970's. I never knew anyone back then who had any idea about trichomes. Back then, the only way growers knew the plants were ripe was when the seeds were ripe! And those ripe seeds usually were accompanied by leaf color that was light green or yellow (gold)...sometimes reddish-brown..."Fall colors" let's say.

Growers who grow plants for smoking, don't (usually) allow their female plants to be pollinated and produce seeds. At some point in time, the milky/amber trichome formula became the ideal for determining when to harvest. My bet is that, when people determined that THC was the "psychoactive component" in marijuana, and started to test for it, they found that the milky stage was when THC levels were highest. When the milkiness changes to amber, then there is degradation in THC...Therefore, all amber trichs would produce less potent marijuana. But...Is that true? What about the other, non-tested-for components in the flowers? Do any of those increase? -flavonoids, terpenoids, volatile esters, etc.

I may be wrong, but I get the feeling that a lot of personal-use growers are using big, industrial, high-yield grow ops as a model to follow. "The guy with the biggest plants, wins". And, in doing so, the small op growers cheat themselves out of the luxury of being able to take extra time for their plants to ripen and develop more complexities and unique smells and flavors.

I can say, for sure, that whenever I scope any weed that I buy in the commercial market, the trichomes are clear. In other words, they are underdeveloped and not ripe. And I'm not talking about some bottom-shelf shwag. I'm talking about the best stuff available in the store! This is the stuff that people buy and then review and say how great it is....But they also have to stuff their noses entirely into the jars in order to get the smell! "Piney" "Lemony", they say. ;) I think part of it is that the pinene and limonene terpenes develop earlier than some of the others. Maybe if those flowers were let to TRULY ripen to milky/amber or all amber, then they wouldn't be so piney or lemony anymore. But, hey, if the big producers need to meet a quota and the plants are still not ripe, then just harvest them, anyway. It' good enough.

Based on this, I don't believe it's a good idea for the personal-use ops growers to use the same criteria as the industry uses...because the industry doesn't care about putting out ripe marijuana.

Thoughts?
I read the same thing about the tricombs being at peak potency while they are milky. in high times like 16 years ago and I also read a few issues later , """( I had a subscription because I was growing my first time no internet marijuana was frowned upon still so I started of reading as much information about weed I could get my hands on mostly high times)""" , continued=== that while milky the buds are to be harvested at this point is because by time drying and curing is complete those tricombs matured and beccome amber in color with a fuller head.
 

Left thumb

Member
I ran a white Rhino many years ago that looked ready by week 9( very indica Dom) I left it go another couple weeks and by this stage it was 95% amber trichomes, heavy yield, absolutely stunk and after the cure I’ve never smelt anything like it to this day. I always try to grow so they become overripe, I find the best smells and tastes at this stage.
How was the high
 

tstick

Well-Known Member
Well....I let the Chemdozer go for 15 weeks!! The plants were basically almost dead in the ground when I chopped them. It only took 6 days for the plants to hang-dry. I just got done trimming up the last of the two plants I grew and got them into the curing jars. It looks really good -lots of trichomes.

The smell, going into the jars is an overall strong Vick's Vapor Rub smell! It also has a diesel/hazelnut note to it as well. Both plants are very similar....one might be slightly more fragrant, but very close. It smells good. I was hoping for a bit more funky/nasty/creosote/lighter fluid thing, but I think it will be a good flavor, nonetheless.

Interestingly, by allowing these to go for so long, the uppermost buds almost started to dry out and die. They started to get a bit crispy! The trichomes still looked milky, though, so I'm not sure what happened. They weren't too close to the lights. It wasn't too hot. I kept them watered the entire time and they kept slowly drinking it, but even the chlorophyl in the stalk and branches had gone yellow by the time I chopped. It was literally drained!

I got the buds in the jars but the humidity meter is only reading 55-58% after a day with the lids on tight. I hope they still cure okay. The buds are very sticky and pliable, so I'm hopeful. I don't even want to try any of the flower until I've given it a month or so to cure. Maybe the moisture will at least even out.

Man, it's hard to chop the stalk after 5-6 months of work and care! I feel kinda bad whenever I chop them down.
 

Tumbleweedz

Active Member
I think odie from homegrown natural wonders did this with quantum kush( could be off but it was on a episode of the pot cast) whatever the case, he tested buds pulled at 6,7,8,9,10 weeks and the highest thc was at 6 weeks and degrading from then on. I'm sure it has to with the bud size in relation to trichrome production. As the bud swells it still has the same amount of trichs per calyx so that would be why IMO.
Good point. Thing is, how many known and unknown Cannabinoids exist ? Pure THC is a head-down, laid-out-on-the-couch, paranoid, quick up-down, type of high.

Good marijuana is much much more dynamic then that. That's why the endless quest for THC is BS, imo
 
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