how long can you leave a plant up past harvest date?

say you're a week or two past the day the plants are forsure done but you only cut 2-3 down at a time and wait for them to dry and go into jars before cutting another 2-3 down just to keep things from getting over whelming. are the plants fine to leave up for 3-4 weeks past the harvest date?

3 to 4 weeks past absolute max ready to cut prime heads may loose alot of resin content in the heads, they may shoot another set of stigma (hairs) in a last ditch effort to pollinate. I probably wouldn't leave it 3 to 4 weeks past it's maximum.

aussiegrowing said:

3 to 4 weeks past absolute max ready to cut prime heads may loose alot of resin content in the heads, they may shoot another set of stigma (hairs) in a last ditch effort to pollinate. I probably wouldn't leave it 3 to 4 weeks past it's maximum.

Click to expand...

Interesting, any research on this? I have heard of swelling phases just wondering what happens in detail, thanks

Instead of removing whole plants just take the tops,then lower the light and give all the larf a chance to grow.You get two crops then .

Waiting that long after the plants are actually ready is undoubtably going to risk mold on the dense buds that should basically be waiting to die. It will for sure have some resin degradation as well.

I’m all for giving plants as much time to finish as they need, and not harvesting early. But what you are suggesting is knowingly letting plants go a long ways past their prime which just seems pointless and risky to me with all the work you put into them.

Why don’t you cut them all and just hang them as whole plants to dry and gradually take them from drying to trimming at your own pace. If you hang hem while they should be fine hanging for 2-3 weeks. A good slow dry takes 2 weeks.

Keep it healthy and you will be ok,my guess is you will discover you have been cutting early all along,most people do.

If you are a week or 2 past the cut down date they are losing potency already just cut the tops and let the bottoms go

taint said:

Keep it healthy and you will be ok,my guess is you will discover you have been cutting early all along,most people do.

Click to expand...

This is also a very valid point. My suggestion is if the plant is actually finished properly and done growing, not based on any sort of specific harvest DAtE. Soooo many people chop early it’s not even funny. Maturation doesn’t happen over night, it takes weeks.

Leaving it a few days or even a week after it was fully fully done really shouldn’t hurt anything at all. Leaving it for 2-3 weeks would not be ideal though.

I let my plant dry in the pot.

When i get to my harvest window (ex 8 weeks of flip), I feed/water it for the last time and just let it set there for 10-15 days. Chop it down after that, hang it for 1-2 days. It goes to jar after that.

etruthfx said:

If you are a week or 2 past the cut down date they are losing potency already just cut the tops and let the bottoms go

Click to expand...

Really? lol

You think this plant loses its potency?

pic to your left, plant at harvest window
pic to your right, 10-15 days later left to dry

Xs121 said:

I let my plant dry in the pot.

When i get to my harvest window (ex 8 weeks of flip), I feed/water it for the last time and just let it set there for 10-15 days. Chop it down after that, hang it for 1-2 days. It goes to jar after that.



Really? lol

You think this plant loses its potency?

pic to your left, plant at harvest window
pic to your right, 10-15 days later left to dry
View attachment 4477118

Click to expand...

Nice one!

As mentioned I cant stress enough how important it is to chop later rather than earlier, the trichs will get milkier if you let some amber set in, idk if there's any science behind the popular couch lock opinion but it definitely will grow more potent if you let about 10% of the trichs go amber, I think that's where the whole amber = couch lock idea came from amber is degrading thc but the majority of trichs have not reached their full potential until that degradation sets in a bit.

That being said there are a few issues that arise from letting them go too long, the first issue is mold, especially on the big dense buds mold will set in real quick and can decimate your buds in a matter of just a couple weeks, the second issue is loss of yield, after their final swell they will shrink and will not regain the size and weight of their prime, the third issue is loss of potency, I grew gorilla glue this summer outdoor and the crop got hit so I scavenged what was left while it was very premature, it was still very good smoke, I let a clone off the very same plant go for 11 weeks and within less than a week the trichs all went amber and it was nowhere near as good as its premature predecessor. You have a 2-3 week window for peak ripeness, usually 9-12 weeks for indicas where the bud will be relatively the same quality if chopped within those 3 weeks, but too soon or to late is definitely not what your aiming for.

Like thundercat suggested I always chop the whole plant and hang them whole, after 48 hrs I cut all the leaves but the sugar leaves off I dont touch a single leaf in the first 48 hrs not even the big fan leaves, it will usually take 7-10 days in winter and 10-14 days in summer to dry well enough to jar them. And as was suggested over the last few days you can trim them up at your own pace. Before I say this I want you to know that I'm lazy af, but the plants will not wait for you to take too long to dry and trim you cant be too lazy you have to set aside 4 hrs to trim a lb even if it takes you 4 days you absolutely need to put that work in on time or you will regret it.

Xs121 said:

I let my plant dry in the pot.

When i get to my harvest window (ex 8 weeks of flip), I feed/water it for the last time and just let it set there for 10-15 days. Chop it down after that, hang it for 1-2 days. It goes to jar after that.



Really? lol

You think this plant loses its potency?

pic to your left, plant at harvest window
pic to your right, 10-15 days later left to dry
View attachment 4477118

Click to expand...

I would argue that it was not all the way done in the first image, based on the white hairs. Letting it go longer is obviously going to ripen it more. The question is if leaving it to dry on the stem has any added effect

Xs121 said:

I let my plant dry in the pot.

When i get to my harvest window (ex 8 weeks of flip), I feed/water it for the last time and just let it set there for 10-15 days. Chop it down after that, hang it for 1-2 days. It goes to jar after that.



Really? lol

You think this plant loses its potency?

pic to your left, plant at harvest window
pic to your right, 10-15 days later left to dry
View attachment 4477118

Click to expand...

I would also argue that the plant wasn't done in the first picture......

Thundercat said:

I would also argue that the plant wasn't done in the first picture......

Click to expand...

Agreed. If anything it was JUST entering the harvest window.

I'm a chop the big ripe colas off when they are good and milky then let the lower section ripen for another 10 - 14 days kind of grower. That borderline popcorn turns in to decent buds if left for a bit and the still clear trichs get nice and cloudy too.

I trim fresh off the plant then slo-dry for up to 5 weeks in doubled paper bags before putting the still moist buds in jars for another few weeks of burping before dry enough to smoke.

Try it sometime with bud off the same plant you hang to dry then compare. The slo-dried ones will be a nice tan/orange colour and you'll swear it's off a different and much nicer plant. lol

With my arthritic hands trimming is a hated chore so 90% of everything is getting a quick snip of anything without sugar on it then processed into oil or cocobudder fresh off the plant or stored fresh in the freezer until I can get around to processing it. Drying it first loses to many terps etc so I don't want that.

I did my last batch of CBD cocobudder with bud that's been in the freezer for a few months and was very pleased with the results. Made 500ml of budder and gave #1 son a 250ml mason jar full when I went out to BC the end of last Nov.

Coconut oil in a pan on a hotplate that has a 4x4" piece of 1/2" mesh metal screen on it to dissipate the heat. A hand blender to grind up the bud once the oil melts and warms up and raise the heat using the variac to get it just right so it decarbs in the oil. I used a mercury lab thermometer and the laser one too to monitor the heat. The laser one was pretty much right on with the lab one so I can just use it to keep track of the temps. Can cook it up right beside my chair in the mancave so I don't miss any TV stirring it.



Before grinding.


After grinding.


Checking temps.


Ready for straining into a jar.


With the variac I have more precise control of the heat. I just leave the 1000W hotplate on Max and start the power at 65% until around 150F then grind it up ggod. Then raise the temp to a little over 212F/100C to boil off the water that was in the buds. After the bubbles stop raise the temp to 235F - 250F where it bubbles again as the pot decarbs. Once that stops lower the heat to below 212 and add a Tbsp or so of liquid sunflower lecithin then let it cool more so I don't burn myself then just pour it thru a fine mesh kitchen strainer into mason jars. I press down on the pot in the strainer to squeeze out some but save that used pot for smoothies or baking so nothing goes to waste. It's soaked with the oil so just as potent. Tip: Squish it all flat after putting in a ziplock so it's easy to break off chunks after freezing. Hard as hell to cut with a butcher knife when in a ball.

Once in jars it should be frozen overnight then thawed and frozen again to bond the lecithin to the cannabinoids for better absorption in the gut. Snacking on something containing fats/oils a half hour or so before taking your dose keeps the liver busy working on the first stuff so the cannabinoids can circulate unmolested for longer before the liver enzymes get at them.

Good medicine and barely any trimming required!

OldMedUser said:

I'm a chop the big ripe colas off when they are good and milky then let the lower section ripen for another 10 - 14 days kind of grower. That borderline popcorn turns in to decent buds if left for a bit and the still clear trichs get nice and cloudy too.

I trim fresh off the plant then slo-dry for up to 5 weeks in doubled paper bags before putting the still moist buds in jars for another few weeks of burping before dry enough to smoke.

Try it sometime with bud off the same plant you hang to dry then compare. The slo-dried ones will be a nice tan/orange colour and you'll swear it's off a different and much nicer plant. lol

With my arthritic hands trimming is a hated chore so 90% of everything is getting a quick snip of anything without sugar on it then processed into oil or cocobudder fresh off the plant or stored fresh in the freezer until I can get around to processing it. Drying it first loses to many terps etc so I don't want that.

I did my last batch of CBD cocobudder with bud that's been in the freezer for a few months and was very pleased with the results. Made 500ml of budder and gave #1 son a 250ml mason jar full when I went out to BC the end of last Nov.

Coconut oil in a pan on a hotplate that has a 4x4" piece of 1/2" mesh metal screen on it to dissipate the heat. A hand blender to grind up the bud once the oil melts and warms up and raise the heat using the variac to get it just right so it decarbs in the oil. I used a mercury lab thermometer and the laser one too to monitor the heat. The laser one was pretty much right on with the lab one so I can just use it to keep track of the temps. Can cook it up right beside my chair in the mancave so I don't miss any TV stirring it.

View attachment 4477334

Before grinding.
View attachment 4477335

After grinding.
View attachment 4477336

Checking temps.
View attachment 4477337

Ready for straining into a jar.
View attachment 4477338

With the variac I have more precise control of the heat. I just leave the 1000W hotplate on Max and start the power at 65% until around 150F then grind it up ggod. Then raise the temp to a little over 212F/100C to boil off the water that was in the buds. After the bubbles stop raise the temp to 235F - 250F where it bubbles again as the pot decarbs. Once that stops lower the heat to below 212 and add a Tbsp or so of liquid sunflower lecithin then let it cool more so I don't burn myself then just pour it thru a fine mesh kitchen strainer into mason jars. I press down on the pot in the strainer to squeeze out some but save that used pot for smoothies or baking so nothing goes to waste. It's soaked with the oil so just as potent. Tip: Squish it all flat after putting in a ziplock so it's easy to break off chunks after freezing. Hard as hell to cut with a butcher knife when in a ball.

Once in jars it should be frozen overnight then thawed and frozen again to bond the lecithin to the cannabinoids for better absorption in the gut. Snacking on something containing fats/oils a half hour or so before taking your dose keeps the liver busy working on the first stuff so the cannabinoids can circulate unmolested for longer before the liver enzymes get at them.

Good medicine and barely any trimming required! View attachment 4477340

Click to expand...

T
Great thread OP and all!
Thank you for sharing method and rationale OMD. Happy growing all.

CoB_nUt said:

Agreed. If anything it was JUST entering the harvest window.

Click to expand...

You got it right. The keyword there is harvest window. Why wait for another week or 2 then spend another week or two to hang dry? Beside there's a reason to my madness aside from just drying the plant in the pot.. What do think plant do when subjected to stress in its last 2 weeks?

There are strains that doesnt amber at all or it takes ages, if you wait for the plant to amber 10-30% to amber or whatever, you'll be having that plant for what 13-15 weeks in flower? Fuck that shit. lol

I've waited for plants to reach its maximum ripeness before and I'll tell you this, I've never seen a plant increase its trichome production twice (or even 3 times) relative to the strain.

Potency? Try it all I can say, you'll never going back to hanging your plant a week or more. lol

Amber in a dead or dying plant is not a indicator of the flowers being finished............just means the plant is dead.
The only way to finish a plant is to keep it healthy until it is done naturally..........the rest is bro science bullshit.

taint said:

Amber in a dead or dying plant is not a indicator of the flowers being finished............just means the plant is dead.
The only way to finish a plant is to keep it healthy until it is done naturally..........the rest is bro science bullshit.

Click to expand...

Call it bullshit, but it does show you have no fucking clue what a dead plant is. Before you open mouth and call everything bro science why don't you try one.

Stop following like a sheep and find out for yourself.

For your info, I've researched this for years now.

Wait a minute, where does everything starts Anyway? That's right bro science

Xs121 said:

Call it bullshit, but it does show you have no fucking clue what a dead plant is. Before you open mouth and call everything bro science why don't you try one.

Stop following like a sheep and find out for yourself.

For your info, I've researched this for years now.

Wait a minute, where does everything starts Anyway? That's right bro science

Click to expand...

In the 70's I used to girdle my outdoor plants to turn them gold...........was the goldbud days after all.
I fully get what is happening in your plant,the pictures tell it all holmes.