# Harvest Before or After First Frost?



## weedboy613 (Sep 1, 2011)

Do you harvest before or after the first frost of the year? I heard letting your plants sit out after the first frost helps push out all the remaining THC, but I'm thinking that could be Bullshit. 
And another thing, if you let your plants stay out after the first frost and the weather was nicer the next couple of days, would the plants live or die? And what happens if they die.. are they still smoke-able?


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## Le pic (Sep 1, 2011)

after the first frost


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## cranker (Sep 1, 2011)

all the plants you are smoking are dead dude


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## Canadaboy (Sep 1, 2011)

just for argument sake can you elaborate on why you should wait till after the first frost? what are the benefits and why? Some supporting info would be great.


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## weedboy613 (Sep 1, 2011)

cranker said:


> all the plants you are smoking are dead dude


 Obviously, but I meant will the buds like fall apart on the plant and turn to shit after the first frost or what?


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## itsaplant (Sep 1, 2011)

I let mine go till the first rain and it sucked balls with 15 people rushing in all day and chopping and dehumidifers and mold risk.

This year I pick them like apples and then hit them HARD with chems after I take the tops down and with ease get them machine trimmed.
Then do it all over again.

Estimated 20% gain in yield with two harvests.

Plus im drunk and angry right now I would like to add this 
K>JSDFNKLDNF:LKNDSFLKNSDFLKSDLFKN


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## happy smoker (Sep 1, 2011)

I have heard this too, but it always comes from people that dont grow.lol. These are also the same people who say smoke the leaves.


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## Canadaboy (Sep 1, 2011)

ok so no good info on the frost subject......anyone out there know when is better and why?


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## itsaplant (Sep 1, 2011)

Hay frost is cool and makes the meds totally purple and amazing and if left out that long would be so 100% ripe and THC would be 20%.

Deal is most of us cant handle the rain and bagging our girls and spraying with anti mild chems and fans and....

WHen its time for the plants to come down its time, unless you have a green house and allow the cold inside, $7,000 to $14,000 for for the houses, extra for the fans plus employee time and yadda yadda...

Mother nature bats last!


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## Vapekush (Sep 2, 2011)

In order to kill your plant with cold, it's got to be really cold out like 33-40 Fahrenheit. A frost or 2 will not hurt a fully grown plant.

Cooler temps tend to bring out purple colors but the plant also wants to protect itself from the cold so it produces more trichs. Think of it as a sparkling THC sweater. Clearly there are limits to how many trichs a plant will produce so there is no point in letting them go for more than 1 or 2 frosts.


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## weedboy613 (Sep 2, 2011)

itsaplant said:


> I let mine go till the first rain and it sucked balls with 15 people rushing in all day and chopping and dehumidifers and mold risk.
> 
> This year I pick them like apples and then hit them HARD with chems after I take the tops down and with ease get them machine trimmed.
> Then do it all over again.
> ...


What do you do to get a 20% gain in yield? The combination of you being drunk and me unbelievably stoned isn't working


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## weedboy613 (Sep 2, 2011)

Vapekush said:


> In order to kill your plant with cold, it's got to be really cold out like 33-40 Fahrenheit. A frost or 2 will not hurt a fully grown plant.
> 
> Cooler temps tend to bring out purple colors but the plant also wants to protect itself from the cold so it produces more trichs. Think of it as a sparkling THC sweater. Clearly there are limits to how many trichs a plant will produce so there is no point in letting them go for more than 1 or 2 frosts.


So lets say I have a plant that is 1-2 weeks to early to pull. If I let it go after the first frost or two, your saying the remaining trichs will come out of the bud, just as if the bud has ripened and fully matured? Obviously the bud wouldnt GROW any bigger but with the extra production of THC I suppose it would be more potent?


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## itsaplant (Sep 2, 2011)

weedboy613 said:


> What do you do to get a 20% gain in yield? The combination of you being drunk and me unbelievably stoned isn't working


Just taking all the tops 2 weeks early, getting busy and trimming that down and I hit them with 2 rounds of chems and then the organics and molasses making brand new tops.


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## Carl Spackler (Sep 2, 2011)

I think the keys to this situation is the temperature, the length of exposure to those temps and the type of cannabis. A mature sativa-dominant plant exposed to 25-28 degrees F. for 4-6 hrs. will basically stop any further growth or life processes and it is time to harvest immediately. Indica's are somewhat better adapted to lower temps. and can withstand mild frosts (29-33 degrees F. for 3-6 hrs.) and can continue to slowly mature if temps. quickly moderate over the next few days. 
Yes, the colors of the flowers are affected by the lower temps but it is debatable as to whether or not it effects potency/taste. Leaving either in continuous freezing conditions can spell disaster as the cell structures of both the leaves and the flowers will rupture when frozen making harvest, drying/curing difficult if not impossible.


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## weedboy613 (Sep 4, 2011)

why would I harvest the tops if the plant isnt ready though?


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## itsaplant (Sep 4, 2011)

You would take your "Money" down within 2 weeks of being perfect. Almost 90% "Ripe" You can keep them out and risk mold, home invasion, other threats...
Almost every one, in fact every one I know will take the tops a tad bit early, but were talking buds the size of your arm or 2 soda bottle.

What I was told was take em down and get them to the club because clubs really dont care about CBD ratio. (Not one club wanted my high CBD medicinal herbs they all wanted cloudy and clear THC Tricombes)
I let mine go LONG and was home invaded. My Mastiff chased them off.

This year Im going to take them as soon as I see "Harvest" and in fact the one plant I did take early was just fine, if not perfect and I hit her hard with chemicals for a week then organic and molasses getting a second harvest of half a pound on one plant.


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## weedboy613 (Sep 4, 2011)

Ok.. so now to follow up, what you guys have really been saying about the frost is, It doesnt matter if my plants will only have 7 weeks to flower instead of 8, because the frost ripens the plant and pushes out THC crystals. Corrent? Is there a difference between doing that and actually letting them go for the proper amount of time to harvest?


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## Le pic (Sep 4, 2011)

Peoples harvest after the first frost for a simple reason, the plant is not going to survive to much more "frosty" night..so after the first one you harvest.


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## Dankenfest (Sep 4, 2011)

IMO when to harvest has much more to do with the state of the trichs than the temperature. Weather can be totally random, your first frost could come weeks earlier than you're expecting, making your harvest too early if you harvest based on the frost schedule, or you could hit a warm spell and the trichs could degrade too far while your waiting for that silly frost to come already. If it comes early I recommend (if this is possible in your situation) covering the plants with as light a plastic garbage bag as you can find so you can keep the plants going a few more weeks. Good luck!


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## weedboy613 (Sep 4, 2011)

Ive got some pics here... First frost is expected to be after the first week of october and most of my clones started on the 17th of August, so they are about 2 and a half weeks into flowering leaving only about 4 MAYBE 5 weeks...  
All these pictures are two days old


























Heres a couple pics of some bagseed that has been fowering since August 10th, so just under 4 weeks of flowering.


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## GrowThrive (Oct 4, 2011)

Vapekush said:


> In order to kill your plant with cold, it's got to be really cold out like 33-40 Fahrenheit. A frost or 2 will not hurt a fully grown plant.
> 
> Cooler temps tend to bring out purple colors but the plant also wants to protect itself from the cold so it produces more trichs. Think of it as a sparkling THC sweater. Clearly there are limits to how many trichs a plant will produce so there is no point in letting them go for more than 1 or 2 frosts.


Thats a good point. ^ . If you can get a 60X+ scope and look at the trichs themselves , your ladies might be ready before first frost , pending strain and or if there an earlier flowering strain, I always say you never know until you Magnify Trichs wont lie, But Hairs will! and yeah usually after the first or second frost pending how temps fluctuate in your area! Happy Grow Lucky!


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## GrowThrive (Oct 4, 2011)

how are they now?


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## GrowThrive (Oct 4, 2011)

and another thing bro, you keep talking weeks, when growing out door Ive just recently learned its totally different then indoor the photo period and all thats different , thats why they state with seeds both indoor and outdoor flowering , indoor goes by weeks, outdoor is time of year


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## JayTrinity (Oct 4, 2011)

Hit 41 last night. Plants shit thc all over, what a mess. Sadly the blue dream is still blue not purple.


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## poplars (Oct 4, 2011)

mine usually go through a frost every year, I say harvesting after a frost with completely done bud is gonna be a LOT more potent than harvesting before a frost.


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## seanmace54 (Sep 25, 2016)

cranker said:


> all the plants you are smoking are dead dude


i generally don't smoke living planys.


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## HydoDan (Sep 25, 2016)

How many of you have actually seen what a heavy frost can do to a plant.. I have.. let it freeze if you like black slimy leaves, totally ruined buds and a waste of time.. happened once.. never again!! Just my 2 cents...


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## seanmace54 (Sep 25, 2016)

Vapekush said:


> In order to kill your plant with cold, it's got to be really cold out like 33-40 Fahrenheit. A frost or 2 will not hurt a fully grown plant.
> 
> Cooler temps tend to bring out purple colors but the plant also wants to protect itself from the cold so it produces more trichs. Think of it as a sparkling THC sweater. Clearly there are limits to how many trichs a plant will produce so there is no point in letting them go for more than 1 or 2 frosts.


I live in Vermont and you don't get frost until its 32 degrees. Hard freeze is mid 20s. I feel it's safe to assume that water freezes/crystalizes at the same temp everywhere. If u say 33-40 is frost n will kill plants my northern vt plant must be Superman cause we for frost this morning n will again today. Its been in the 30-40s everyniggt for a week. Mines still got clear trichomes. The pistils r 50/50. Still a good healthy plant


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## Happygirl (Sep 25, 2016)

Dankenfest said:


> IMO when to harvest has much more to do with the state of the trichs than the temperature. Weather can be totally random, your first frost could come weeks earlier than you're expecting, making your harvest too early if you harvest based on the frost schedule, or you could hit a warm spell and the trichs could degrade too far while your waiting for that silly frost to come already. If it comes early I recommend (if this is possible in your situation) covering the plants with as light a plastic garbage bag as you can find so you can keep the plants going a few more weeks. Good luck!


Yup what they said!


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## CriticalCheeze (Sep 26, 2016)

I take precautions and have a portable green house i put over them. frame is wrapped in plastic. sun during the day keeps heat trapped inside. when its 30-35 out my plants enviorment stays about 50-55. Just build a big frame to put around them and wrap them in plastic. just dont let any plastic touch the plants or buds.


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## mojoganjaman (Sep 26, 2016)

I grow 20+ per year in my yard...I cannibalized a swamp cooler to make a big squirrel fan...moves the air over my yard, and frost is a non-issue....mind you, living on a lake does help....hth




mojo


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## Happygirl (Sep 27, 2016)

CriticalCheeze said:


> I take precautions and have a portable green house i put over them. frame is wrapped in plastic. sun during the day keeps heat trapped inside. when its 30-35 out my plants enviorment stays about 50-55. Just build a big frame to put around them and wrap them in plastic. just dont let any plastic touch the plants or buds.


We had contractor bags thick didn't really do any damage but don't think the girls liked the bags. Tough love


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## CriticalCheeze (Sep 27, 2016)

Happygirl said:


> We had contractor bags thick didn't really do any damage but don't think the girls liked the bags. Tough love



Clear bags right?


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## Happygirl (Sep 27, 2016)

Mine where black not good?


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## HydoDan (Sep 27, 2016)

Happygirl said:


> Mine where black not good?


Its dark out.. right?


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## Happygirl (Sep 27, 2016)

Yes covering plants with contractor bags to protect from frost.


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## HydoDan (Sep 27, 2016)

Happygirl said:


> Yes covering plants with contractor bags to protect from frost.


I've used the green garbage bags for years.. bag color doesn't matter.. your plants don't like it because they can't transpire normally.. causing a slight toxin build up.. better than a frozen plant!


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## Happygirl (Sep 27, 2016)

Ahhh that was the disgusted drooping leaves (toxic build-up) they gave me when I removed the bags lol. Got a good 7 day forecast night temps good also the girls will be happy about that. Thanks for info.


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## Bud Farmer (Sep 28, 2016)

Harvest when the plant is ready. I like milky trichs with a few Amber here and there. Maybe 10 percent Amber. 
I always felt frost and wind blowing while my plants are frozen would cause trichs to start falling off like crazy. Think of bubble hash. When you throw iced water to the trim, buds or whatever you're using, this causes the trichs to break loose. Wouldn't the frost covered plant catching some wind cause the same effect?


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## skunk1877 (Oct 10, 2019)

My Ghost train hazes in the first frost moday night. They seem ok. It seems like there fattening since the frost. Alot of rain. Frost saturday night again. I am going to shoot for oct 31 harvest. Or as close as i can get


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## trinketswittrichs (Sep 18, 2020)

trichs ohhh i have some trichy ones out back


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## OscarZulu (Sep 19, 2020)

I have three plants outside, in pots right now and it’s currently 30 degrees out. Guess today is harvest.


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## Cynderblock (Nov 9, 2020)

I harvested after the first frost in British Columbia, Canada. My weed is currently curing in jars since I hung them for 10 days. Many leaves had turned purple which I trimmed off and made incredibly potent edible peanut butter squares. I have sampled the flower and OMG it’s good and it will keep getting better as it cures. It had gone down to -2C which is 28.4F the night before I harvested. I do believe your weed will be more intense after the first frost.


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