Flush/Harvest Timing for Auto White Widow

[wijn]

Hi all

 

Background first: Absolute novice grower. I'm growing a Dutch Passion Auto White Widow, outdoors, in coco. The breeder's notes say to harvest at 10 weeks, but this particular plant is now nearing the end of week 11. I did start bloom nutes late though, so was expecting to run past 10 weeks. My goal is to harvest half of the buds at maximum THC, and half at the point where some THC has broken down into CBN, and where the result should hopefully be more anti-anxiety/soporific. I would also like to flush the coco with pHed rain water for ~3 days before I harvest.

 

There is still a fairly high ratio of white to brown pistils on the buds, but I have just noticed today that at least 10% (I estimate) of trichomes on the upper-most buds have turned at least faintly amber - while most of the rest are cloudy. However, if I look at buds further down the same branches, I see a mix of cloudy and cloudy/clear trichomes - most are at least partially cloudy. Also, I read somewhere that pistil colour on White Widows may be a bit deceptive, so I'm leaning towards ignoring the pistils.

 

Given my harvest goals, does it sound like today would be a good time to start the flush? Also, should I aim to harvest the higher-THC buds first, and then give the rest another few days to develop before harvesting the higher-CBN batch? OR could I simply harvest everything at once, and then separate the upper buds from the lower ones, and hope that upper = more CBN and lower = more THC?

 

Here are some photos of the buds. Sadly I couldn't get any through the loupe though.

 

Main cola

 

Upper branch

 

Upper branch - photo taken 3 days ago. Included because lighting was better.

[SAStoner]

This was posted months ago, and doesn't look like anyway gave you an answer. Those needed a bit more time. If the leaves haven't turned yellow, it's too soon. And 10% amber is the minimum, you want at least 15% ideally. If you are unsure, wait another week. It's easier to chop down too early than too late. I've always regretted chopping too early, never chopping too late.