The most important outdoor harvesting tips

Harvesting cannabis plants is one of the most important moments in cultivation, although it is a very simple process. After 2-3 harvests you will be a master at it. Imported weed is often brownish, which tells you something about its past. If dried grass is brown, it means that it has been exposed to high temperatures and/or sunlight while drying. It should be ensured that it is absolutely dry for transport and can be packed.
If grass that is too moist is packed, it starts to "sweat", mould can easily form and it is difficult to smoke. Grass that is too moist behaves in a similar way to compost: it starts a decomposition process that generates heat. Heat, in turn, very quickly destroys the valuable THC and leads to high CBN levels and low potency. In the best case, the cannabinoid CBN has only 10% of the strength of THC. This is why cannabis should not be exposed to too high temperatures when drying.

With the following tips, you can have a relaxed and professional harvest.

Prepare the harvest

If you prepare a little for the harvest beforehand, everything will be easier and finished faster. Especially with outdoor harvesting, everything should run smoothly.

1. prepare the necessary tools

You need the following things for the harvest:

• 2 or more scissors with a thin tip
• 1 pair of scissors for thicker branches
• 2-3 thin tip clippers
• One (or more) dry net, dry tray
• Large pieces of clean plastic wrap or cardboard
• A safe place to hang or dry the buds
• Hygrothermometer
• Fan(s)
• Drying net or drying rack
• Possibly dehumidifier
• Possibly climate controller
• Alcohol / ethanol for cleaning scissors and tools
• Good music and good buds
• Odour neutraliser e.g. Ona Block or ZerumPro
• Cord for hanging twigs and branches

It is a good idea to prepare several pairs of scissors of the same type for harvesting at once. This way, one pair of scissors can always rest in the alcohol so that the ultra-sticky resin dissolves while you use the other. Have ONA Block /ONA Gel and similar odour neutralisers ready because you may have to move the plant parts back and forth and for the direct harvesting process, which always spreads a lot of odour.

2. prepare a safe and optimal drying place

The outdoor harvest can sometimes turn out to be bigger than expected. Once you have brought the bushes home, it becomes clear how much there actually is. That's why it makes sense to set up a drying box or drying chamber beforehand and also to think about the odours that arise. Without a sufficient activated carbon filter you won't be able to hide the smells from your neighbourhood. It is unfortunately true. Harvesting in particular creates a beguiling smell that takes over everything and cannot be stopped by doors. Even if you have a locked room, an activated carbon filter will always be necessary to remain discreet.
If you are handy and have a little time, you can build yourself a sufficiently large box from e.g. MDF boards and equip it with a small fan and an activated carbon filter. The good thing is that harvested plants need much less space than growing or flowering ones, but the buds should not be on top of each other later on.

In many cases, a whole grow box with a height of 200 cm does not have to be set up for drying. Often a smaller box with a small fan and a corresponding activated carbon filter is enough. Of course, the size of the drying box depends on the yield and you should choose the fan and the activated carbon filter accordingly. If several plants are harvested, it is easiest and also cheapest to set up a grow box.
Especially if you are drying a lot of plant material in a small space, it is recommended to use a fan and dehumidifier to avoid mould. At the same time, the plants should not dry too quickly. This will cause them to lose quality. An additional climate controller ensures that the humidity and temperature are optimal and constant. It saves time and you don't have to constantly check whether everything is right.

There should be a drying room:

• very dark
• cold
• dry

Do not point fans directly at the buds in the drying room, this could cause them to dry too quickly. If the buds are dried slowly over at least 10-14 days, most of the cannabinoids and terpenes are preserved. So you get the most potent buds this way.

• The ideal temperature for slow drying of the buds is 16°-21° C.
• The ideal humidity for drying is: 45% - 50%.

If the temperature is too low, the humidity rises at the same time, which is not sensible. If the temperature is too high, THC is converted into CBN and CBD, which is associated with a reduction in potency. Too high humidity in the drying room can promote harmful fungi and mould and should be avoided at all costs in order not to endanger the harvest or make it unsmokable.

The right time to harvest outdoor plants

Every cannabis plant is an annual plant that grows and matures in the warm season. Exactly how long it takes for the right harvest time depends on the cannabis variety and growing conditions. Sativas and sativa dominant strains need a long, often seemingly endless summer to fully mature, while indicas and indica dominant strains finish earlier before it gets cold. Many hybrids contain both sativa and indica parts and finish between late September and late October.

Possible signs that a cannabis plant is ripe:

• a large part of the trichomes are milky or amber coloured
• the flowers no longer produce resin
• the large leaves (awnings) and leaves further down become increasingly yellow and fall off
• the smell has reached its peak
• the amount of buds and their size has not changed for days

Not every strain always shows all these signs. To determine the exact harvest time, you should observe the trichomes with a microscope. Note that the resin glands of outdoor plants can be quite different from those of indoor plants. When plants grow outdoors, some trichomes are milky or even golden most of the time, even when the plants are not yet mature. If the resin glands are touched or affected by wind and weather, this discolouration can quickly occur. The right time for harvesting is when virtually all trichomes are milky and several are golden. It depends on whether you prefer a calming or a stimulating effect.

Too early: The trichomes are transparent and clear. It is too early to harvest. Harvesting now will result in a loss of yield and potency.

Good harvest time: Almost all trichomes are milky (more than 90%). If you harvest at this time, you will get a high that is mainly stimulating and euphoric.

Good time to harvest: Many trichomes have turned a golden colour. If you harvest now, you will get a very heavy, relaxing and chilling high.

The calyxes can also give you information about the right time to harvest. As the trichomes of outdoor growers can turn milky or golden brown at an early stage due to external influences, it can be very helpful to look at the size of the calyxes. If they are still small, barely visible or flat, the plant is certainly not yet mature. If, on the other hand, they are thickly swollen, large, round and juicy, harvesting is imminent. With indoor plants, many growers harvest when 2/3 of all hairs on the flowers have turned brown. This alone may not give sufficient information about ripeness. With outdoor plants, the hairs can also turn brown before ripening, e.g. if there is a lot of wind or rain.

Even if all cannabis plants are from the same strain, some will finish earlier than others. This is a normal thing. Some outdoor growers are forced to harvest all the plants at the same time because of the weather or external circumstances. This can be done, but it is not an ideal. The right harvest time is essential to get high quality medicinal cannabis.

Outdoor Harvest and the Weather

Most cannabis plants can withstand -2 to 0° C for up to 3 hours. A stronger frost or cold for a longer period of time, on the other hand, will damage the plant. The frost creates ice crystals in the plant, which destroy the plant cells and thus the whole plant. The leaves droop, the plant becomes limp and eventually dies. That's why in some climatic regions the weather also determines when to harvest. If it gets too cold and there is too little sunlight, nothing will get better, so the flowers will stop growing and cannabinoid production will not increase.

Rain does not harm the cannabis plants in any way. However, if there is too much rain, the temperatures are low and the plants have no chance to dry out their leaves and flowers, mould and other fungal diseases can quickly appear. So if it rains more than the sun shines in the autumn and there is wind and bad weather at the same time, it is better to harvest to avoid major damage to the yields. If it is only a short rainy period, the plants can be protected from the rain with a cover/tarpaulin. Take it off as soon as the rain stops.

Harvest in several steps

Outdoor plants can be very large and therefore in many cases it makes sense to harvest 2-4 times. A plant does not have to be harvested in one piece. If you harvest only the largest flowers and branches first, the ones underneath can continue to ripen. This increases the yield and you can manage the work better without it becoming a huge task. Harvesting very large plants over a period of 2-6 weeks can increase yields by up to 40%. The top bud or the top of the plant is always harvested first. Then the flowers underneath follow a few weeks later.

Indica Harvest

Indicas and Indica dominant cannabis plants are best harvested in one piece. Just cap the plant at the bottom of the main stem. If you've done everything right, you'll be amazed at the weight. Try not to lay the plant directly on the ground. This could cause dirt and dust to adhere to the flowers. Now you can decide whether you want to put the plant in a cool and dark place or whether you want to remove all the large and small leaves and start the manicure.

Sativa Harvest

Sativas are so loved by many outdoor growers because they can reach huge sizes and enormous yields outdoors. Accordingly, harvesting becomes a little more elaborate and takes longer. It can get really busy. For further processing and transport, the plant is broken down into larger parts and branches. These branches are then hung up in the drying room or immediately manicured.
In our article "Harvest guide 3: Drying cannabis properly and further processing" you will learn how to proceed with the buds and how to dry them best.

Further planning

In addition to the drying room, you should also plan beforehand what you will do with the remaining plant material that is left over from the harvest. Don't just throw it in the normal household waste and make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands!

A clean plastic tarp is good for placing harvested cannabis plants on and transporting them away. 

There is also the question of how you want to harvest. Do you want to cut the plant completely and then trim and manicure it indoors or do you want to do it on site? Indoors you are usually more protected and can harvest the plants in peace. However, they have to be brought home for this. If the plants are in your back garden, it is not such a big problem, but if it is a guerrilla grow, the plants will probably need to be put in an odour-proof plastic bag for transport. As soon as the plants are indoors, they should be removed from the odour-proof packaging immediately. Think carefully about how this transport can be done safely. Put the plants in the drying room immediately after removing the leaves and after manicuring, use odour neutralisers (ONA Block) for the harvest and possibly use an ozoniser for stronger odours.