Issue #725 - Sunday, March 15, 2026 Today's issue is about how to make every harvest go better. - How to clearly know when to harvest... Find out why harvest timing can feel so confusing, and learn a proven system to chop at the perfect time. Developed and honed by home growers!
- A
drying disaster... and how this grower saved his harvest - Johnny Pot Seed harvested a ton of weed, but after drying it smelled like hay. Learn how he fixed it. Now his buds smell like weed again!
- Humble equipment CAN grow top-shelf buds - This grower used a 100W LED in a small tent to grow 3.6 ounces of weed. Learn the process they used to ensure buds came out top-shelf!
Nebula Haze & Sirius
Fourside
Co-Founders, GrowWeedEasy.com
"The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." ~ Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace Why Harvest Timing Isn't Always Clear by Nebula Haze It's important to harvest at the right time for your strain. Just like fruit on a tree, your buds on a cannabis plant become “ripe”. Ripe buds have reached peak size, potency, smell, and density. How
do you tell when buds are ready to harvest? Visually checking buds is the fastest way to determine if buds are inside the harvest window. Not Ready Yet - At first, buds look like fluffy white hairs. Low THC. Ready to Harvest - Buds look solid, most hairs curled in. Max THC levels. (Pictured: White Rhino) For most strains, the harvest window is about 2 weeks long. This is the period when overall bud yields, density, smell, and THC are at their peak. After the harvest window has passed, buds slowly start losing potency as THC begins converting into sleepier CBN. Many growers look at trichomes under magnification for extra information on the best harvest time, though just looking at the buds can give a useful ballpark estimate. Ready to Harvest - Trichome heads look white or amber under magnification (most strains) The 3 "Ready to Harvest" Signals - Most hairs darken and curl in.
- Buds appear solid and feel firm.
- Trichomes turn white or amber (most strains)
Ready to harvest - Get max THC and density when you harvest at the right time. (Pictured: Runtz) Exceptions: What If Hairs and Trichomes Don't Agree? Unfortunately, some buds don't mature exactly the same way as others. When the hairs and the trichomes seem to be sending different signals, trust the trichomes. I recently harvested a GG4 x Zkittlez plant that had several white hairs left, but the buds were solid and trichomes indicated peak THC. Dense, hefty buds, but some hairs still white. Is it ready to harvest or not? With my phone camera, trichomes looked mostly white. My handy new magnifier confirmed trichomes were milky white. This bud is ready to harvest. I harvested the GG4 x Zkittlez plant that day. After being dried and cured, those buds are now rock hard, with lovely bud effects. Buds are dense and potent after drying and curing. Standard advice works most of the time, but some strains are rebellious and almost seem to enjoy breaking the rules. Rebel Without a Cause (Endless White Hairs) Another common "rebellious behavior" is some strains continually grow new "waves" of white hairs, even though the buds underneath are mature. That looks like this. This cannabis plant is ready to harvest, even though it just put out a bunch of white pistils in the last day or two. This type of strain can keep doing this for weeks, even though bud quality and yields are no longer improving.
Buds are solid, but this is the 3rd "wave" of white hairs since flowering started. Will it ever end? A closer look at the trichomes under a magnifier shows several amber (gold) trichome heads. That means the bud has already reached peak potency. Amber trichomes are a sign that the THC is starting to convert into sleepier CBN. When you see this many amber trichomes, it's time to harvest! (Even if there's still white hairs) Since the genetics of each strain express buds differently, it helps to see examples of what “ready to harvest” looks like for different strains. That’s why we have over 60 different strains featured in our Ready to Harvest picture
gallery. But if you want a more structured visual guide to get a deeper understanding of what to look out for, we're adding a picture-heavy decision guide PDF to accompany our digital book HARVEST. This new accompanying visual guide makes it easy to scan through pictures
and identify your exact bud type, for ideal harvest timing (even if you can’t clearly see those darn trichomes). All book owners get it free, released March 19! Have you ever had a "rebellious" cannabis plant which made it hard to determine harvest time? Hit reply and share your harvest stories!
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A drying disaster... and how this grower saved his harvest
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“Why does my cannabis smell like hay? It looks good, but it lost its 'weed smell' after drying.” ~Johnny Pot Seed This is a common challenge, and the problem typically appears during the bud drying process,
especially when the buds are dried with a method that does not match your local temperature and humidity. Choose a compatible drying method for your home to ensure zero hay smell. For most growers, like Johnny, a closet isn't ideal for drying weed.
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Luckily, even if the drying process didn't go perfectly, you can dramatically reduce (or even eliminate) hay smell, as well as help bring back the weed smell. The secret is to "cure" your buds. That means putting them in glass jars and opening them once daily ("burping jars") for a few weeks. And that worked for Johnny, too. "I did what you said
about putting the buds in jars with hygrometers and humidity packs. After 2 weeks, the buds smell like weed again! They also burn much better in joints now." ~Johnny Pot Seed Any "hay" smell fades during curing, while the "weed" smell gets stronger.... This process works best if you maintain a humidity in the jar around 60% RH. If buds are too wet or too dry, curing doesn't happen. Luckily, you can use a humidity pack that automatically maintains the humidity in the right range. Some growers add mini hygrometers to track the exact percentage. Humidity packs basically automate the curing process. Boveda Humidipaks are specifically made for
cannabis and can help maintain humidity at 58% for curing. If you like softer weed, get the 62% version. These can also safely rehydrate overdried buds. However, make sure to still open the jars every day even if you're using humidity packs. In addition to the right humidity, the curing process also needs fresh air and oxygen. Even if you harvested months ago and never cured your buds, they may still benefit from curing. Have you ever experienced "hay smell" after drying your weed? What did you do? Are you
familiar with humidity packs or hygrometers for curing?
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Weekly Spotlight: Small LEDs Grow Great Weed, Too!
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This grower used a 100W LED in a small tent to grow 3.6 ounces of weed.
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Since she trained all the plants to grow flat and wide in the vegetative stage, she was rewarded with a sea of buds in the flowering stage! She dried her buds in the grow tent, hanging upside down by the stem, with the exhaust fan on low, in a cool part of the house. Buds were done drying in about 4 days. Buds smell like candy and will "send you to the moon". Free Digital Tools on GrowWeedEasy.com Recommended Cannabis Seed Sources
These sources have gotten great reviews from our readers:
- Seed Supreme – Florida, United States
- ILGM (I Love Growing Marijuana) – California, United States
- North Atlantic Seed Co. – Maine, United States
- Seedsman – Ships from US & Europe
- MSNL – Netherlands bank with shipping centers in US, Canada &
UK.
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🌳 GrowWeedEasy Community Forum
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Who Runs GrowWeedEasy.com?
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Nebula Haze: When I first started growing, I struggled. Now, it is my mission to make it easy for new growers to get started while helping advanced growers get bigger, better yields with less time and money. We update/add articles every week. Anyone and everyone can grow if they want to! Current Favorite Strain:
Mandarin Cookies (learn more in my article about relaxing limonene) Learn which seed sources are recommended by Nebula Haze Sirius Fourside: Sirius Fourside is a hobbyist grower who has gained the bulk of his experience growing in water as a medium (deep water culture, bubbleponics). Copyright (c) 2026 GrowWeedEasy.com NOTE: If links aren't working or if pictures are not showing up properly, please view the full newsletter here: http://archive.aweber.com/gwe-updates Disclaimer: Grow Weed Easy only recommends products that we've either personally checked out ourselves, or that come from people we know and trust. For doing so, we may receive a commission. Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized Financial, Legal, or Medical Advice. The contributors to this magazine grow legally under their local laws but are not lawyers or medical professionals. Any decision to grow
marijuana should only be made after consulting with an experienced lawyer or other legal adviser. Any medical decisions should only be made after speaking with a doctor. Be safe! How Did I Sign Up For This Newsletter? Our records indicate that requested to be added to the GrowWeedEasy.com weekly newsletter at . Date: March 15, 2026
To unsubscribe, click here: https://www.aweber.com/z/r/?ThisIsATestEmail
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