How to Harvest Outdoor Cannabis Plants

Have you successfully grown your first cannabis plant and are now anxiously awaiting harvest time? This beginner’s guide will help you know when to harvest, how to harvest, and what to do with your harvest once it’s ready.

When To Harvest Cannabis Plants

The first, hardest, and most important part of the harvest process is knowing when to do so.

If you are growing photoperiod cannabis plants here in the Northern hemisphere, October is generally the perfect time to begin harvest.

Ultimately, there is a lot of variation of when a plant can be considered “the best time,” depending on your unique situation and personal preference.

The first step is to ensure you are starting with female cannabis plants that have made it to the flowering stage.

To ensure you only grow female cannabis plants, you must start with feminized seeds or clones.

The plant will produce many large fan leaves during the growing process, from the seedling to the vegetative stage.

As the plant transitions into the flowering stage, generous amounts of trichomes begin to form on the flower buds and sugar leaves of mature plants.

This resin production on the mature cannabis plant produces the medicine we want, cannabinoids like THC and CBD.

Visual Changes

During this flowering phase, you will notice white pistils that look like long white hairs growing on the cannabis flowers.

As time nears, these pistils will undergo visual changes that will help you know when to harvest.

The Trichome Method

Along with observing the visual changes in the pistils, experienced growers use the trichome method to pick the ideal harvest time.

It is a good idea to get a magnifying glass or jeweler’s loupe to get a closer look, as the naked eye does not easily see these tiny resin glands.

Early in the season, the trichomes will appear completely clear during the flowering stage.

As the plant matures and gets closer to the proper time for harvest, the trichome color will begin to change.

The change will transition from clear trichomes to cloudy trichomes to amber trichomes.

As a general rule of thumb, the closer the trichomes get to an amber color, the more likely they will have a sedative, sleepy effect.

Knowing when to harvest the plants will be up to you and your preferred experience.

There’s No ‘Perfect’ Time

Keep in mind that different cannabis strains may be ready at different times.

Different strains from Indica plants or Sativa plants will have unique growing requirements.

If this is your first time growing, keep a close eye on any mold or bud rot developing in the growing plant.

Gather Your Materials

Once you’re confident you know it’s the right time to harvest, the next step is to take some time and gather your materials before getting started.

These materials are not required but can help set you up for a successful experience.

Prepare Your Drying Space

After the plant is cut down, it will need to be dried.

The drying process helps to remove any moisture that could cause your final product to mold or develop mildew.

For best results, preparing your drying space before getting started is important.

There’s nothing worse than cutting down your weed plants only to find yourself unprepared for the next step.

Your drying space doesn’t need to be fancy initially; you can always upgrade and expand over time.

Ideally, in your drying room, like your grow room, you want to be able to control the following:

• Airflow – good airflow is essential
• Humidity – how much humidity is in the room
• Temperature – you don’t want it too hot or too cold
• Light – a dark place is ideal

Then, you will need to consider how you will hang the plants.

You can use a tension line across the room to hang the plants or invest in these convenient drying racks.

Remove the Fan Leaves

Now that you know it’s the right time to harvest and have gathered your materials and prepared your drying space, it’s time to start!

The first step is removing the fan leaves or the large ones that protrude from the plant’s branches.

It is important to remember the difference between fan leaves and sugar leaves at this time. For this step, we are just removing the fan leaves.

There are many different ways to do this. I prefer to trim these fan leaves while the plant is still growing in the ground.

I typically start a few days before I want to harvest and enjoy my time spent out in the garden. Of course, you can do this inside if you desire.

Keep in mind these leaves contain very few trichomes and therefore are not that potent.

They also contain a lot of chlorophyll, which means they will taste very strong and transfer a lot of green color to your final product.

You can save them for edibles, but know that the benefits will be more nutritional than medicinal.

Cut Down the Plant or By Branch

Once you have removed all the fan leaves from the plant, it is time to cut them down and bring them into your drying space.

Depending on your plant size, you can cut it down branch by branch, starting with the main stem, or cut the entire plant down at once.

Keep in mind the space available for drying and what would work best for your set-up.

Wash The Plant

This step is optional, but many outdoor cannabis growers prefer to wash the plant before drying.

Outdoor plants can collect unwanted environmental factors like bugs or debris.

A gentle wash in clean water will not harm the plant or its potency, but it can help to remove any unwanted material.

Hang to Dry

After deciding whether you want wet or dry trim, it’s time to hang the plants to dry.

In your drying room, hang the plants or branches upside down from your line or place them on a drying rack.

In most cases, the buds on large branches are sturdy enough to hold up the branch and rest on the line.

If you have trouble with this or need more space, use coat hangers and clips to clip the branches to the hanger or set up a drying rack.

How long you need to dry the flower will depend on your plant’s moisture level and the drying room conditions.

For my harvest, we aim for the following

• Days 1-3: Temperature: 64-68°F, Humidity: 50%
• Day 4 -7: Temperature: 64-68°F, Humidity: 50% » Increase the humidity by 5% every day up to 70% humidity

Trim Additional Leaves

You will often want to trim more leaves from the plant than just the fan leaves.

Sugar leaves are small leaves that grow near the cannabis buds.

They are not ideal for smoking, but they contain trichomes, which is worth saving for edibles and topicals.

Cut Down to Buds

Once the buds and brings are completely dry, they can come out of the drying room.

If you are dry trimming this can be done now.

Jar to Cure

The final step is to cure the flower, which is relatively easy.

A good cure can help enhance the plant’s overall experience by preserving the cannabinoids and terpene profile.

To get started, gather your mason jars and place a Boveda pack in each one.

This pack will help control the humidity and prevent mold.

Then, place your freshly dried and cut buds into the mason jar. Secure the lid. This begins the curing process.

During the curing stage, you will leave the flower buds in the glass mason jars with the lids on.

You will then remove the lids for a specific time each day, a technique known as “burping.”

For my harvest, we aim for the following

• Temperature: 68-69°F
• Humidity: 64% » 56-70% humidity is ideal. Above 70% is too wet, and the bud should be removed from the jar and dried further.
• Action: Burp daily by removing the lid from the jar and allowing the contents of the jar to breathe. After 20 minutes, reattach the lid.
• Frequency: Repeat the burping process every day for 4 weeks.
• Storage: The jars are ready for long-term storage after the 4-week curing process. Aim for 59-63% humidity.