Hello, I am a first time grower and I hope to be able to pay it forward somewhere down the line 
In the first week of September I planted 6 white widows in my grown tent. In hindsight I should have only planted 4 so that they all got more light. A couple of the girls are taller and a couple others are runts of the litter.
So in the late fall I started to adjust the lighting schedule and in early December I started to see the first signs of flowering. I had been using Fox Farm organic nutrients but I have gone to only water as of about a week ago.
So… when to harvest? I’ve done some research - apparently when the buds start to harden that is a sign? Mine are to the point where many of them seem to have lost flexibility and - other than the very top of the bud - almost feels fake.
So, a few questions:
- The taller ones definitely have more well-defined buds. Is it safe to assume that they should be harvested?
- Is it possible to only harvest the top half of the plant and let the bottom develop more as it gets more light? Kind of a reverse-lollipop. Or is this kind of operation devastating to the plant at this stage?
I’ve included some pics - any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you in advance!
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Do you happen to have some closer pics?? Can you look at the trichomes with a magnifying scope or a jewelers loupe? You probably have a couple/few weeks to go, having started flower beginning December. Here’s the chart I use, ignore the bottom graph…
Edit… You can do a selective harvest and take buds as you prefer, just makes the process a little longer. Some prefer too though. Hope this helps!
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Agree with above look up selective harvesting either google or YouTube. You can do that but have to be careful not to stress out plant to much. Also try to get some pics of buds you think are ready, to be sure you can get a jewelry loop, or a clip on for your phone. I got a digital microscope 30 $ of Amazon. You are looking for what your tricomes look like. An example
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After I took these pics I think I still had a week or 2 left, there’s a great video I can’t find it right now but I’m sure someone will post it.
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Thank you so much for all of the responses! So is there a specific microscope / magnifying glass that is optimal for the analysis?
I took some higher resolution pics earlier today. It’s still hard to take great shots but they are certainly better than the previous pics:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1AS9RXh6ZX1sAyeg1ByMXqgCTj3dow42I?usp=sharing
Yeah, you’ll need something with magnification to check out the trichomes. As far as your buds go, you can absolutely harvest the taller buds first, and let the lower buds develop. It’s a common practice, though most people use LST so you don’t see it as much
Just go to Amazon and get a jewelers loupe for under $20. Works great
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