When To Harvest Medicinal Plants: Tips And Tricks For Timing It Right

December 27, 2021

What is the average time from planting to harvesting medicinal plants?

From seedling stage to harvest, medicinal plants have a broad range of growth periods. The duration of the growth cycle may depend on several factors, including growing medium, desired yield, and medicinal plants strain. This combination of factors means that you'll need to wait between six weeks and 16 weeks to harvest most medicinal plants. On average, you can expect between nine weeks and 12 weeks to elapse from planting to harvesting, but again, timing is contingent on a number of factors.

How to know when to harvest medicinal plants

As a grower you'll know that your medicinal plants are ready to harvest when you observe these visual clues:

Trichome color:

The appearance of the trichomes, the small resin glands on flowers, is one of the surest ways to tell it's time to harvest. Ideally, half of the trichomes should appear milky white and the others should be a vivid amber. Clear trichomes, on the other hand, indicate that it's a good idea to wait a little longer before harvest. Of all the signs to look for, trichome color is the most reliable. This color change might be hard to see with the naked eye, so make sure you have a magnifying glass handy.

Leaf color:

Another reliable indicator of when a medicinal plants plant is ready to harvest is the changing shades of the fan leaves. During the flowering stages, nitrogen gives the leaves their green color. When it's time to harvest, fan leaves will turn yellow and start to fall off as nitrogen decreases.

Curling leaves:

As the fan leaves turn from green to yellow, they may also curl and dry. The lack of moisture is a natural occurrence as medicinal plants take in less water when harvest time draws near.

Brown pistils:

For photoperiod medicinal plants, the pistils will turn brown at maturity. The optimal time to harvest is when about half the pistils are shaded brown. Similar to checking trichome colors, you'll want to have your magnifying glass handy for this step.

Bud shape:

Though not as surefire a way to know when it's time to harvest as the trichome test, the shape of the buds can still offer a few hints about the plant's maturity. Look for firm, tight buds on a medicinal plant as a sign that it's ready to harvest.

How can you tell if it's too early to harvest medicinal plants?

Trichomes will signal if your crop is not yet ready for harvest, just as they let you know when it's the best time to start harvesting. If the majority of trichomes are clear, then the medicinal plants are not ready to harvest. Clear trichomes indicate that resin production has not reached its peak and the resulting plants is likely to be less potent, flavorful, and aromatic.

How can you tell if it's too late to harvest medicinal plants?

Check the trichomes again and note the color. If you observe mostly amber trichomes, then the medicinal plants flowers are overripe. At this stage of development, the harvested plants will have an unpleasant taste. In addition, THC begin to degrade when amber trichomes overtake the milky white ones. In rare cases, trichomes can even begin to turn black if growers didn't harvest their medicinal plants. Besides the amber color, trichomes can also become noticeably brittle. Trichomes on overripe buds may even crumble in your hands.

Harvesting medicinal plants past its prime is not recommended but may be preferable to harvesting prematurely. The terpenes, which are believed to contain healing properties, can become more potent during a late harvest, but at the expense of scent and flavor.

Next steps after harvesting medicinal plants

Drying, trimming, and curing are the important next steps after you harvest medicinal plants. Once these steps are complete, your medicinal plants will be ready to enjoy or store for future use. If storing medicinal plants, be sure to keep it in a vacuum-sealed container in a cool, dark place for maximum freshness and shelf life.

The following are three best medicinal plants dryers:

ECO Farm Electric Medicinal Plants Dryer Machine

ECO Farm dryer machine could give you the perfect environment to dry your medicinal plants every time. Using advanced technology. ECO Farm provides you with an ideal temperature that has been tested exclusively for drying medicinal plants.

The appliance's fan could blow the warm, moist air out of the appliance via the air vents. This process continues for hours until the plant is dried to substantially lower water content.

Adjustable thermostat from 95-to-160 degrees Fahrenheit (F) [range from 35 ℃-70℃]; Built-in fan is designed to promote drying evenly without overheating, and the adjustable thermostat ensures that foods are dehydrated at their optimal temperature.

ECO Farm dryer machine could dry indoor growing plants for enhanced preservation: 5 stackable tray for flexible and easy plant removal, cleaning and increased airflow around your food for a more even and rapid dehydration.

Easy to see the inner details: The transparent lid allows for easy viewing and observing

ECO Farm dryer provides a controlled drying environment, meaning your indoor growing plant is perfectly dried in less time than it takes to hang dry. All while retaining potency, terpenes, and flavor.

Save Time, Money, and Space.

How long does it take to dry medicinal plants? Typically it can take a week or more until it’s fully dried. Not to mention, drying medicinal plants takes up a lot of valuable space. Space that could be used to expand your grow.

Why not save time, space, and ultimately money when you’re drying your medicinal plants? ECO Farm takes up a little over one square foot and can dry at least 6 ounces in that small space.

ECO Farm 5 Trays Medicinal Plants Dryer Machine For Household

TOO LOW TEMPERATURE

Drying your plant at too low a temperature, low 70’s and below, will not allow moisture to leave your medicinal plants at a consistent rate. This puts you at risk for losing your harvest to mold. Not to mention a loss of aroma and potency.

TOO HIGH TEMPERATURE

Drying your plant at too high a temperature, 90’s and above, will result in bud that is overdried, flavorless, and harsh to smoke.

EFFECTIVE USING WAY

The plant dryer was created to share this process with other growers, like you, who know that there’s a better way to dry indoor growing medicinal plants and get consistent, impressive results every time.

A better way, the indoor growing medicinal plants dryer way, results in bud that is perfectly dried every time. All while retaining the terpenes, flavor, and THC content that you’re looking for.

Save Time, Money, and Space Using this dryer machine

How long does it take to dry indoor growing medicinal plants ? Typically it can take a week or more until it’s fully dried. Not to mention, drying indoor growing plant takes up a lot of valuable space. Space that could be used to expand your grow.

Why not save time, space, and ultimately money when you’re drying your medicinal plants? Indoor growing medicinal plants dryer takes up a little over one square foot and can dry at least 6 ounces in that small space.

The indoor growing medicinal plants dryer provides a controlled drying environment, meaning your plant is perfectly dried in less time than it takes to hang dry. All while retaining potency, terpenes, and flavor.

EASY TO USE

Simply trim your buds, fill the trays, and turn the dryer on. Dryer machine does the rest.

MAXIMUM POTENCY AND TERPENES

Retain maximum THC levels, aroma, and flavor with every dry.

COST EFFECTIVE

No more wasting money and effort on lost harvests.

IDEAL TEMPERATURE

Dryer machine has a low, pre-set temperature that is set to perfectly dry your medicinal plants every time.

ECO Farm 5 Trays Dryer Dehydration Machine

How long does it take to dry indoor growing plants? Typically it can take a week or more until it’s fully dried. Not to mention, drying indoor growing plant takes up a lot of valuable space. Space that could be used to expand your grow.

Why not save time, space, and ultimately money when you’re drying your indoor growing plants? ECO Farm takes up a little over one square foot and can dry at least 6 ounces in that small space.

The ECO Farm dryer provides a controlled drying environment, meaning your plant is perfectly dried in less time than it takes to hang dry. All while retaining potency, terpenes, and flavor.

If you are also interested in other grow equipments, welcome to visit our website: ecofarm.ca

Our emails address is: business@ecofarm.ca

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