page_title: Cannabis cultivation
section_title: Harvesting, drying and curing
hierarchical_section_title: Cannabis cultivation / Harvesting, drying and curing
context_page_description: Cultivation techniques for other purposes differ.
context_section_description: There may be different goals when harvesting a plant:
  Seeds are harvested when fully developed and often after the accompanying buds have begun to deteriorate.
  Hemp grown for fiber is harvested before flowering,
  Cannabis grown for cloning is not allowed to flower at all.
  Cannabis grown for smoking
  A typical indicator that a plant is ready to be harvested for smoking, is when most trichomes have turned cloudy and 5% to 15% of the trichomes have turned a reddish brown/amber.
  In general, harvesting consists of drying and curing. Curing is an oxidization and polymerization process which takes place in sealed containers of cannabis, over time.
  Dry: Buds placed in a controlled atmosphere for removing moisture content
  Cure: Buds stored in sealed non-plastic container and left in dark place
  Ripeness is defined as the point where THC and other cannabinoid production has reached maximum levels, but before cannabinoids have begun to degrade/breakdown. This is seen under a 30–60x microscope by examining the trichomes on the flowers. When trichomes are undeveloped they are completely clear. They turn white/cloudy which is when trichomes have max levels of cannabinoids. Eventually trichomes start turning amber/purple/red, which is when cannabinoid content has started to degrade. Harvesting before most trichomes have turned white may reduce the overall potency and efficacy time. Harvesting too late (past 15% amber) produces more of a sleepiness effect as the THC degrades to CBN.
  Some growers use a brix to measure "sugar" content.
caption: Close-up of a female cannabis bud in flowering stage. White trichomes can be seen coating the surface, which darken as flowering progresses.
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