Pubdate: Thu, 12 Sep 2013
Source: Westword (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2013 Village Voice Media
Contact: http://www.westword.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?department=letters
Website: http://www.westword.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1616
Author: William Breathes

WHEN DO I HARVEST MY PLANTS?

Dear Stoner: I found a few seeds in a bag last winter and planted 
them in my back yard earlier this spring. I know enough to know I 
lucked out in getting a female plant, but when exactly do I harvest 
this thing? I can't find any definitive answers.

Green Greenthumb

Dear Green: Awesome. Nothing beats solar-powered, homegrown marijuana 
that you've toiled over and waited for all on your own (as you'll 
soon find out). Unfortunately, there is no exact answer here, as all 
plants mature differently, and there isn't any one thing that tells 
you a plant is ready. We suggest doing a lot of research at sites 
like ICMag.com and THCFarmer.com, but here's the short version:

If you know you pulled seeds from an indica plant, expect that to 
come sometime around mid-October. If you pulled the beans from a 
sativa, we hope you planted them in a movable planter and have a 
south-facing window, because they could take well into late November 
to become ripe.

Either way, you'll need to look out for a number of different things. 
On the surface, you're looking for the appearance of a ripe, stinky 
bud with swollen calxyes and a majority of the hairs (pistils) a 
reddish-orange color. A lot of plants will also start to yellow 
slightly, like the plant is getting fall foliage.

Once you think things are finished, get a magnifying glass so you can 
see the development of the crystal-like trichome glands growing on 
the plant. Timing is important here. Harvest early, when the 
trichomes are mostly silver, and you'll get more of a racy head buzz. 
Harvest them late, when most of the trichomes have turned dark, and 
the buzz is more heavy and stoney. That's particularly true with 
sativas and sativa hybrids.

Dear Stoner: Is there anything I can do to get higher when I smoke a bowl?

Sly Stoned

Dear Sly: You could try smoking larger bowls or putting some hash on 
top; those would be my first two suggestions. But if you've already 
tried those options, you could move on to sucking down some mango 
juice. Mangos (and lemongrass and hops) contain mycrene terpenes, 
which help the THC get into your brain faster. A lot of people swear 
by this little trick, with most agreeing that drinking mango juice 
(or lemongrass juice) about an hour before getting stoned can double 
the length of the effects.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom