Is It Best To Clip Buds One At A Time or All At Once?

Should you harvest the whole marijuana plant at once? Or, should you harvest the buds one at a time? What’s the best practice?

Let’s get something straight on the legality of this issue. Growing marijuana, and therefore harvesting it, is legal in many places. It’s legal for medical purposes in Canada. It’s also legal under state law in many US states. In Alaska the state constitution provides protection for growing up to 24 plants. You are also allowed, by law, to possess 4 ounces of marijuana under certain conditions without penalty.

Now that we’ve got the legalities taken care of, let’s get to the subject at hand. Is it worthwhile taking the whole plant all at once? Or is it better to be patient and clip it off one cola after another?

I say clip the colas one by one. The ones at the top of the plant mature first and grow biggest. However, if you leave the ones down below a little longer they’ll also get bigger. This technique is based, of course, on a smaller, indoor garden.

Why would you do otherwise? If you’ve got a big crop it might make sense to do it all at once. If you’re growing outside in a hard to reach area the same thing may apply.

You may have to harvest all at once for other reasons as well. For example, if you think someone has discovered your secret marijuana garden and you’re afraid that they’re about to raid it you should harvest all at once. Or, if you’re outside and the weather is turning cold and the plants are beginning to be frost damaged, again, harvest all at once. If mold sets in due to wet weather there is no sense in waiting. Salvage the crop.

On the other hand, if there’s no pressing reason to harvest all at once, don’t do it. The buds go through a process. They begin to develop. Then they grow bigger and the hairs and crystals swell and multiply. Then they start to dry out and turn orange or red.

Each bud develops on a different timeline, so let them go. Also, growth hormone flows to the top of the plant. The top bud grows most and first. They also get biggest.

You can actually manipulate this trait and bend, or espalier the plant. This involves bending the tips down, and results in lower nodes developing more. That’s another post.

But, if you clip off the top cola then you are. by default, manipulating the growth hormone. It will have to go to the lower buds. They will grow bigger and develop some more.

That means, of course, that you don’t want to just clip off the top bud at it’s base. Take the bud and all of the plant between it and the next bud down. There are two advantages to this. First, you leave some stem that helps with curing. Second, you divert the plant’s energy to the next bud in line.

So, should you harvest cannabis all at once? My answer is only if you have to. Otherwise harvest each bud when it’s ready. You’ll be happier with the results and you’ll get more bud.

Get info on ways to grow marijuana. Visit www.growyourwonstone.com to learn how to grow marijuana. Free reprint available from: Is It Best To Clip Buds One At A Time or All At Once?.