Harvest and post-harvest tools for cannabis
Harvest timing, trim planning, dry room sizing, cure tracking, yield economics. The back half of your grow cycle — done well, it amplifies everything you built in flower; done sloppy, it undoes weeks of perfect environmental and feeding work in 72 hours.
Cannabis harvest toolkit
Every harvest and post-harvest calculator in the cannabis suite. None are live yet — all currently in active build. Each tool will run with cannabis-specific defaults: trichome maturity windows by genetics, drying targets calibrated for cannabis, cure jar RH ranges that produce smooth smoke and stable storage.
Harvest Window Planner
Predict the ideal harvest window based on trichome maturity, pistil color, and breeder-recommended flower duration. Indica genetics finish faster than sativa; calculator tracks both signals and tells you when to flush and when to chop.
Harvest Yield Planner
Plan everything you need from chop day forward in one tool. Input plant count + tent size + estimated wet yield. Get dry weight estimate, trim time hours, jar count, Boveda pack sizing, and required hanging space — all calculated from the same input chain.
Dry Room Environment Calculator
Size the dry room or tent against your harvest weight. Cannabis dries best at 60–70°F and 55–60% RH with minimal direct airflow. Tool calculates dehumidifier capacity, AC needs, and required hanging space for your harvest size.
Harvest Cost & Profit Estimator
Calculate the per-gram cost of your grow cycle (electricity, nutrients, supplies, time) against your harvest yield. Useful for understanding which strains and methods produce the best ROI, and what dispensary prices represent in real economics.
Harvest is just one phase
Cannabis harvest questions
When should I harvest cannabis based on trichomes?
The trichome heads are your harvest signal. Three colors to track: clear (immature, harsh smoke), cloudy (mature THC, peak potency), amber (degraded to CBN, more sedative). Harvest with most trichomes cloudy and 10–20% amber for balanced effects. Mostly cloudy with a few amber for energetic, head-focused effects. 30%+ amber for body-heavy, sedative effects. Use a jeweler's loupe (60x or 100x) or USB microscope — phone cameras aren't reliable. Check trichomes on bud sites, not on sugar leaves (sugar leaf trichomes mature faster and mislead the call).
What's the right temperature and humidity for drying cannabis?
60–70°F and 55–60% RH for 10–14 days is the standard target. Below 55% RH dries too fast and produces hay-like flavor. Above 65% RH risks mold and bud rot. Below 60°F slows drying excessively; above 75°F degrades terpenes and burns off cannabinoids. The room should have minimal direct airflow on buds — gentle circulation only, never fans pointing at hanging branches. Keep dark or near-dark to preserve trichomes from light degradation.
How long should I cure cannabis in jars?
Minimum 2 weeks for smokable quality. 4–6 weeks for noticeably improved smoothness. 3+ months for full cure depth. Cure jars at 58–62% RH using Boveda or Integra packs. First week: open ("burp") jars 2–3 times daily for 5–10 minutes to release moisture and exchange air. Second week: burp once daily. After 2 weeks: burp once a week, then once a month. Cure quality plateaus around 3 months but stays excellent for 6–12 months when stored cool, dark, and properly humidity-controlled.
How much wet weight will I get from a cannabis plant?
Wildly variable based on training, light, and genetics. Rough averages for indoor cannabis under good conditions: untrained photo plants in 5-gal pots produce 3–6 oz dry per plant (12–24 oz wet). LST-trained photos in 5–7 gal pots: 4–8 oz dry. ScrOG photos: 6–12 oz dry. Autoflowers in 3-gal pots: 1–3 oz dry. The Wet-to-Dry Estimator (in development) will run these numbers more precisely against your plant count and tent size. Yield depends massively on PPFD at canopy — every 100 PPFD below 800 in flower costs measurable yield.
Should I trim wet or dry?
Both work — debate is religious among growers. Wet trim (right after harvest, before drying) is faster and easier on hands, but risks faster drying that loses terpenes and produces harsher smoke. Dry trim (after the 10–14 day dry) preserves more terpenes and produces smoother smoke, but takes longer and the dried sugar leaves are tedious to remove. Higher humidity climates favor wet trim (faster drying = less mold risk). Dry climates favor dry trim. For first-time growers: pick whichever sounds less painful — both produce good results when the rest of the harvest workflow is dialed in.
Do I need to flush before harvest?
Not as religiously as folklore suggests, but yes for quality cure. The pre-harvest flush — feeding plain pH'd water for the last 7–14 days of flower — clears excess salts from the substrate, which translates to smoother smoke and whiter ash post-cure. Modern research suggests the difference is smaller than older grower wisdom claims, but most growers can taste the difference between flushed and unflushed bud. Flush longer in soil (10–14 days), shorter in coco/hydro (5–7 days). Cannabis Nutrients sub-hub will eventually have a Flush Tracker to time it accurately against your finish date.