Written by Joshua Sosin

How Harvesting Cannabis Works

Harvesting cannabis plants isn’t just about chopping down plants and calling it a day. It’s a carefully timed process that makes all the difference in the final quality of the buds. Growers spend months nurturing their plants, but the real magic happens when they harvest at just the right moment and handle the drying and curing process properly.

Let’s take a look at how cannabis gets from the field (or grow room) to the perfect batch of fresh, flavorful flower.

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Table of Contents

• Knowing When to Harvest

• Getting Ready for Harvest

• How Growers Harvest Their Plants

• The Drying and Curing Process

• Storing the Buds for Long-Term Freshness

• Cannabis Cultivation and Mood

Knowing When to Harvest

Ask any grower, and they’ll tell you — timing the cannabis harvest is everything.

Cut too early, and you miss out on peak potency and full development. Wait too long, and the buds can lose some of their vibrant effects and flavors. Here's how growers know when it's officially cannabis harvest season.

Spotting the Signs of Maturity

One of the biggest indicators is the trichomes — the tiny, glistening resin glands on the buds.

Growers take a close look under a magnifier to check their color. Clear trichomes? Too soon. Milky or slightly amber trichomes? That’s the sweet spot. The color shift signals peak cannabinoid production, which means the strongest effects and best flavors.

The pistils, those wispy little hairs on the buds, also change color over time. When they start turning from white to orange or brown, that’s another clue that harvest time is near. Even the fan leaves give hints, yellowing as the plant directs its energy into the buds.

Getting Ready for Harvest

Once a grower decides their plants are ready, there’s still some prep work to do before the big chop.

Flushing the Plants

Many growers stop feeding their plants nutrients about two weeks before harvest, giving them only water.

This “flushing” process helps remove excess nutrients, leading to a cleaner, smoother smoke. Nobody wants harsh, chemical-tasting buds.

Picking the Right Time of Day

Believe it or not, the time of day matters for harvesting cannabis.

Growers usually harvest in the early morning or just before grow lights come on. That’s when terpene levels — those compounds responsible for cannabis’s unique flavors and aromas — are at their peak.

How Growers Harvest Their Plants

Now comes the part that everyone pictures when they think about harvesting — cutting down the plants. But even here, growers have different approaches.

Whole-Plant vs. Selective Harvesting

Some growers prefer to cut the entire plant at the base and hang it upside down to dry. This method is great for consistency and works especially well for small-batch, craft-grown cannabis.

Others take a more selective approach, snipping off the top buds first and letting the lower ones continue to develop. This technique is common when buds mature at different rates, giving every part of the plant a chance to reach its full potential.

Hand-Trimming vs. Machine-Trimming

Once the buds are cut, they need to be trimmed — and here’s where things can get a little tedious.

Hand-trimming is the go-to method for top-shelf cannabis, as it preserves the delicate trichomes and gives the buds a cleaner look. It’s time-consuming, but many growers swear by it.

On the other hand, large-scale operations often use trimming machines to speed up the process. While it saves time, machine-trimming can be a bit rough on the buds, knocking off some trichomes in the process.

The Drying and Curing Process

Harvesting might be done, but the work isn’t over yet. Drying and curing are what take cannabis from good to great.

The Drying Process

After harvest, growers hang the buds in a dark, ventilated space with temperatures around 60-70°F and humidity at 50-60%. The key to get buds properly dried is going slow and steady — rushing the process can result in harsh, less flavorful flower. It usually takes about a week for the buds to dry properly.

A good way to tell if they’re ready? The smaller stems should snap instead of bend.

Curing for Maximum Flavor

Once dried, the buds get sealed in airtight glass jars to cure. This step is crucial because it allows flavors and aromas to fully develop.

Growers “burp” the jars daily (opening them briefly to let out excess moisture and bring in fresh air) for the first couple of weeks. Some take their time and cure for a month or more — the longer the cure, the smoother and more complex the final product.

Storing the Buds for Long-Term Freshness

Even after all that work, proper storage is the only way to keep buds fresh. Growers store their cured flower in airtight glass jars and keep them in a cool, dark place. Many also use humidity control packs to maintain just the right amount of moisture, preventing the buds from drying out or getting too damp.

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