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It can be tricky to determine when to harvest your cannabis crop. Keep reading to learn more about the signs to look for and the best time to harvest.
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Deciding to Fim
Fiming is the process of removing the apical meristem ( Shoot tip) of a plant. This forces the plant to produce lateral growth or side shoots, resulting in a bushier plant. The main reasons to fim are to create more even canopies for light penetration, to thicken canopies to increase yield, or to slow vertical growth in order to control height.
Assessing your grow operation
It’s been a long season and your cannabis crop is finally ready to harvest. But before you start cutting down your plants, you need to take a close look at your grow operation and assess whether or not it’s time to fim.
Fimming, or “topping”, is a popular technique among cannabis growers that can be used to encourage plants to produce more buds. But while it can be a helpful tool, it’s not appropriate for every grow operation. In this article, we’ll discuss some of the things you need to consider before deciding whether or not to fim your plants.
One of the most important factors to consider is the size of your operation. If you’re growing on a large scale, then fimming can be a helpful way to increase yield. However, if you’re only growing a few plants, then fimming may not be necessary. In fact, it could even reduce the overall quality of your crop.
Another factor to consider is the strain of cannabis you’re growing. Some strains are more suited to fimming than others. If you’re unsure whether or not your strain will respond well to fimming, it’s always best to consult with a knowledgeable grower or seed bank.
Finally, you’ll need to decide when in the grow cycle you want to fim your plants. Fimming too early can shock the plant and delay flowering, while fimming too late can decrease yields. The best time to fim is usually when the plant has 5-6 nodes (the point where leaves branch off the stem).
Once you’ve considered all of these factors, you should have a good idea of whether or not fimming is right for your grow operation. If you decide that it is, then make sure to follow our guidelines on how to properly fim cannabis plants!
Determine your goals
As you determine when to FIM your cannabis, the first thing you need to do is figure out what your end goal is. Are you trying to increase yields? Improve the quality of your buds? Save time? Maximize efficiency?
Once you know what your goal is, you can begin to narrow down your window of opportunity. For example, if you’re looking to improve the quality of your buds, you’ll want to Fim during the flowering stage when the trichomes are most active.
On the other hand, if you’re trying to increase yields, Fimming early on in the vegetative stage will give your plants a chance to fill out and produce more bud sites.
Ultimately, the best time to Fim cannabis will depend on what YOU are trying to achieve. So take some time figure out your goals and go from there!
The Fiming Process
To maximize the yield of your cannabis crop, it is important to carefully control the fiming process. Fiming is the process of removing the larger fan leaves from the plant to allow more light and air to reach the buds. It is important to fim early enough so that the plant has time to recover, but not so early that the buds are not fully developed.
What is fiming?
Fimming is a cannabis cultivation technique that involves pinching off the main cola of a young cannabis plant. By removing the central stem, you encourage the growth of multiple new colas, which results in a bushier final product. Fimming can be done with either scissors or your fingers, and is typically performed when the plant is about 2-4 weeks old.
While fimming may seem counterintuitive (after all, you’re removing potential buds!), this technique can actually lead to bigger yields. That’s because each new cola that develops will be slightly smaller than the main cola, but there will be more of them. So, while you may end up with fewer grams per cola, you’ll have more colas overall.
Plus, by stimulating growth in the lower parts of the plant, fimming can also help to create a more even canopy. This even canopy will ensure that each bud receives an equal amount of light, which leads to more consistent bud development.
Overall, fimming is a great way to produce larger yields of high-quality cannabis. If you’re interested in trying this cultivation technique, make sure to start with a young plant that is at least 2-4 weeks old. And, as always, remember to keep an eye on your plants and trim them as needed!
How to fim
To fim, you want to wait until the plants have entered the vegetative stage and have grown at least two sets of leaves. Once they’ve reached this point, you can begin to fim them.
Start by choosing a branch that you want to fim. Using your fingers, gently bend the branch down so that it’s pointing towards the ground. Once it’s in position, take a sharp pair of scissors and make a 45-degree cut about ½ an inch above where the branch is bent.
Next, you need to choose another branch that’s growing in the opposite direction of the first one. Again, use your fingers to gently bend the second branch down so that it’s pointing towards the ground. Make a second 45-degree cut with your scissors about ½ an inch above where the branch is bent.
Now you should have two branches that are each pointing in opposite directions. Take some twine or string and tie them together at the base, making sure that the cuts you made are facing each other. The goal is to create a V shape with the two branches.
Once you’ve tied them together, all you need to do is wait for the plant to heal itself. This process is called “fiming” and it will force the plant to grow outwards instead of upwards. Fiming is a great way to increase yields and produce bushier plants.
After Fiming
It is best to wait until the leaves of the cannabis plant have yellowed and begun to die before you start the fiming process. Fiming allows you to increase the yield of your cannabis plants by encouraging the growth of new buds.
Curing your cannabis
your plants are cut down, it’s time to dry them out so that you can enjoy your home-grown cannabis. But even after you’ve dried your buds, they’re not quite ready to smoke. In order to bring out the best flavor and potency, your cannabis needs to go through a process called curing.
Curing is the key to great-tasting, long-lasting weed. Once you’ve trimmed and dried your buds, you need to cure them in jars for at least a few weeks (and up to several months), opening the jars every day to let them air out. This allows the chlorophyll to break down and prevents your weed from tasting too harsh or “green.”
Curing also helps preserve your weed so that it lasts longer. In fact, properly cured weed can be stored for years without losing its potency or flavor.
Storing your cannabis
Once you’ve harvested your cannabis, the clock starts ticking on its overall lifespan and potency. Here’s how to make your stash last as long as possible.
Cannabis is best when consumed within a few months of being harvested. After that, the THC begins to degrade, and the flavor begins to suffer. However, with proper storage, cannabis can last for up to a year without losing too much potency or flavor.
The key to storing cannabis is to keep it dry, dark, and cool. Heat, light, and moisture are all enemies of cannabis, so you’ll want to avoid them as much as possible. An airtight container stored in a dark cupboard or drawer is ideal. You can also store cannabis in the fridge or freezer if you’re planning on keeping it for more than six months.
