How to Harvest the Most Fragrant Outdoor Plants

With the arrival of cooler days and shorter evenings comes the time to harvest the fruits of year-round work. Every grower knows that now it will show whether their care produced not only beautiful buds, but also a rich aroma. The scent of the harvest does not arise by itself – proper timing, gentle drying and patient curing are the key to an unmistakable flavor.

Before you start harvesting, let’s first clarify what influences the taste and aroma of your yield. First and foremost, it is the plant’s genetic makeup. Each cultivar (bred variety) has a specific genetic profile. This affects not only the plant’s appearance and growth characteristics, but also the content of secondary metabolites, such as various active compounds, flavonoids, and especially terpenes. Terpenes are aromatic compounds responsible for a plant’s scent and aroma and are part of the plant’s essential oils. It is the high amount of terpenes that will turn your harvest into a fragrant delicacy. The choice of cultivar is up to you, but the quality of the dried material is also influenced by how you care for the plants throughout the growing cycle and how you harvest, dry and store them.

You might be interested in: What do I need for an autumn harvest?

Fertilizing before harvest

If you planted in time in spring, in the second half of August you should observe the first signs of ripening on the plants. Buds will increase in volume and the previously white hairs on the flowers (stigmas) will gradually begin to brown. The speed of ripening depends on the weather and also on nutrition in the last two to three weeks before harvest. Many growers adjust the plant’s nutrition during this period to promote better ripening.

There are generally two ways to fertilize in the period before harvest. You can either water the plants with plain water (possibly pH-adjusted) or use one of the products for ripening. These can be divided into two categories depending on whether they leach nutrients from the substrate or, on the contrary, “lock” them and stop their uptake. Whichever method you choose, reduced nutrient supply will force the plants to concentrate all their energy on ripening instead of forming new flowers.

Your goal is to time the depletion of nutrients in the substrate with the plant’s natural life cycle. If you cut it off from nutrition too early or too quickly, ripening will instead slow down. When growing in substrates rich in organic nutrients (for example in garden beds) it is usually sufficient to water the plants with plain water about two to three weeks before harvest. Fertile soil contains enough microbes that break down organic matter into plant nutrients. When growing in sandy soils or inert substrates that do not retain many nutrients, it is more appropriate to fertilize the plants up to the last week before harvest.

You might be interested in: How to choose a fertilizer: Complete guide to buying nutrients for your plants

How to time the harvest

To make your harvest as fragrant as possible, you must harvest the plants at the moment when the buds contain the highest amount of terpenes. The ripeness of the flowers is best recognized by the color of the trichomes, which look like shiny fuzz on the plant’s surface. In fact, they are miniature glands that cover the entire plant, especially the flowers. Trichomes on the flowers (specifically glandular trichomes with a head and stalk) hide the greatest amount of secondary metabolites, including terpenes.

For observing trichomes, get a handheld microscope or a camera with macro capability offering at least thirtyfold magnification. Choose a representative resin-coated part of the bud and observe the color of the trichome heads. Glandular trichomes on the flowers look like small mushrooms with a long stalk and a rounded head. That head is initially transparent during trichome development and clouds as harvest approaches. Milky/cloudy heads on most trichomes indicate that the plant is mature. Overripe trichomes have an amber color, contain fewer secondary metabolites and have a less pronounced terpene profile.

You might be interested in: Legal cultivation from 1.1.2026: Overview of laws and rules

Harvesting and drying

Timing the harvest is far from the end of your chase for fragrant buds. Now you must properly harvest and dry the plants. Keep in mind that different cultivars may ripen differently. Some plants ripen uniformly, others from top to bottom. It is also true that buds exposed to light all day ripen faster than those that grow hidden in the shade. Especially with large outdoor plants, it may be better to harvest progressively. Start with the ripe buds and, if the weather allows, leave unripe flowers to ripen for a few more days.

The method of harvesting also affects the next part of the process, which is drying. The larger the harvested pieces of plant, the longer they will take to dry. The duration of drying is very important. If buds dry too quickly, the dried material will lose the majority of terpenes and will taste bitter. Too slow drying, on the other hand, increases the risk of mold ruining your yield. You can harvest the plants whole, divide them into segments, or harvest only the flowers and dry them on nets.

Under ideal conditions the drying process should take about two weeks. It is usually recommended to dry medicinal plants in a well-ventilated room or growbox without light access and at temperatures between 16 and 20 °C. Appropriate air humidity is also important and should be between 50–60 %. For these purposes dehumidifiers are great, but make sure warm air does not blow directly onto the drying flowers. Properly dried flowers can be recognized by the fact that they break off the main stem easily, yet feel slightly springy to the touch and do not crumble between the fingers.

You might be interested in: Essential equipment for an autumn harvest

Curing and storage

The final step to a perfectly fragrant harvest is curing, i.e., aging the dried material in controlled conditions. Similar to tobacco, curing evens out residual moisture in the plant material and highlights the plant’s terpene profile.

Glass or metal jars are best for curing and storing dried material, but you can also use sealable plastic bags or containers. Place the trimmed buds into the containers or bags and leave some space for air. It is usually recommended to fill the container to about three-quarters. Place the curing material in a dark place with a stable temperature between 15–18 °C.

In the first week, open the containers every day and let the material air out. Before closing, gently mix the buds in the container so fresh air reaches all of them. In the second week of curing, opening the containers two to three times a week is enough. In the following weeks and months, open and ventilate the containers at least once a week. If you want your harvest to retain freshness, we recommend placing humidity control packs in the containers.

For more tips and guides on legal cultivation visit our Higarden blog for beginner and advanced growers.