Cannabis Harvest Season 101: What Is Croptober?

Fall is the season of sungrown cannabis harvest. It’s a time when farmers finally get to see the results of a year’s worth of care, observation, and hard work.

But even if you’re not tending fields yourself, Croptober is an exciting moment in the cannabis world. This is when the freshest sungrown cultivars begin landing on dispensary shelves, offering a wide selection of flavors, aromas, and small-farm craftsmanship to explore and support.

Understanding the basics of the harvesting process can help you appreciate how those fragrant, delicious buds end up packed in your bowl or rolled in your joint.

To get you into the spirit of the season, here’s a 101 guide to Croptober.

What is “Harvest” in Cannabis?

Quick Definition: The process or period of gathering mature cannabis plants.

As October arrives and daylight hours shrink, the cannabis buds reach their peak ripeness. Farmers closely monitor their fields to determine the perfect time to harvest the plants, aiming to avoid frost, rain, and other adverse weather to ensure each nug is at the ideal trichome maturity.

Trichomes are tiny, bulbous, resin-filled glands that cover cannabis nugs and make them sticky to the touch. Inside each of them are the chemical compounds that make each nug flavorful and psychoactive, as each trichome is filled with molecules like cannabinoids and terpenes.

As the harvest season approaches, the plant matures and the trichomes' color shifts, signaling important changes in its chemistry.

This is why the timing of harvest plays a major role in the plant’s final expression. Cutting in early September rather than mid-October can significantly affect the buds' flavor and potency.

At Coastal Sun, the ideal harvest timing for us to harvest our sungrown fields depends on weather conditions and where the flower is off to next.

• For our 7g jars and 28g bags: We allow the trichomes to ripen as fully as possible, harvesting from September through late October and occasionally into November.

• For extractors: Plants destined for fresh-frozen solventless extraction are harvested slightly earlier, since extractors tend to prefer when trichomes are a little less mature.

Harvest is both a science and an art. One that requires careful observation, patience, and a deep understanding of how each plant reaches its peak.

What Is Croptober?

Quick Definition: A nickname for the sungrown cannabis harvest season (primarily October into early November).

Croptober is the cannabis world’s annual celebration of the sungrown harvest season. While farmers harvest from late September through early November, by mid-October and into winter, consumers get to enjoy the season’s abundance. This is when dispensaries begin stocking their shelves with fresh cultivars from sungrown farms.

Much like 420 or 710, Croptober has become its own holiday. Brands, farms, dispensaries, and communities host tastings, farm tours, and harvest celebrations that highlight the farmers, their craftsmanship, and the harvest’s offerings.

Celebrating the Heart of Harvest Season

Croptober is embraced in the cannabis industry as a season of abundance and gratitude. It’s the culmination of months of hard work and a celebration of sungrown cultivation and the farmers dedicated to producing exceptional cannabis.

Understanding the basics of harvest season is just the beginning of appreciating the nuance, care, and intention behind each sungrown nug.

If you’re ready to try our latest harvest, use the Store Locator to find some of Coastal Sun’s organic sungrown cannabis near you.