Chop means harvest: cutting the plant, or its branches, at the end of flowering so drying can begin. "Chop day" is the day it happens.
In practice
Growers decide when to chop by looking at trichome heads under a loupe. GenetixBay suggests a mix: a few clear, mostly cloudy, some amber; the exact balance is personal preference. Plants are often cut as whole plants or large branches and hung, or broken down for wet trimming, depending on whether the grower prefers wet or dry trim.
Two pre-chop rituals are not recommended here. Pre-harvest flushing starves the plant during the weeks it is packing on its final weight and resin, and 24-72 hours of darkness before chop has no credible evidence of benefit.
Myth check
GenetixBay positions: flushing before chop is a Myth and actively harmful; taper nitrogen instead and keep feeding the rest. Darkness before harvest is a Myth; the founder has offered a 50-pack of seeds for 20+ years to anyone who finds a sound peer-reviewed study showing a benefit, and nobody has claimed it. See the flush debate and Mythbusters.
Trichome heads are the bulbous resin-filled tops of capitate glandular trichomes, where cannabis makes and stores nearly all its cannabinoids and terpenes; they are the raw material of hash.A small handheld magnifier, typically 30-60x for cannabis use, used to inspect trichome heads and spot pests and male flowers.Trimming sugar leaves from buds immediately after harvest, while the plant is still fresh, before drying.Trimming sugar leaves after buds have dried, leaving the leaves on during the dry to slow it and protect the bud.Feeding only plain water for days or weeks before harvest to "clean" the plant; GenetixBay rates it a Myth that harms yield, unlike a root-zone salt flush.Gradually cutting nitrogen in late flower, toward zero near the finish, while still feeding phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur and micronutrients; GenetixBay's alternative to flushing.The practice of keeping plants in total darkness for 24-72 hours before cutting to boost resin; GenetixBay rates it a Myth and runs a standing challenge against it.The maturity of glandular trichome heads, read by colour under magnification: clear (immature), cloudy or milky (mature), then amber (ageing).Drying harvested cannabis by hanging branches upside down in a dark, controlled room so buds dry slowly with even airflow around them.
