harvesting and saving the plant??

I'm pretty much coming here to ask the questions as I get to each step.
I'm a first time grower, and I'm learning as I go along.

Some background info first:

<b>The grow:</b>

- 5 plants, each about 2 feet tall. I think they're california orange.
- 2 long ballasts. each one has flourescents (the red-spectrum plant/aquarium bulbs)
- large storage closet with one fan. Humidty used to be in the 90's, it's fixed now, peaking at 70 percent. most of the time it's 45% humidity

<b>First problem solved:</b>

I had an early problem with yellowing leaves wtih brown sticky spots on them.
I bought a nutrient product at a headshop called:\

- BOTANICARE Pure Plend Pro. (www.americanagritech.com)

and the plants are doing much better now. I threw my Miracle Gro in the garbage.

<b>About the plants: </b>

- I started the sprouts on May 18th.
- Started 12/12 light to bloom the plants on July 1st.
- As of today, I'm 48 days into bloom, and the tops are turning into large colons of bud.. the lower ones.. on the lower branches look like they're 2 weeks behind.
- the buds up top have some orange hairs, all buds have white hairs.


What I want to know is this: can I harvest the bud and still save the plant?
IF so.. what are the steps that need to be taken? What do I look for when it's time to harvest?

Ideally I really want to harvest the bud, cure/dry it, and save the plant,
and put it back into 18/6 light and get it a little bigger for next bloom.
If that's even possible without killing the plant. Has this ever been done?
or do you have to chop the whole plant and hang it?

Links are appreciated, but I really want to hear the advice straight from a grower in a way that an amateur first time grower can understand.

 

Re-vegging.
Cut off the top 2/3 of the plant with a sharp, sterile knife, set the remainder under 24/0 light, go very easy on veg nute's. It takes anywhere from 2--4 weeks for the plant to switch back to veg.
Then the plant will start growing new branches. After another month the plant can be set under 12/12 again for a 2nd harvest.

Why people seldom do it:
-Pot is an annual. Cutting off the top 2/3 of the plant and switching the light cycle really stresses the plant out. Some plants don't make it. Some die, some go into a kind os "suspended animation" where they don't do anything at all.
-Often the 2nd harvest is 1/2 as much yield as the initial harvest.
-In the approx. 8 weeks it takes the surviving plants to veg you could grow brand new plants, with a full yield.

 

true ^^^^^^^

 

Here's one nobody would think it'd survive.

26 days later under Mh light.counted that wrong its only 13 days

 

wow. one of my plants, the 6th, got attacked by the cat and looks very much like your stunted plant. It's like a Charlie Brown christmas tree.

Early on I cut the top chute on a couple of plants to compare them to
the others, and see if the yeild/growth is different.

The trimmed plants have 3 long low shoots eatch with a few bud sites already flowering on them.. easily 3x the bud sites as the ones I didn't trim.

So I was thinking of cutting off the top collons in the middle, and all the buds,
leaving a few leaves on each shoot, then putting it back into veg.
I only go through all the trouble because I have no idea on how to get seeds without
having them mailed and because of the paranoia that would go w/ that.

 

I think once/IF it gets some big leaf & with an already established root-ball it will grow big under the Mh light.
I read a book called Gold Harvest by G.Mayfield & he reckond that the crop was more potent due to the plant being more mature thats why I'm giving it a go cant hurt.
P.s counted wrong thats only 13 days