Harvest planning calculator

Estimate wet biomass, dry weight, labor, daily harvest pace, and drying-area batches before your critical harvest window.

Plan your harvest volume

count
lb

Common harvest sizes

Set your dry yield and schedule assumptions

%
%
days
crew

Planning reminder: Wet harvest drives labor and drying capacity; dry trimmed yield drives packaging and inventory.

Visible formula: Wet harvest, then dry-down %, then post-dry loss %, then net dry yield.

Results

lb dry
7.5 lb dry
(3.4 kg dry)
Planning mode: Wet trim · 24 plants over 3 days
Wet trim usually leans harder on same-day labor and table throughput.
Wet harvest
Total wet harvest: 36 lb (16.3 kg)
Daily wet target: 12 lb/day (5.4 kg/day)
Plants per day: 8.0
Dry yield
After dry-down (22%): 7.92 lb (3.59 kg)
Post-dry handling loss (5%): 0.4 lb (0.18 kg)
Total dry yield after processing: 7.5 lb (3.4 kg)
Per-plant dry yield: 0.31 lb (0.14 kg)
Approximate dry ounces: 120 (3,413 g total)
Labor and drying space

* Labor and space results are planning estimates based on selected throughput and capacity assumptions.

Labor model: 2.5 lb / worker / hr (1.1 kg / worker / hr)
Total processing hours: 14.4
Hours per day: 4.8
Hours per worker per day: 1.6
Drying capacity per batch: 30 lb (13.6 kg)
Drying batches needed: 2 (rounded up)

Recommended For Your Reservoir · ~36 lb est. wet harvest · 2 drying batches

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Harvest workflow and quick checks

Daily harvest target

Plan around roughly 8.0 plants and 12 lb/day wet per day to stay inside the selected harvest window.

Labor pacing

At the current assumptions, each worker needs to carry about 1.6 hours/day of harvest throughput, based on 2.5 wet lb/hr per worker.

Drying area load

This plan needs 2 drying batches at the current room capacity of 30 wet lb per batch.

Pack-out preview

Expected dry yield is about 120 dry ounces before final grading, packaging choices, and QC holds.

Common questions about harvest planning

What is the harvest planning calculator?

Use it to estimate incoming wet biomass, likely dry weight after processing, and whether your crew and drying space can absorb the load.

It is built to surface bottlenecks before harvest day, not during cleanup.

How to use this calculator

  • Enter plants, wet yield, and dry-down assumptions.
  • Set harvest window and worker count.
  • Add processing pace and drying capacity in advanced settings.
  • Review daily targets and drying batches.
  • Use conservative numbers first.

Harvest week support

Planning checkpoints before cut day

Same slot as the reservoir page’s support section, tuned for harvest ops instead.

  • Crew throughput

    Match people and stations to the wet pounds actually coming down each day.

  • Drying-area load

    Check whether room capacity forces staged harvests or extra hanging space.

  • Pack-out forecast

    Use the dry yield estimate for bins, labels, and downstream handoff planning.

How to plan your harvest

What You Need

  • Plant count for the harvest window
  • Expected wet yield per plant
  • Estimated dry-down percentage
  • Crew size, processing throughput, and drying space estimate

Why Harvest Planning Matters

  • Too much wet biomass for the room creates drying bottlenecks fast.
  • Labor hours stack up faster than most first estimates.
  • Daily targets keep crews, racks, and transfer carts moving in sync.
  • Dry yield projections help packaging and sales planning before cut day.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using best-case yield only: Start conservative unless you already have repeatable crop data.

Ignoring dry-down loss: Wet weight is not the same as saleable dry yield after processing.

Forgetting labor throughput: A room can outgrow the crew before anyone notices.

Skipping drying capacity: If the room can only hold half the crop, you need staged cuts or extra space.

Planning Steps

1. Count harvest-ready plants

Use the number likely to finish in the same harvest wave.

2. Estimate wet yield per plant

Pull from recent runs, crop notes, or a realistic midpoint rather than a best-case number.

3. Enter dry-down and loss

Let the calculator turn wet harvest into a dry planning weight.

4. Enter crew and drying capacity

This shows whether labor or rack space becomes the first constraint.

5. Review daily harvest targets

Use the results to split plants, pounds, and hours across the work window.

Quick Reference

Core formula:

Dry yield = wet harvest × dry-down % × (1 - loss %)

Labor hours ≈ wet harvest ÷ processing throughput

Important Reminder

  • Wet and dry numbers are different jobs: labor and drying space care about wet biomass; packaging and inventory care about dry yield after processing.
  • Staggered harvests change the math: if you cut half the room now and half later, plan each wave separately.
  • Use conservative assumptions first: it is easier to absorb upside than rescue an overloaded work area.

Post-harvest

Equip the harvest workspace

~36 lb est. wet harvest · 2 drying batches

Drying-room climate

Controllers and circulation to keep the space stable under fresh biomass load.

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Harvest logistics in brief

01Moisture loss after harvest

Fresh plant tissue is mostly water. During drying you remove much of that water while keeping enough final moisture for stable storage and quality—your dry yield % turns wet bench weights into a planning dry weight.

If your historical runs land near 22% of wet weight dry, then about 100 lb wet turns into 22 lb dry before handling losses—use your own crop data when you have it.

Early dry-down

The first day or two set the tone: good airflow and steady relative humidity reduce spoilage risk without flash-drying the outer layers of the load.

02Processing throughput (wet lb / hour)

WorkflowTypical range
Mechanical strip / buck assist15-40+ lb
Hand processing, same-day bench work1.5-3.0 lb
Slow, detail-heavy hand work0.5-1.0 lb
Hang whole (minimal bench time day one)5.0-8.0 lb

*Wet weight per worker-hour varies widely with crop type, canopy density, and how much material you move the same day.

Drying-space environment

Drying capacity is the wet mass your racks, lines, or shelves can hold per batch and the dehumidification and airflow that can process that water safely. Large wet loads add a lot of moisture to the air simultaneously—plan equipment accordingly.

Typical duration
10-14 days
Reference temp
60° F (15.5° C)
Reference RH
~60%

The complete guide to harvest planning: wet biomass, dry weight, labor scheduling, drying capacity, and quality checks after harvest

Harvest planning is a capacity question, not only a yield question. The crop may be ready on paper, but drying space, labor throughput, and daily wet mass still have to match what is coming off the bench or out of the tunnel without stacking delays or quality issues.

Wet mass sets the labor and dry-room load

Wet biomass is what crews cut, carry, hang, and stage. It fills racks, bins, and carts before the dry weight you will pack or ship even exists. If the wet plan overwhelms one bottleneck—people, square footage, or air handling—the rest of the schedule slips.

Dry weight is your inventory planning number

Use the dry estimate for containers, labels, storage, and downstream handoff. Separating wet workflow from dry inventory avoids treating one rounded number as if it solved both problems.

Daily targets show constraints early

Totals hide overload. Plants per day, wet mass per day, and hours per worker expose whether the window is realistic. If the plan needs very long shifts, widen the window, add staged harvests, or reduce same-day wet intake.

Planning habit

Start conservative on dry yield % and loss margin when you lack history. Upside is easier to absorb than an overloaded drying area or crew schedule.

Drying batches often set the calendar

Teams sometimes discover drying space is the real limit, not field or bench speed. If only one wet batch fits at a time, later cuts must wait for adequate dry-down before the next load—factor that into the harvest window.

Throughput inputs are directional

The processing rate you enter should reflect your slowest real step—cutting, moving, hanging, or cleanup—not an idealized peak. Adjust after each run using actual wet weights, batch count, and hours worked.

Closing the loop with records

Log wet totals, dry totals, batches used, and labor hours after each harvest. Over a few cycles the assumptions on this page tighten, and the critical window stops feeling improvised.

What's next?

Keep dialing in your grow with these related tools.

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