I'm using it to combat pain, nausea and insomnia (pancreatic cancer) which makes me watch trichomes pretty closely. And I agree completely regarding the pistils because the strain Ive grown outside twice and inside twice now never stops growing new white pistils as they brown up, new white ones pop in (even at 70% amber). After they dry of course they go to amber Great point, its definitely about the trichomes and then from there how you like your high. While the THC degrades, CBDs etc start forming changing the high completely.
sorry to hear brother... But i would say in your case you will want amber... but i think you would find 30-50% a lil more helpful for you... as it should provide a nice buzz then chill down to a couchlock. 70% amber is allot... but strain is also important a nice indica should do you well..imo gluck mate Slinger
I'll definitely agree with ya on trichs and only certain strains completely receeding.. I just pulled my 8-mile main cola that had about 10% amber.. Still had a few white hairs, but her trichs were looking amazing.. Figured might as well.. Sneak Peak.. So far I've noticed that barney's lsd does well with the receeding method, but the g-13 blueberry gum does not.. I like to grow one, clone and compare when I get a chance.. Maybe we could get us a list going of what strains are like at different times to compare potency.. I definitely think your input should be added to the post for sure though.. As a for the more advanced grower kinda thing and zeus's for the newby.. Give people a starting point incase they don't understand trichs and then set them up for success by going more indepth..
well i dont know how far im into flowering but my pistils are oranged and the seed brackets are full but my leaves are still green and i cant tell if its ready i got my plants as a clone on april 3rd and now its july maybe i got 2 weeks or more but its a purple strain shouldnt have turned purple by now cos its been in flowering for sum time too
Can you post any pics and do you remember when you put her in 12/12 or has she been there since the beginning?
honestly i forgot when i put it in flowering :l and my camera sux too :l but my good friend told me to just cut off a bud and let it dry and smoke it and if its what i want chop chop i just cut off a bud and its drying so in two days or so i will see how she smokes but i will try my best to take a pic the strain is kens GDP i got her april 3rd at the grandaddy purp collective in la but they closed it ):
[quote name='samson32']I'll definitely agree with ya on trichs and only certain strains completely receeding.. I just pulled my 8-mile main cola that had about 10% amber.. Still had a few white hairs, but her trichs were looking amazing.. Figured might as well.. Sneak Peak.. Looking pretty amazing there! lol
aha... so i was right, thank you man for proving that certain strains have different circumstances. i was kinda hesitant to try this technique since its my first time harvesting. ill just stick to the norm and harvest when stuff are amber and cloudy. thanks!
So I have a question, and if anyone wants to look at my plants as a reference, the newest picture update will show u what I mean My plants are 3 different strains, each which should finish between 45-60 days.....Im on day 67, and my bud keeps shooting out new white hairs like its nobodies business, especially my dutch passion oasis. Trichs are taking a long time to mature as well. Every now and then as im looking thru my scope, ill notice an amber trich here or there, but its still mostly clear and cloudy trichs. You guys think I should just keep watering them and watering them? I already flushed each plant.
Depends on what type of smoke you want. Personally, I'd wait for the ambers to pop. Although there are strains that don't turn amber. So do some research on your strains and when most like to harvest. To add to this thread, I have 6 plants going in my grow right now (see link for trichome shots and bud shots) and they've all been in the same conditions save 1 (1 is using a plastic pot while all the others are using smart pots). 1 turned orange already (trichomes) but still had tons of white pistils so I chopped her. 2 have zero white pistils and all have receeded but are 90% cloudy with an occasional amber that I have to hunt for with a scope and the remaining 3 are still popping out new white pistils every day with straight cloudy trichomes only. I'm waiting like you Miscbrah.
Great thread...im a cpl of days away from choping my flash babylon autos... anyways thanks for the info... +rep
I think this post here is a good representation of reality unlike most of the other responses here. We do all have our opinions and the only thing you really can back them up with is action. Words here are meaningless. The bud stands alone so to speak. It can speak for itself in every persons hands. You the grower are the guide. When you cut it if it is what you had hoped for and gives the intended result then how can any other person say you are doing it wrong. In the end the only way to determine the definition of words like ripe or ready is to chemically analogize the plant matter. I personally don't have a laboratory at home capable of this no matter how much I wish I did. I tend to agree with this poster in that I like a few amber but not all amber, however there are strains I would prefer all amber and nothing else. I understand what the OP is getting at or rather the poster of the guide from whatever other venue it came from. I think for many years before things like high intensity scopes or loupes became the thing to do loads of growers managed just fine and had quality products. That being said I am all about advancing as technology advances. I am not gonna be in a wooden car in the age of steal so why should I just rely on my eyes anymore when I can magnify them to the point of absurdity. And now with that being said why would I only rely on the look of trichomes when I can compare that to what is known or I know of a strain and make my answer on all the factors based on importance to me personally at the time. Some strains do not resemble others when done. I would never not look at the trichomes. I would also never judge solely on that basis. Personally it is so simple to use a scope and my eyeballs without it. Why not use trichomes and other methods as a cross reference. With how little time this actually takes why not. In the end if you really cannot decide around a week before the strains average done time comes up take of a small nugget that would dry to pack a pipe. Smoke it before you cut it. If it is not right then I would wait an additional week. If it is... well you can go from there. Just my opinion and like our friend that I quoted here said there is no perfect way. The only way in the end to figure anything in life out really for most of us is experience. In my opinion the preferable way as well.
Alight I feel like i need a second opinion on this, My cannalope haze is 9 weeks into flowering this is my first grow, so this is also my first harvest and i could use some help. I used the radioshack scope to check the trichs and they look 70% cloudy 30% amber. Also I feel like the pistols have retracted or at least enough, I feel like im ready to chop today. Any feedback would be appreciated thanks.
at 30% amber ur past time to chop.. the amber will continue while drying, your gonna have some couch lock stuff there mate.. But a good start for you to compare with the next round...Good job bro
I have a harvest approaching, and so I have read this entire thread, the OP (the copied and pasted OP) and Budslinger are dancing to find the happy medium, but one thing I can add. My interpretation of the post is that it is designed to help noobs not chop too early, which just by the very nature of what we're doing is going to be a common occurrence. Harvesting is exciting! It's the payoff for all the diligence, scrutiny, and hard work! We want the product sooner than later if possible! There's a pitfall - a mathematical one. SOMEone is going to fall into it if someone else doesn't say something At 4.5 weeks into flowering a strain (see sig) I snipped some samples to read trichs. Guess what? I had about 10% amber. It takes this strain 75-90 days to finish. I was at 30+ days and had 10% amber. Tommy Boy would have chopped her down. A week later, the same plant had about 20% more trichs than before, but only about 1% more amber. That pushed the overall percentage under 10% amber. If you're going to harvest by trichs, you have to wait until after the primary production of them is waning, not waxing. Otherwise, you'll chop early regardless of whether you're waiting on pistils to recede or waiting for a percentage of amber. During peak of flowering, those percentages are HIGHLY unstable, so a combined method between plant maturity and trich counting would seem the wisest approach. However, Budslinger is all over it suggesting a sequential harvest. And I find that bit of advice the most useful for me personally, because I have 7 ladies all in different stages of done even though they all started at the same time. Once I see the buds plump (and some have started this) then I'll start counting trichs. Additionally, I'll be chopping tiny samples at different percentages to see what I like the best with a simple quickdry smoke test. My goal is to align, as closely as possible, the actual finishing of the bud with the percentage amber I prefer (10% at chop). Somewhere in there is the happy medium or "sweet spot" as Bud puts it.
I'll tell you what I know and then if anyone corrects me, please listen to them, because I dunno anything except what I read, and that isn't enough to judge whether what I'm reading is worth a shit, so you see the problem... That said, it's always going to be kind of a subjective decision. If you have some that are totally ripe by whatever standard you're using, and others that you know are way farther behind, then maybe some selective snipping is in order to keep the bud from being over-ripe. I can imagine that too much of that at once could shock the plant, but done wisely and somewhat slowly, I can't see the harm.
I take trichome readings from multiple buds/levels of the plants and judge that way along with the pistil development and have from time to time taken lower bud sites before upper and give the uppers a week or so longer to ripen.