OK 2x white rhinos, 8th week into flowering. I have a 30x magnifer with a light. Not really sure how to use this thing, but im not a retard, kind of hard at times but last time i seen the top of the bud looked like what was suppose to be tricomes but they were green with crystals on them. Just looking for as much info as possible, they also look like theyve had a growth spurt in the last couple of weeks, and sucking up all my nutrients and water quickly.
thats all it is, i know you usually trim the tops when they turn amber and the lower buds usually take a bit longer. How do i know when to stop nutrients
Research must be done, but I'm in a giving mood so I'll help you out. Harvesting when the plant has clear trich's will leave much to be desired, and really give a little head rush, not much else. Harvesting when trichs are cloudy will get you high, but mainly a head stone, and not that full on high/stone you are looking for. What you want is a mix of 50/50 amber/cloudy. That is the ideal ripeness of the plant. Find your crystalliest bud, hold it steady and get a good look at your trichs. It may seem hard to understand what color they are, but trust me you do it long enough and you will be able to tell a noticeable difference between the three stages of development (clear/cloudy/amber in that order). Just know, and trust yourself. An amber trichome is easy to see. A cloudy/clear one may be harder to decipher. But what you have to understand is that the plant naturally progresses from clear to amber, and the middle mark is OK, but not best. It's just like any other fruit. I'm sure you've had a fruit that wasn't fully ripened, or vic-a-versa you've had a fruit that was perfectly ripened. There is a huge difference between the two, and it's the same with your bud. You can harvest when the trichs are cloudy, but you're only cheating yourself out of what could be amazing ripe bud. In general when I see about 1/3 amber, I start flushing as that means pretty much anytime afterward the plant is ready, and adding the 5-14 days post-flush will just be added icing to the cake (or in this case icing to bud? ). As far as harvesting top to bottom, that's totally up to you, I've done that before but honestly found no real advantage to doing it. But that's generally because I have a a semi-perpetual harvest going and don't really have the time/space/desire to do so. Once a plant is ready to me, she is ready, and I thank her for being so beautiful and doing such a good job, and then I give her a cut.
As soon as you notice they are turning amber stop giving them nutrients. Let them amber up for awhile and ONLY use water. Another tip is after about 6 weeks you should start spray feeding. This will also help your plant stay strong, other wise you could decrease its roots strength, nutrient intake, plant growth and other things. If you do wanna go this route just mix the nutrients into water and spray the plants down, just remember to check your Ph.
take some pics man! i have a 30x zoom with a light too. i use my droid camera plus my 30x to take pics
This should help. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er2Giw26ZUo&p=1675A7504A2FA903&playnext=1&index=14]YouTube - Scoping the Glandular Trichome[/ame]
Whatever you do, do not foliar feed as ohio grassroots has suggested. Never foliar feed past 4 weeks into flower unless you want mold. That is pretty much growing 101 and really BAD advice to be giving someone.
Watch this video, yer going to wanna clip them when they're first starting to show that they're turning amber.
Thats funny, even the directions on the back of ALL my foliar spray applications it says to stop 4 weeks into flower. To do otherwise is just a foolish risk for mold and bad advice. Read ANY gardening book (you should probbably read a couple if your foliar feeding 3 weeks until harvest.....I dam sure wouldnt want to smoke anything thats been foliar sprayed that close to harvest. Hope your not sharing! Most experienced gardners are prepping for flush 3 weeks from harvest and trying to eliminate nutrients and other nasties from the plant.........doh! Sorry to clutter your thread puredreamz but I hate when newbies try and give bad advice like foliar feeding past 4 weeks into flowering. Any experienced gardner will tell you different and most do not spray at all once flowers appear and begin to mature. You have been given great advice otherwise, especially the video that was posted. They were very accurate and right on target. Good luck!
Not a good practice to foliar feed while in flower...period.... When trichomes turn amber they are degrading, so your loosing potency... I chop when amber first appears, imo.. that is the best practice... The advise given about waiting for 50% amber is wrong and should not be followed.. You want to pull them when the thc level is the highest.. Thats when they are cloudy.. so... Watch for the ambers and when you spot em pull the plant.. they will continue to amber up a lil during the drying process.. You end up with about 10% amber.. perfect... and the most potent you can get it.. Hope this helps mate Slinger
you can but there is much higher chance of mold so why take the risk...this is not good advice for someone just learning about trichs to tell them to foliar feed. edit..what budslinger said bc his grows reflect the fact he knows whats up!
I've grown buds that were 50/50 and buds that had hardly gotten amber yet, and have noticed a huge difference. At 50/50 the plant has reached peak ripeness, and while it's a short time frame, it's the ideal time frame. At that point they do start to degrade if kept going. It's like I said about other fruits, they all have a peak ripeness, and after that start to go bad. You can chop at 10% amber, and while it's ripe, it's not 100% ripe. Perhaps a better way of putting it would be UP to 50/50 is what you want to shoot for, anything after that and you are losing potency, but I would by no means say you are losing potency while getting to that point. In my experience it only gets you more stoned/narcotic.
Pic 1 Pic2 Pic3 Trichomes are small appendages that look like hairs. They are produced by marijuana, and other plants. Female marijuana plants produce certain trichomes that are a rich source of THC. These trichomes can be found in their largest concentration on the buds. They start out clear, turn a milky color, then turn amber (light brown). The trichomes in picture 1 are clear. After the plant has flowered for a few weeks, the trichomes start to turn a milky color (picture 2). After a few more weeks, they will be totally milky in color. In the later stages of flowering, trichomes will turn to a light brown color (picture 3). The amount of time required to get to this point depends on the marijuana strain and the growing conditions. In picture 2 you can see the stems have started to turn from a clear color to a milky translucent color. For maximum THC content and a more cerebral and energetic high, harvest your plants when a majority of the trichomes on the plants in your garden are a fully milky translucent color. You can wait until most of the trichomes have started to turn amber, but the resulting marijuana will produce more of a sleepy body stone than it would if plants were harvested earlier. The trichome in picture 3 is about 90% amber, with just a trace of the milky translucent color it previously possessed. After the trichome is fully amber in color, the THC starts to degrade. This makes it very important to harvest marijuana at the time before a majority of the trichomes have attained a total amber color. If not, the marijuana will not be as potent as it could have been. On your first harvest, if you are having a hard time judging when to cut the plants down, a good rough guide as to when to harvest a plant is to wait until 50%-80% of the white pistils (hairs) have turned dark (usually brown or red) and about 10% of the trichomes start to turn amber. Do not be in too much of a rush and harvest when you see the first amber trichome. It is normal for a small number of trichomes to mature several weeks prior to optimal harvest time. But when 10% or more of the trichomes are turning amber and 50%-80% of the white pistils (hairs) have turned dark, you should consider harvesting your plants. Note that trichomes are too small to be seen properly with the human eye. To see them properly, use a pocket microscope rated at somewhere between 20x to 70x. The greatest concentration of trichomes can be found on the growing buds. Now with that out there(i can provide link to reputable source) IMe. Ive found that when the trichomes are 50% or even close to that its a very couchlock buzz and when its gone you crash hard. .Not to metion allot of strains wont even go that far amber.... A good test is track your timing, the breeders will tell you how long they run, check your trichomes when youve hit thier estimation, this will tell you what the breeder had in mind, this is merely a test as the enviornment effects maturity.... With all new growers its a great idea to start pulling them at cloudy, dry and cure at a week intravels.. test them urself to see where you like them best. As a caregiver I supply to very sick people that use it for medicine, I need the most potent I can get... On a side note I can also point you to quite a few veteran growers that have never seen an amber trichome... So my point is... dont wait for the amber and screw urself... Ive also noted IME, that when harvested at mostly cloudy the buzz last 4-5 hours and i bleieve that is directly linked to harvest timing.... Gluck op Hope ur having some fun with ur new hobby
Spray feeding? I didn't look at any post after yours but I don't think I would spray a budding plant with anything cause of mold. Edit: Ok thank you guys for helping him out.
get yourself a high powered microscope and look at the tricombes under that.. when 70% of them arent translucent and are dark orange youre ready
That would be past the point of degradation and a bad time to do so. Do what the video i post earlier says to do.