sometimes the hairs can change color when you don't expect it .. i've heard it's best to measure trichromes instead of watching the hair color when deciding to harvest or not.
Disregard the hairs. Its the trichomes you want to be watching. Get a 30x or higher magnifier to check them. You want to aim for 25-50% amber and then it'll be finished. The hairs can darken to orange/red at any point in the second half of the grow. Some strains it happens earlier then others.
Some strains will still be all or mostly white when fully mature... this is how some of the "White" family of strains got their name. I've also seen strains where the pistils turned pink instead of orange. For the record, you're looking for orange-ish, reddish colors to signal that a plant is moving toward peak ripeness. Brown hairs usually means you've been pollenated. At 5 weeks, they should still be pretty much all white. They'll do the most growing and changing during weeks 7 and 8. That said, everyone else is right about the trichomes... That's the only real way to tell when you should harvest. I have to say that the 30x, 60x and 100x loupes are WAY too powerful for me. I can see trichs very clearly @ 10x magnification, and 15x is more than enough. HPS lights make orange (amber) trichs harder to see, so move them to a more natural light, or even under a MH to check. After a few grows you may not even have to use the loupe. Plants at 50% or more amber will look like they're coated with sand rather than sugar. Experiment to find the high you like. If you're going for heavy amber (70% or more) then you'll need to let them go an extra few weeks.
yeah i got one of those jewler's eyepieces from a pawn shop, no sign of amber in the trich's. i know most people wait for the 50 50 cloudy amber trichome mix but what if you have it more towards the milky side? more narcotic high then a body high... correct?
correct. Many people harvest when most of the trichs are milky rather then amber due to personal preference. the 25-50% amber is just a guideline, not a rule that must be followed Its up to you man.
Absolutely. When I started I liked to harvest when trichs were milky as well, and maybe only 25%-30% amber. After a while though, I figured out that I was just using that as an excuse to be impatient and cut them down early. Given what I know now, I'd never go back to picking before 50/50. It's all about patience, and at first I just didn't have any. I'm actually re-growing some old strains that I didn't let amber up the first time out - gonna try them again @ 50% or more and see if they're worthy to stay in my garden. In my experience, it also seems like the strains I've grown don't finish putting on weight/size until the trichs go at least 50/50 - so if you cut earlier than that, you're only fucking yourself over on weight, as well as the high. Some strains will keep putting on weight up until trichs are 80% or more amber, but that usually tacks on several additional weeks to the flowering time.
well thanks for that helpful fact. i will definitely stay strong with my cultivating virtues and stick it out to the 50/50 mix.
60 amber 40 milky if you just want to chill. When i dont want to relax, and i want to skate high, then i'll go for the sativa like highs. like everyone else has said. 70 amber 30 milky is a lot of couch lock, but the ghetto kids i sell to really like that i guess. Lol no offense but i live in a predominately black neighbor hood, and im not down with racism. sorry for the rant. lol at least your growing man. I had to stop for a while cause of neighborhood suspicion. my clients are very angry with me. My supply is running short.