Depending on where I look, both have about 10-20% amber trichs. They are indica leaning and I have nothing against a couchlock if that is the effect it produces when it is RIPE, but I have 13 other girls in a 4x8 with these and they are pretty crowded (and that seems to be effecting their flowering), so part of my question is whether cutting these would benefit the rest, giving the others more light and air. This is plant #4 from week 6 - week 10 (today) (unknown flowering time) The images can be enlarged, just right click and view in a new tab/window This is plant #8 from week 6 - week 10 (today) (8-9 week strain) When I say week 10, I mean it is the START of the 10th week from the day I switched to 12/12 - subtracting a 7-day preflower stage, week 10 is officially 8 full weeks of true flowering, 9 full weeks since switching to 12/12... So, should I cut 'em tomorrow? If not, when?
cut them, amber is a myth, hightimes just published something in march done by a scientist saying that your THC content will be at its peak when they are clear, rightbefore becoming opaque and amber.
heres a screenshot of the artice. march 11 hightimes, page 60 the article starts on, its called Trichome Tech - Inside the Resin Factory.
That was that "Clear=good, cloudy=bad, amber=shit" thread I think. See, I might be able to accept that concept (clear=good), but have they considered how many more trichomes grow than are turning amber? I think this may very well be the misconception - in that article, they tested the resin heads themselves, not a single plant harvested at day 60, day 65, day 70, etc. to get the single bud's THC levels. I saw an amber trich on plant #8 a week ago, and look at the difference between the last two pictures of plant #8... even though a few trichs may have decayed, it replaced each with hundreds more, and the ones that were already there got bigger heads. I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything (and thanks for the advice btw), but this seems like quite a big hole in our understanding of what "peak potency" really looks like. Either way, if clear=good and that article is accurate (I don't see a reason why it wouldn't be), I think the cannabis bible guy might need to come out with a new version because 50% amber would indeed be well over the hump, because by that point it isn't doubling its new trich growth. I'd love some other perspectives... edit: The one line that really bothers me is "This makes sense when you think about it: Who harvests fruit when it's turning brown?"... the FRUIT of the plant is the bud, not their resin glands... no other plant that I know of is harvested based on its defense mechanism...
Peak potency or not that doesn't mean its the right time for every grower to cut down their crop. Like everyone has said for a decade+ online you can still wait for more amber and get a heavier high, this still works and is not a myth, heh. Lots of people say the 'peak thc' content will be right at their earliest before amber shows, but this doesn't mean if you wait til later to harvest you are wrong. I would probably wait a week and cut them down, personally. Good luck