I posted this in the problems forum as well but hoping for some additional exposure around here: So I have been flowering 3 Diamond OG ladies for 75 days now. I am still seeing barely any amber trichomes whatsoever. Like... maybe 1% are amber, if that. I know that flowering times can vary widely, but this seems ridiculous, considering EVERY other source I've looked at/talked to about this strain says it always finishes 8-9 weeks. I've grown several indicas previously, and none took even remotely as much time as this has. Here's my main issue: the person who gave me the clones told me to flush at the start of week 8, which is what I did. Well here we are midway through week 11 and these plants have only been receiving RO water for the last 3 weeks! I'm very frustrated because every other day I'm checking the trichomes with a 50x and seeing no progress with regards to ambering trichomes. I've reluctant to give the plants a slight boost with some guano or something of that nature over the last few weeks in fear that they would turn after I did so and the flush would have been rendered worthless. But now... the ladies are clearly lacking nutrients in the soil due to the flush and the leaves are rapidly browning and curling upwards. They seem to be slightly drying as well. I picked off a bud about 13 days ago to test it and smoked it probably 9 days ago. It gave me a more racy high than desired, so I knew it wasn't fully ready yet. I just don't know what to do. I keep hoping that if I hold off for another day or two, the ambering will increase. At the same time, I don't want to wait too long and have something bad happen, especially with the fan leaves dying off. To make maters worse, I have to leave town for 48 hours this weekend. I didn't think this would be an issue months back as I was told they would 100% be done by now and well on their way to curing in jars. The plants are on their dark cycle, but I would be happy to post pics later on this evening. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.
75 days since 12/12 or 75 days of flower? I've grown a few "OG" strains; OG kush and tahoe og were both 9-10 weeks of flower and I harvest typically at the first sign of amber. I have headband sitting on my balcony still too, think that's got og in it...point is no worries. If you're able you can go dark for the 48hrs you're gone and get them to amber up a bit...might be an option.
75 days from 12/12. But every single long-time grower/specialist has told me you always count from the day you flip, not when flowers first show. Thanks for the info! It may be prudent to just shut off the lamp for the 48 hours I'm gone and then harvest.
Could be that a nutrient deficiency has extended the flowering times. All kinds of factors about the grow could mean that the plant wasn't quite as mature as you thought when you started flushing, or was already slightly deficient in something but not really noticeable when you started flushing so it's slowed down since then. It sounds like it's pretty much ready to harvest. You could trim off the dead parts of the leaves before you go away, so there's no chance of any of them getting mouldy and spreading it to the buds. Even though the leaves are dying, the only real danger to your crop now is mould or bugs destroying it, the fan leaves don't matter anymore. Hopefully after the weekend it'll be just a little more amber and you'll be happy to harvest. Good luck!
im having the same in issue in my current grow. today is day 89 and no amber trichs yet. i plan on giving it another few days and then just chopping.
"long-time grower/specialists" should have told you to not bother counting in the first place...and trichs are only a part of ripeness. Are the pistils still primarily white and headed for the light? What do the buds feel like? firm? How's the smell? If you gotta harvest do it, dark has always helped "finish" plants I had to pull a bit early, but I wouldn't worry about number of days. Good luck !!