Hey Sam-
Did you get your transplanting done yet? I hear the temps are going to soar next week again.
Don't beat yourself up over the trichome thing, I never look at the trichomes, I just look at the plant as a whole to tell when she's done. On the buds the pistils will turn red/orange and will "draw back" into the bud. Then the calyxes' will swell up nice and fat. The plant will show a lot of leaf yellowing generally starting from the bottom up. She's using up all the sugars stored up in the leafs when this yellowing occurs. When I look at a bud/plant from far away it looks wet to me, but when she's done that wet look now has a silver/milky sheen to it.
I say for your first year post pictures here and get the advise from this community as when to harvest. After a year or two you will see when she's done and ready for harvest.
Hope I didn't make this more confusing for you, remember you have the support from this community behind you, so don't be afraid to ask questions, there are no dumb questions, just dummies not asking them.
Note the milky/silver sheen in the picture below.
TMB-
View attachment 3201529