Trichomes & Harvesting

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CucksCuckClan

New Member
So i guess people are going for what color the trichs are on the MAIN bud? Because i doubt e.g lower and smaller buds all of a sudden are in the same stage?

Doesn't this kind of make it rather uninteresting, well, apart from knowing that the main bud (which, of course might be a big part of the yield) is finished?

I'm thinking maybe i should get the main bud to get mostly amber so that all the lower buds can grow much larger and get milky with some amber. Bad idea? How big will the lower buds get if you really let them grow out?

Probably not gonna cut the main bud, wait for recovery etc, wait for lower buds to grow, that will probably take too long due to big recovery of getting the main stem cut..

Thanks.
 
zypheruk

zypheruk

Well-Known Member
If your trichomes look like this then your no where near harvest time, I would imagine this particular plants going to need another 3 weeks of food.
The photo is what the trichomes look like deep down into the bud.
This is HSO - The New - at day 46 flower and is a lower airy bud. 65-70 days is what the breeder says is harvest time but from what a group of us that where running test seeds found was 73-80 days.

HSO-The New Extreme Trichome Macro.jpg
 
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anthony1

Well-Known Member
zypheruk said:
If your trichomes look like this then your no where near harvest time, I would imagine this particular plants going to need another 3 weeks of food.
The photo is what the trichomes look like deep down into the bud.
This is HSO - The New - at day 46 flower and is a lower airy bud. 65-70 days is what the breeder says is harvest time but from what a group of us that where running test seeds found was 73-80 days.

View attachment 4419095
Click to expand...
Mine are all milky
 
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giannoulis

Member
ok here‘s the situation.
I have an NL#5 Haze from Sensi Seeds, flowering time according to them is 65-75 days, at today we’re at day 70.
I‘m leaving for a trip either Thursday or Friday and I’m going to be out for a week. Thursday will be day 72 of flowering and when I come back day 79 of flowering.
I have two options, one is to cut the plant today and trim it until I leave and the other one is to water it on Thursday (or Friday) before I leave and harvest as soon as I come back. Trichomes are as far as I can see 90% cloudy, 5% clear and maybe 5% amber. What would you do???

I would rather leave it for 9 more days but I have two concerns:
1. That the trichomes will become amber at more than 25%
2. If I water the day I leave, the soil will dry out in 3-4 days, so it will remain for 3 more days without water
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
hoots123 said:
View attachment 4447989
These close or wait for more amber also why does it look sticky like honey on the right side
Click to expand...
wait a lot. one or two ambers among a field of clear trichs means nothing, that plant is weeks out still.
i'm not willing to say definitively, but those sticky looking threads look like spider mite webs to me...but it could be where something has damaged that bud, and ruptured some of the trichome heads, and that's resin.....hope for the resin
 
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Kronicle420

Kronicle420

Well-Known Member
PioneerValleyOG said:
once again bunch of bad information. yes, you can check trikes, but they MUST BE CHECKED ON THE CALYX! a check of trikes on the leaves or bud can mislead you and cause you to harvest WEEKS early! everyone says tricones, but no one ever finishes the sentence. check them on the calyx. just my opinion.
Click to expand...
thats the only way to do it. if youre checking trichomes on leaves your bud isnt ready!
 
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Cleanfinish93

Well-Known Member
I have now taken her out the tent I just hope it isn't too early... thrichomes are co dusing me most patches look ripe then others still clear... it was a scrogg but I'm not sure .... its day 65 of flower and it was a 45-50 strain so 2 weeks over already so it's now in darkness.. what do you guys think ?
 

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gary1947thomas@gmail

New Member
k0ijn said:
Harvesting your weed based on trichomes is probably the easiest way for most growers to harvest as close to peak harvest as possible.


The difficulty in the method comes with how to determine the state of the trichomes and what each state means.
If you have the equipment needed it is however very easy and with experience it gets even easier.


To explain how to harvest by trichomes properly I will go into detail as to how to determine when trichomes are at their peak and which substances these trichomes contain, which are desirable and which are not.






The first thing you need to know is that there are 3 "states" in a trichomes development.




The first state is clear. Clear trichomes contain precursor cannabinoids (cannabinoids are the different substances in cannabis).
These precursor cannabinoids are not psychoactive (they do not produce a 'high') yet and harvesting clear trichomes will not give you a proper harvest.




The second state is cloudy/milky. Cloudy trichomes contain fully realized THC (the by far main contributing substance in any cannabis high).
You want to get as close to 100% cloudy trichomes @ harvest to get the most potency out of your plant. It's impossible to get 100% cloudy trichomes, since trichomes are always being produced and are always maturing, even after harvest the trichomes will continue to develop.




The third state is amber. Amber trichomes contain degraded THC --> CBN. CBN represents a loss of 90% potency (from THC).
CBN is not desirable in any harvest, since it not only represents a huge loss of potency but research into the substance has also shown that CBN does not produce a high like THC does, CBN produces a more sickly feeling not a true high.




Understanding the difference between clear - cloudy - amber trichomes is essential in getting a proper harvest with a peak potency.




This image is a good helper to remember the differences:







To understand how substances change and are developed in cannabis you will need to read extensively on each substance to understand what each substance does and how they affect each other.


This image is helpful in getting a vague knowledge of substances in cannabis and how they develop:









I will not go deeper into what each substance (CBG, CBD, CBC, CBN, THCV etc.) do, suffice to say they all play a part in the cannabis high, albeit a minor part for most of them, since THC is the main factor in a cannabis high.
Some provide pain relief, some reduce muscle spasm, the list goes on and research is still being done to figure out all of the benefits of these substances.


I can however post an image that explains rather well which effects the substances have on the human body:













Trichomes are of course not the only indicator of when to harvest.
There are other factors that should be taken into account when determining when to harvest.


Calyxes on the plant will swell up, these swollen calyxes are a sign of maturity.
The pistils (what some new growers call hairs) will change colour (often to an orange tinge) and recede into the calyx.
Receding pistils are also a sign of maturity.
Then there is the overall look of the plant. Many experienced growers simply go by this factor, they can determine peak harvest just by looking at the plant and seeing how it looks from afar regarding colour tinge and the look of the calyxes.


All these factors should be taken into account when harvesting. All of these factors usually align when peak harvest approaches.






The best way to check how the trichomes on your plant are doing is by means of a loupe or a microscope.
I would recommend getting ones that can at least go to 60x magnification.
Getting one that can go to 100x would be even better, but the more magnification the more cost.


All you have to do is take a small sample of a leaf with trichomes on it, or if you have a loupe or a USB microscope simply look at the trichomes on the plant to determine their 'state'.
It's important that you check all over the plant, since trichomes will usually develop and produce faster at the top(s) of branches and slower and the bottom of the plant.


Some people choose to harvest the tops first and let the bottom nugs grow a bit more to let the trichomes mature and develop further but also to let the buds fatten up more. It's a judgement and preference call really.




It's almost impossible to harvest without at least some amber trichomes (and some clear), keeping the amber trichomes to the minimum is key if you want maximum potency out of your plant.
Usually if you are careful and watchful you will end up with around 5% clear trichomes, 10% amber and 85% cloudy trichomes.
That is a very reasonable % split and is what you should be aiming for.









References & sources:

http://montanabiotech.com/

Marijuana Chemistry:
Genetics, Processing And Potency
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Does the resin or stickyness indicate maturation
 
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Dankman32

Member
I wouldnt personally let trichomes dictate harvest time over every single other factors, overall look of the plants, density of buds, pistil colors and them receding into the calyxes.

Sometimes i see people harvesting plants filled with white hairs because of the trichome color. They like to say its genetics that the plant will have white hairs when harvest time, but i have yet to see a strain that actually does that.
 
MIKE GROEZ

MIKE GROEZ

Member
Sounds like theyre going to stay purple.E="58Doug19, post: 14976798, member: 1017533"]
I'm growing a purple strain and all my sugar leaves and buds have either clear trichomes or trichomes that are turning dark purple. Will they go amber or stay purple?
[/QUOTE]
 
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