Conflicting advice on trichs. Wondering if now is trhe time..

[Schotzky]

my sativa started budding july 18 and i cut it down october 8. exactly 12 months, it was perfect lol.
sativas are most potent when they are not amber, its true.
i cut mine down when they were all milky, i smoked it today its just barely dry enough, still need to dry one more day and cure it. but dude, it knocked me on my ass lol, my first sativa grow and very, very nice. its bagseed too

 

[deprave]

you are at peak potency right at this momment, I know this is confusing for a lot of people because they are reading bad literature and having people tell them when they like to harvest but the fact is that you are all opaque trichomes and it looks ripe for a sativa to me ...the guy at your grow shop is right, if you start seeing amber then it is degrading in this situation.

here is a quality article about the maturation of cannabis: http://www.kindgreenbuds.com/marijuana-grow-guide/cannabis_maturation_harvesting.html

you need to understand fully the process that is happening on a scientific level, do not go by peoples little 'rules'...you need to look at the big picture also and not just at the trichomes, this plant is in my eyes clearly ready. yes it still has some 'hairs' sticking up...yes it still has some 'white hairs'...but the fact is you have demonstrated by your description of her maturation, your pictures, and examination of the trichomes that she has reached the Peak floral stage which is the ideal time for harvest, OFF WITH HER HEAD! (or wait 2 weeks for the hell of it)...either way you wont be disappointed - just chop it down when its convenient for you really, shes ready at anytime from now to the coming 2 or 3 weeks, you could even let her go 4 or 6 more weeks but lets be honest here, it really wont make that much of a difference in this type of scenario most people wouldnt likely be able to tell the difference if you harvested it now or 6 weeks from now.

 

[SACReDHeRB]

my sativa started budding july 18 and i cut it down october 8. exactly 12 months, it was perfect lol.
sativas are most potent when they are not amber, its true.
i cut mine down when they were all milky, i smoked it today its just barely dry enough, still need to dry one more day and cure it. but dude, it knocked me on my ass lol, my first sativa grow and very, very nice. its bagseed too

thats so weird, i have heard so many people say that their plants started around mid july. mine did too. both bagseed, both over 6', one pink ind.(gonna call it hashberry cuz of the smell, the other is a sat. dom, both are still going and still dont look fully done.

 

[SACReDHeRB]

you are at peak potency right at this momment, I know this is confusing for a lot of people because they are reading bad literature and having people tell them when they like to harvest but the fact is that you are all opaque trichomes and it looks ripe for a sativa to me ...the guy at your grow shop is right, if you start seeing amber then it is degrading in this situation.

here is a quality article about the maturation of cannabis: http://www.kindgreenbuds.com/marijuana-grow-guide/cannabis_maturation_harvesting.html

you need to understand fully the process that is happening on a scientific level, do not go by peoples little 'rules'...you need to look at the big picture also and not just at the trichomes, this plant is in my eyes clearly ready. yes it still has some 'hairs' sticking up...yes it still has some 'white hairs'...but the fact is you have demonstrated by your description of her maturation, your pictures, and examination of the trichomes that she has reached the Peak floral stage which is the ideal time for harvest, OFF WITH HER HEAD! (or wait 2 weeks for the hell of it)...either way you wont be disappointed - just chop it down when its convenient for you really, shes ready at anytime from now to the coming 2 or 3 weeks, you could even let her go 4 or 6 more weeks but lets be honest here, it really wont make that much of a difference in this type of scenario most people wouldnt likely be able to tell the difference if you harvested it now or 6 weeks from now.

you are right on the peak potency window. i have read that article. there would be a large dif, so almost anyone could tell the diff between a plant harvested at peak, or 6 weeks late. also there should be no debate, when the calyxes swell, pistils recede into calyxes it is ready.

 

[obijohn]

Mine began flowering first of August. It does look ready. I also noticed that in the last day even the smell of the plant has changed. So I'm gonna chop after I get some sleep here. Can't wait!

I will take care to fully cure the buds. A friend grew some outdoors, picked them several weeks ago. He just hangs and drys, so they had a real grassy/hay taste and didn't seen quite ripe

 

[Brick Top]

Pure sativa strains and highly predominant sativa strains reach peak THC levels when the trichomes are still clear, just before turning cloudy/milky. So, to harvest at peak THC levels it is best to harvest at the first sign of clouding trichomes.

The standard accepted color chart and the common beliefs of when to harvest for peak potency are inaccurate for pure sativas and highly predominant sativas.

It is a mistake to wait for many, most or all trichomes to turn cloudy/milky and it is an even bigger mistake to wait until amber trichomes appear, let alone most or all being amber.

 

[reggaerican]

Pure sativa strains and highly predominant sativa strains reach peak THC levels when the trichomes are still clear, just before turning cloudy/milky. So, to harvest at peak THC levels it is best to harvest at the first sign of clouding trichomes.

The standard accepted color chart and the common beliefs of when to harvest for peak potency are inaccurate for pure sativas and highly predominant sativas.

It is a mistake to wait for many, most or all trichomes to turn cloudy/milky and it is an even bigger mistake to wait until amber trichomes appear, let alone most or all being amber.

i agree with you... if you want a couch like high then buy a indica strain and flower till milky to amber.. but with a true sativa still clear will make you want to play in a park..

 

[valhalla88]

https://www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/210501-zeuss-take-harvesting.html this should help you. It's what I go by!

 

[ws23v21g]

OK...so now I'm totally confused...

 

[SACReDHeRB]

so brick, would you say that this is a dominant sativa? Cuz a kind of want an opinion on when when to cut.

 

[SACReDHeRB]

and does anyone know y my attachments are all funky, there are 7 pics there just press next

 

[RRLBT420]

alot of first time growers should learn and heed the advice, that mj is not an exact science.

well said... play around with it till you find the right harvest time FOR YOU. personally, i harvest when the top bud starts to turn amber. basically, for a more trippy head buzz harvest when they're milky-white, or for more of a body buzz harvest them when they turn amber. these are generic guidelines, but they can at least give you an idea.

 

[Brick Top]

so brick, would you say that this is a dominant sativa? Cuz a kind of want an opinion on when when to cut.

Slightly maybe, but not a bunch. Not enough to accurately call it a sativa. I would wait for most trichomes to be cloudy/milky with maybe a few clear but not many amber and then whack it if you want it to be the best it can be.

 

[Luger187]

I read a lot on here that you want the trichs partly amber before you harvest, also that you DON'T want that. My sativa is in it's 11th week of flowering now.

So I went to the hydro store can got a 30x loupe to get a good look at things ( I did get the radio shack 60x, but it's almost impossible at that magnification to look at buds on the plant) I told him that many hairs are turning brown, and there are some white ones still coming in. On most buds the seed (less) pods are pretty evident, and the hairs have receded somewhat. I used the loupe and all trichs are cloudy. It actually appears they were MORE cloudy before and now are more opaque. No signs of amber.

Guy at the shop said if they start turning amber, it's past the peak and beginning to degrade. So on a sativa, is that correct? Below are some pictures taken Monday so they're 4 more days older now. Pick now or wait til I see amber?

hey man. i have one of those radioshack scopes. u have to cut off one bud leaf or small piece of nug. make sure its small enough to comfortably fit inside of the microscope. see where the light on the scope is? theres a circle about the size of a dime next to it, where u put the specimen. u want the leaf to fit inside of that.
if the leaf is bigger than the circle, the scope moves the specimen around, and its impossible to slowly maneuver your view. this is why it must be so small.

 

[SACReDHeRB]

Slightly maybe, but not a bunch. Not enough to accurately call it a sativa. I would wait for most trichomes to be cloudy/milky with maybe a few clear but not many amber and then whack it if you want it to be the best it can be.

thanks brick

 

[love potion numba 1]

this gets me thinkin now.. i have 2 mostly sativa strains out now. one is smaller and will probally chop tnight.. the other one is hugee. been flowering little over ten weeks. on the smaller one alot more hairs turned brown and the empty polen sacs look swollen.. i was back at the big one last night and its still got alot of white hairs and doesnt have that amber ting to it.. i was plannin on letting it go another week or two so most hairs would turn red.. its def. sativa dom. just by looking at it.. think i should chop sooner? next 4 days are suppose to be rainny and its been nice out recently?? anyone?

 

[obijohn]

I cut/trimmed most of my plant today, after taking out the leaves I was amazed at how much bud was underneath! So now I gotta dry and cure. I'll sample a bit after a few small buds that fell off dry a few days.

Yeah the radio shck scope magnifies too much for practical use checking out buds, I got a 30x one and it works great. Not an amber trich to be found, but I knew she was ready..even the smell changed a bit last few days, it SMELLS ripe!

 

[Luger187]

I cut/trimmed most of my plant today, after taking out the leaves I was amazed at how much bud was underneath! So now I gotta dry and cure. I'll sample a bit after a few small buds that fell off dry a few days.

Yeah the radio shck scope magnifies too much for practical use checking out buds, I got a 30x one and it works great. Not an amber trich to be found, but I knew she was ready..even the smell changed a bit last few days, it SMELLS ripe!

i use 60x to see a bigger area of trichs. i use 100x to look at individual ones. actually last night i was lookin at a leaf, and found a trich with two heads on it. i took a pic its the one in the bottom left

 

[obijohn]

At least for me, the magnification was to strong. Any movement screwed it up, only way I could see is to cut a tiny piece of bud and put it flat on my desk and use the scope. Even then, it took some repositioning and focus adjustments to see anything. It IS very cool to see things blown up that big tho

 

[Luger187]

At least for me, the magnification was to strong. Any movement screwed it up, only way I could see is to cut a tiny piece of bud and put it flat on my desk and use the scope. Even then, it took some repositioning and focus adjustments to see anything. It IS very cool to see things blown up that big tho

thats how its supposed to be done. it takes some getting used to i guess