Is It Time To Harvest Yet?

[RT420Revolution]

Hi Everyone - this is my first grow (hydroponic in deep water reservoir with drip system; LED for veg & first half of flower; 400 Watt HPS for second half of flowering);
So, I've been checking the trichomes regularly and they have developed from clear to milky/cloudy, but I still can't spot a single amber trichome. The overall condition of the plant is fair, and I've had nutrients under 500ppm for the last few days;
My questions are:
1) is it time to flush
2) is it almost time to harvest
Note: Images are not as magnified as I'd like, but this is the best I could do with my iPhone and the attachment macro lense

 

[bruvvamoff]

Hi Everyone - this is my first grow (hydroponic in deep water reservoir with drip system; LED for veg & first half of flower; 400 Watt HPS for second half of flowering);
So, I've been checking the trichomes regularly and they have developed from clear to milky/cloudy, but I still can't spot a single amber trichome. The overall condition of the plant is fair, and I've had nutrients under 500ppm for the last few days;
My questions are:
1) is it time to flush
2) is it almost time to harvest
Note: Images are not as magnified as I'd like, but this is the best I could do with my iPhone and the attachment macro lense View attachment 2597849View attachment 2597850View attachment 2597851View attachment 2597852View attachment 2597853View attachment 2597854View attachment 2597855View attachment 2597856View attachment 2597857View attachment 2597858View attachment 2597849View attachment 2597850View attachment 2597851View attachment 2597852View attachment 2597853View attachment 2597854View attachment 2597855View attachment 2597856View attachment 2597857View attachment 2597858

I'm also new and I'm afraid I have no advice to give, it seems at this point you have done your research and your plant is looking amazing for a first grow.
Can I say how refreshing it is to see some decent photographs on here. Those iphones, is there anything they can't do?

 

[mr2shim]

1: Never flush
2: looks about ready

you don't want amber, you want as much cloudy as you can possibly get.

 

[Po boy]

so close and they smell soooo good. GL

 

[Budsworth]

Yea those look real nice for a 1st grow. If ya got mostly cloudy trichs its time.

 

[FilthyFletch]

Not sure why mr2shim said never flush as you should always flush especially in hydro grows as the nutrient build up will alter taste and cause sparking when burned..that's pretty basic stuff so maybe he just made a typo???...I see amber hairs in the pics you dont see those??? You want a slightly milky white color in the trichs that still have the heads and havent popped. How many weeeks in flower are you and what strain?

 

[slim83]

As long as they are mostly cloudy you can chop if you wait for amber that means the thc is degrading and you are loosing potency

 

[rwbrock]

Good job for first time! Next time check your nutes throughout flower and try and keep the nutrient issues to a minimum. Did you use one of those super bloom high P foods while flowering? I assume you are using a magnifier/loop to check those trichs??

 

[Miss.Rabbit]

1: Never flush
2: looks about ready

you don't want amber, you want as much cloudy as you can possibly get.

1: never flush: he's right but keep in mind you'd want to be around 200ppm not 1500ppm; IMPO the idea is to keep enough nutrients in the reservoir so the plants aren't hungry but focus on metabolizing what they already have. I used to harvest about ten days after the leaves turned yellow; you can always clip a bud and dry/fry it to make sure the ash was white.

Harvesting is to your discretion milky is peak potency and amber is going to be a couch lock stone! So harvest according to what your looking for!
They look Super sexy I can't wait to see how they smoke! Great first grow man!

 

[rwbrock]

I don't flush either (I grow soil mainly now)....but you should adjust nutrients as Miss Rabit suggests =) I think a lot of it comes from people who pump lots of nutes into their plants thinking they are going to get that extra bud growth at the end. You know what the magic solution advertises :/ A lot of the tase and burn issues come from people who do not properly cure. I bet most people can not tell the difference....sometimes it best to experiment for yourself. Hydro takes some time to get down the balance of things and a lot of times less is more. Unless you know the strain and how it grows, then you can start to push the limits a little more.

 

[mr2shim]

Not sure why mr2shim said never flush as you should always flush especially in hydro grows as the nutrient build up will alter taste and cause sparking when burned..that's pretty basic stuff so maybe he just made a typo???...I see amber hairs in the pics you dont see those??? You want a slightly milky white color in the trichs that still have the heads and havent popped. How many weeeks in flower are you and what strain?

Nutrients don't alter the taste. Flushing in hydro is a really bad idea. Starving the plants of nutrients isn't doing anything helpful. I used to buy into the flushing bull until I realized it's stupid weed forum logic. As miss.rabbit said bring the ppm down don't flush or run water until harvest. A proper dry/cure will effect taste way more than a stupid flush.

 

[RT420Revolution]

Yea - definitely used the super bloom high p during flowering. how did you know? i definitely think I got nutrient burn as towards the end I was up to 1500ppm and then my friend advised that was too high and would burn the roots!

 

[rwbrock]

You can tell from your pictures. Had nute issues. I did the same thing on my first hydro grow or grow in general. When you don't understand plants and how they grow and what they need when they need it then you end up buying heavy p flowering foods that at the end do not make your plants as healthy. I learned after that of a basic rule to keep your plants green and healthy. Don't worry about yield or super bloom formulas (at least at first). I use a basic fertilizer that still has a good and closer range of NPK. Still need N to keep it green. Maybe I just need to learn how to supplement my mothers of all blooms 1-52-32 into the mix. For now I will assume it was a waste of money.