95% milky trichomes, no amber. Harvest?

FNG Grower

Well-Known Member
Knowing that I am nearly ready for harvest, I've been checking the trichomes daily. Yesterday, all samples viewed under the microscope had almost entirely milky trichomes but not a single amber one. There seems to be some disagreement on what percentage of trichomes should be amber before harvest, and I was expecting to reach about 10%, but I've never seen so many milky trichomes compared to clear and amber combined. Also, the last batch of the same variety went a few days too long and many of the trichomes burst. Should I harvest? I'll try to get some pics, but I'm limited to the 100x microscope (too much) and my phone camera (not enough), so it may be difficult to see the color ratio. Thanks all.
 

FNG Grower

Well-Known Member
I took some pics this morning and discovered that the sample I cut has more clear trichomes (about 15%) than the ones I looked at yesterday. I also found a couple of amber ones. The website won't let me upload photos, so all I have is the description.
 

FNG Grower

Well-Known Member
I chopped the girls down, and the trimmed colas look magnificent. The strain is a sort of unknown. My friend collected bag seed for years, and I selected the best two plants from a total of 32 seeds, based on sex stability, potency, and bud quality. My friend's best guess is that at least one parent is blue cheese. I suspect that the seeds were from a hermie plant because all of the seeds produced either females or hermies (a virtual impossibility from a male/female cross).

Of the two sisters (#2 and #6) in the same grow, #6 produced about double the yield, matured a few days earlier, has larger & denser buds, and has fewer popcorn buds. Also, in the previous grow with the same two varieties, #6 smoked smoother and seemed more potent. There is no question which variety I am selecting for future grows. I am a plant genetics technician, and if I can get my hands on some reliable fingerprinting information, I would be happy to let everyone know "definitively" what the hell #6 is.

If someone can please explain why I suddenly can't upload pics, I'll also post pics of the trichomes and harvest. Thanks
 

growone

Well-Known Member
a nice haul, nice trimming too
mostly cloudy is a pretty safe harvest time
some strains just don't amber much
it's a tough call if not a clone with a history
 

FNG Grower

Well-Known Member
***Update***
This thread sort of got lost because I didn't get the buds tested until this week. The results are in, and it is exactly what you would expect with greater than 90% cloudy trichomes and zero amber.


Total THC: 21.1%
CBD: Below detection limits (<0.01%)
CBN: Below detection limits (<0.01%)


The smoke gives a definite head high with absolutely zero couch lock effect. Great, if you plan to be active, but not so great if you're looking for pain relief. Definitely worth harvesting with the high percentage of milky trichomes. Thanks for the input everyone.
 

growone

Well-Known Member
from what i've read, the CBD content is genetics driven
your harvest time probably had little effect on that number
CBN is the one that appears as a degradation product of THC
though it's pain relief is questionable
 

scarecrow77

Well-Known Member
Don't cut your plants till you have 25% amber tri homes if you want the full afect..trust me you be glad you did...harvest a branch now...and harvest when there's 25% amber and you will feel the diffrents straight away....its a complete waist of time and money chopping before you have a good number of amber....you don't want dark amber ...that means its gone well past ripness...hope this helps
 

Dogenzengi

Well-Known Member
I also have ADHD and I am an impatient Motherfucker.
Hard to wait till 9 weeks, I have been harvesting at 8 but my cured bud is smother after 9 weeks and cure.
That's my experience from growing the same plant in clone for a little over a year, 7 flowerings so far.
Bless,
DZ
 

shishkaboy

Well-Known Member
Don't cut your plants till you have 25% amber tri homes if you want the full afect..trust me you be glad you did...harvest a branch now...and harvest when there's 25% amber and you will feel the diffrents straight away....its a complete waist of time and money chopping before you have a good number of amber....you don't want dark amber ...that means its gone well past ripness...hope this helps
I think it really depends on the particular strain as well as personal preference. I have seen plenty of strains and they all finish with a different percentage of brown hairs/ amber trichs. I agree that the best way to find your perfect window is to take a sample now and then 3 days later, then 3 days later again. You will know.
 
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