if you got a magnifier just pick a small sample from the area of the plant you want to check (usually on the top buds on the branches closest to the light, as they would most likely be in a more advanced state of maturation) , so small it won't hurt the plant at all and inspect the trichomes from it! that's the only way i can do it otherwise i am unable to focus the image.
I would like to discuss here about doing a two timed harvest on a single plant:
In case of a declared "8 weeks flower" strain, most likely being a real 9-10 weeks to finish, starting the flush around week 5-6 in soil and around week 8 for hydro/coco (obviously it is all relative to grower's preference, in hydro i like to start gradually lowing the EC after around week 5-6 which is peak ppms, but it's always all related to how i feel about that specific plant in that specific moment of her life, these are just ipotetic reference values and you should never look at the time passed from the flip to determine how is the flowering going, just look at the plant and most importantly get a magnifier to check trichs)
The first harvest being on the branches at the edges and the lowest point of the canopy; (most likely they will be in a less advanced state of maturation) and offer mostly cloudy trichomes around end of week 8 or couple days later, taking away like 1/4 of the total canopy bud. this would be your "high thc" weed.
The second and final harvest being when u feel confortable that the plant is ready for your ideal level of couch locking effect, meaning around 10%, 20% amber for a balanced psicoactive weed, 30% for a more " body stoned" effect and 50-60% for a bomb that will make you sleep in couple hits.
These values are referred to the trichomes inspected on a single bud, and not to all the trichs present in the canopy, as different buds will ALWAYS
show different maturation stages as well as size, depending on the light that specific bud is getting, how well is that specific branch trained, how equal is the environment.
Every branch and so every bud on the plant is like a small autonomous unit, which grows different from the others. Even with training techniques that allow for an equal canopy heigh, branches grow differently: for example, a little side branch that before flip was covered by one large leaf or some other plant mass, can stretch like a motherfucker cause of the lacking of light and become the tallest (and weakest) of the canopy (that's why i would recommend LST and manipulation, sometimes supercropping during the flower stretch). training also tighten the space between bud sites, definitely increases weight and potency as much as it is applied.
Even a perfectly trained plant will show bigger and more mature buds on top, and less on the bottom right?
With all this considered, u should always check the thricomes in different areas of the canopy.
Buds that mature more rapidly are the ones that are exposed to the most light under the lamp, the most heated, most likely the tallest, but not always the biggest if you provided excess of light or heat stress.
sooo you can enjoy different types of weed from the same plant
Maybe i should have opened another thread for this and i think'll do it, but i hope this would be helpful to you
