I have been doing 12/12 for about two weeks now, how much longer do I do this, it looks like its flowering with white hairs growing up and down the stems. Just wanted to know how much longer do I do this. Or should I put it in darkness longer? Any help would be deeply appreciated.
Finish times are pretty much strain specific. Indicas finish
around the 60 to 65 day mark, while a Sativa can take up to 120 days plus to finish. (But MAN they're worth the wait!!)
At the risk of stating the obvious, you do have them in
COMPLETE darkness, right? And you know not to EVER interrupt that dark period, right? Even dim light as small as red power indicator on a radio or an LED clock can stress the girls and make them throw nanners.
There are lots of ways people trust to tell when the buds have peaked at ripeness.
The best, MOST RELIABLE method is to go by the color of the trichomes. When the plant starts producing "crystals" (trichomes) the peak of ripeness can be seen in the trichomes. The trichs start out clear, and throughout the flowering, they will turn milky, then they will turn amber.
There is a window of opportunity where you can pick, and decide on the kind of high you prefer. When the Trichs are mostly clear/milky, you'll get a nice, active, lets go do something kinda high, whereas whe they are milky/amber, you'll get more of the couch-lock devastating kind of high. The more the amber, the more couch glue. Most folks like a 50/50 milky/amber.
People will tell you to wait until the last possible second to chop, but thats an individual preference.
Hope this helps.
