Thank you for the responses- and You know, Im glad you brought that up! I was really surprised how much faster these plants matured- but I did add a ton of light, so I guess I assumed that accounted for the time. I have read in most places that the trichomes is what you base it on. I have the hardest time telling, but when I know I can see a majority of cloudy they are supposed to be ready, but I also agree that they dont have the appearance of being totally done... Do I may e need a better scope to get a better look. My little one is suppsed to be 60-100X, but it is terrible to use.