Trichomes & Harvesting

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

I was under the impression that you harvest when the hairs ( pistil? ) turn amber? I haven't harvested anything ever but I always thought that was when you are supposed to do it. So to get this straight , the pistil hairs can turn amber but you want to pay attention to the tricomes that are ON the hairs and over the leaf? Is that right?

tarks said:

I was under the impression that you harvest when the hairs ( pistil? ) turn amber? I haven't harvested anything ever but I always thought that was when you are supposed to do it. So to get this straight , the pistil hairs can turn amber but you want to pay attention to the tricomes that are ON the hairs and over the leaf? Is that right?

Click to expand...

That is correct, the pistils (what some people call hairs) will shrivel up and turn amber-ish.
However some plants fully mature without the pistils necessarily changing much, you should always go by the pointers I give in the first post of this thread.
Trichomes appear on the leaves and calyxes, not the pistils themselves.

FrostyTheBudMan said:

Looks like time, got a chance to check this morning and seeing amber! Darkness for two days then chop chop, so close I can taste it now!
View attachment 2102387

Click to expand...

Would you happen to have the brand name of the microscope you used? I use a loop but I'm color blind and typically just chop when all are cloudy. I'd like to be able to see the amber trichs. Thanks!

Ok Folks, first plant I've ever grown... Auto organic outdoor (very late in growing season - S. hemisphere).... but is she ready??? Thanks!

Thanks for the great read!!!! It was a lot of help. + rep.

thank you very much for such great info, and the efforts you went through

good luck

si. said:

Ok Folks, first plant I've ever grown... Auto organic outdoor (very late in growing season - S. hemisphere).... but is she ready??? Thanks! View attachment 2603184

Click to expand...

She doesn't look anywhere near ready to me.

Way too green, looks like you've got a ways to go yet.

What do you think?? Didn't think it was near ready but looks like amber trichs

blaze131 said:

View attachment 2653757What do you think?? Didn't think it was near ready but looks like amber trichs

Click to expand...

gettin' there...what kind of camera you shooting that close with?

If you take the lense out of a laser pointer and hold it over camera lense it works great.. That was on a itouch

Should i flush or just harvest and cure with the nutes still in the medium?
You think shes about done?

hi everyone.

Im currently growing auto acid, its been growing for the past 82 days and is very near harvest time (according to strain information). about 70/80 percent of the pistils have turned brown (only on the top half of the plant), i have been checking trichome development using my pocket microscope and very few however seem to have turned cloudy. Im unsure whether to go on pistil colour or wait until a higher percentage have went cloudy, but do not want to miss my plants peak thc point.
Any advice will be appreciated

Any advise?? Think I should feed one more time then start flushing.. Week 8 starts Monday, unknown strain believed to be sativa dom but starting to show amber trics.. Any thoughts??

kennyp02 said:

Should i flush or just harvest and cure with the nutes still in the medium?
You think shes about done?
View attachment 2660354View attachment 2660355View attachment 2660356View attachment 2660357

Click to expand...

Have you checked the trichomes?
It looks like it could go longer and swell up a bit more but I'd go by trichomes if it's your first grow.

Not sure what you mean by 'nutes still in the medium', it won't affect your grow unless you are overfeeding or causing a deficiency.
Flushing is for toilets.

maraman said:

hi everyone.

Im currently growing auto acid, its been growing for the past 82 days and is very near harvest time (according to strain information). about 70/80 percent of the pistils have turned brown (only on the top half of the plant), i have been checking trichome development using my pocket microscope and very few however seem to have turned cloudy. Im unsure whether to go on pistil colour or wait until a higher percentage have went cloudy, but do not want to miss my plants peak thc point.
Any advice will be appreciated

Click to expand...

The answer to your question is on the first page of this thread; receding pistils, swollen calyxes and cloudy trichomes are all indicators of when a plant nears peak harvest (if you want maximum potency). All should be taken into account but the state of the trichomes is of highest importance.

blaze131 said:

View attachment 2661475Any advise?? Think I should feed one more time then start flushing.. Week 8 starts Monday, unknown strain believed to be sativa dom but starting to show amber trics.. Any thoughts??

Click to expand...

Pre-harvest flushing does not improve your weed nor does it remove any undesirable "chemicals" from the weed.

I see several clear trichomes, a few cloudy and a few amber.
The picture is unfocused so it doesn't really give the full picture of the part of the calyx photographed but from what I see it could use a week (if not two) more.

I have heard both views on flushing and it makes sense that it is not needed bc of how nutes are transported in the plant. I have flushed all my prior grows to be safe but may keep feeding this run to test any differences. Does it really not matter? Even if using chem nutes(maxi bloom)? And I agree on the couple weeks left. I thought they were mostly sativa but they look like they will be done around day 60, and I'm under cfl? Could there be another growth explosion in the next couple weeks? I have only done sativa outdoor befor so I only know what an indica grows like on a daily basis inside

So a couple plants are nearing harvest. They are covered in red hairs but have minimum trics. Seeds from local grower unknown strain but the bud was good. Any ideas? Havnt looked under a scope but I will take pics under a scope soon as I can. By eye u can see some very small trics but not like my other plants

blaze131 said:

I have heard both views on flushing and it makes sense that it is not needed bc of how nutes are transported in the plant. I have flushed all my prior grows to be safe but may keep feeding this run to test any differences. Does it really not matter? Even if using chem nutes(maxi bloom)? And I agree on the couple weeks left. I thought they were mostly sativa but they look like they will be done around day 60, and I'm under cfl? Could there be another growth explosion in the next couple weeks? I have only done sativa outdoor befor so I only know what an indica grows like on a daily basis inside

Click to expand...

First of all, you have to distinguish between flushing and pre-harvest flushing.
But I will not go into the debate again here since I've already settled the matter in several other threads.
You can find the info if you search the forum for my nick & pre-harvest flushing.

Using regular nutrients (what you call chem nutes) and/or using organic nutrients make no difference with regards to nutrient storage, usage & transportation in the particular plant.
A nitrogen ion is a nitrogen ion.

Sativas tend to go longer than the prescribed date set by the breeder.
You should never base the harvest off those dates but instead rely on what the plant tells you.

blaze131 said:

So a couple plants are nearing harvest. They are covered in red hairs but have minimum trics. Seeds from local grower unknown strain but the bud was good. Any ideas? Havnt looked under a scope but I will take pics under a scope soon as I can. By eye u can see some very small trics but not like my other plants

Click to expand...

The images are of very bad quality, it's basically impossible to see how the calyxes are doing.
But based off of the tinge and general state of the plant from what I can see, those plants have a long while to go (3-4 weeks if not more).
Pistils don't looked to have been receding, the calyxes don't look very swollen and the plant itself looks somewhat nutrient deficient (underfed).

i love smart stoners always so much info

Hey guys! Whatdoya think? I don't see many amber trichs yet but I sampled 3 hits and went out and chopped down a cherry tree. I usually just couch lock and put off what needs doing until tomorrow. I'm not worried about volume. Do you think I would loose much quality by chopping in a few days?