Trichs: how long until...

growerboy

growerboy

Active Member
Hi!

It's my first grow and I'd love your estimate on harvest time.

Today I bought a 40x microscope to check my trichs. My baby is in her week 14 flowering.

This is the result so far:

5% clear
85% milky
10% amber

I would like to harvest when I'll get:

70% milky
30% amber

I'm going to check the trichs once or twice a week (it's enough? too much?), indeed I would love to hear your thoughts: how many weeks I have before I get 70% milky and 30% amber?

If you need any more info, you can check the grow journal in my signature: it has all the details (and plenty of pics) on that grow.

Thank you in advance :)
 
Green Cross

Green Cross

Well-Known Member
once or twice a week is fine. I'll guess you're a week or 2 away.

Make sure to check the lower and upper, for comparison. Some strains the tops ripen first, while others the lower part of the plant ripens first.
 
growerboy

growerboy

Active Member
robtoker said:
take a picof the buds
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Here you go!

Shall you need any more pic or info, check my signature link to the current grow journal.

Some days ago pic:

(Click here to see hi-res pic)


Today's pics:

(Click here to see hi-res pic)


(Click here to see hi-res pic)


(Click here to see hi-res pic)

Indeed I'd go for harvest by trichomes instead of overall bud looking.

Green Cross said:
once or twice a week is fine. I'll guess you're a week or 2 away.
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This is what I was guessing too, but since this is my first grow, expert advice is more than welcome!

Green Cross said:
Make sure to check the lower and upper, for comparison. Some strains the tops ripen first, while others the lower part of the plant ripens first.
Click to expand...
In this plant, ripeness seems to be uniform, for now at least. Anyway thanks for pointing that out.

Thanks again for your advice, guys!

P.s. how do you think buds are looking?
 
growerboy

growerboy

Active Member
Anonononymous said:
I think they look a bit immature. Another week at the very least to fatten them up a bit. But that's just me :D
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I agree, they are still a bit immature.

I'm almost out of patience: it's week 14 flowering, I know it's not ready, there's one more month left of cuiring... and, worst of all, I'm dry and I smell skunk all day having this beauty around! Damn! :D

BUT I see buds get fatter and fatter, I know that harvesting now will be way too soon... so I wait.

Thanks for your input!
 
Anonononymous

Anonononymous

Well-Known Member
I know the feeling, heh. Not having anything to smoke and having a load of girls dancing around.

You will be able to tell when they are ready, they will look 'ready'. Good luck, enjoy your harvest :mrgreen:
 
growerboy

growerboy

Active Member
Anonononymous said:
I know the feeling, heh. Not having anything to smoke and having a load of girls dancing around.
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Yes, it's terrible! :D
Indeed good comes to whose can wait, right?

Anonononymous said:
You will be able to tell when they are ready, they will look 'ready'. Good luck, enjoy your harvest :mrgreen:
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Thanks! I will surely post harvest pics & smoke report in my grow journal, so if you're interested then come back in a few weeks to check it out (or subscribe it).

I learned A LOT on this first grow, and I have to THANK RIU sooo much for all the support and useful info!
 
Brick Top

Brick Top

New Member
What I would suggest is if you know when flowering first began/light cycle change, from there if you know the number of weeks or days the breeder (if they are breeder genetics) says is the standard flowering time and if the date has not yet passed start one week earlier than the earliest date going by the breeder information and begin to check the color of your trichomes daily and on all levels of your plants, top, middle and bottom and then of course harvest when the trichome color combination/percentage you most want is reached.
　
While it is the one and only time this has happened to me it did happen and it could happen to anyone else too, is:
　
One time the trichomes on my plants had just begun to turn milky white/cloudy on the tops of my plants and all below were totally clear.
　
That night I experienced some rather serious pain. The next morning I went to see my Doctor. I ended up in the hospital and the following day my gallbladder was removed. I was released the following morning at roughly 11:00AM and was home by noon.
　
I checked the color of the trichomes on my plants and they were all dark amber.
　
I had taken a small sample of one of the buds with somewhat milky white/cloudy trichomes and tested it. The high was clear and soaring. The duration was a bit short but I attributed that to the maximum level of THC not having yet been reached. Still it was good and I truly believe had it been harvested at the proper time it would have been very, very good.
　
What I ended up with was not worth smoking. You would get a feeling like you were starting to get high, and then no more … that was it .. just a tease …. and it made me tired.

That is what it had turned into from a clear soaring high, even though it was not at that time ready to be harvested and had not yet reached its maximum level of THC in such a short period of time.
　
The final results/worth/quality totally changed that much in that short of a period of time. Since then I watch my plants closer than a 13 year old boy watches his 20 year old neighbor girl sunbathing nude in her back yard while he peeks through a hole in the fence.
 
growerboy

growerboy

Active Member
A time table did not come with this seed, this is an all try & guess grow... plus it's my first time.

After reading about your supersonic plant maturation, Brick Top, I'll check trichomes more often than not :P

The strain is mostly sativa I think, and the light comes in house from outdoor. For sure this is far from being ideal but is kinda working, so far.

P.s. sorry to hear about your pain :(
 
mattso101

mattso101

Well-Known Member
I think its more of a lighting issue. it need lots of direct sunlight. also the dark cycles need to be just that DARK very dark if there is light on it at all during the night period it will slow flower growth and also slow maturation
 
Masswhole

Masswhole

Well-Known Member
growerboy said:
I agree, they are still a bit immature.

I'm almost out of patience: it's week 14 flowering, I know it's not ready, there's one more month left of cuiring... and, worst of all, I'm dry and I smell skunk all day having this beauty around! Damn! :D

BUT I see buds get fatter and fatter, I know that harvesting now will be way too soon... so I wait.

Thanks for your input!
Click to expand...
if it takes 13-14 weeks....so be it. Buy some crap to hold you over! That is going to be killer bud if you hold off, if you rush it maybe a weeks worth of bong hits. I just harvested and watched it add a gram or two a day in the last 2 weeks. Be patient! Good job.
 
Anonononymous

Anonononymous

Well-Known Member
Masswhole said:
That is going to be killer bud if you hold off, if you rush it maybe a weeks worth of bong hits. I just harvested and watched it add a gram or two a day in the last 2 weeks. Be patient! Good job.
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So true, much better to be patient and end up with a decent amount of good smoke rather than a small amount of weak smoke, all due to impatience. It's tempting sometimes to take a branch off to sample, but it's much better to let that branch stay on, fatten up and increase in potency; in the end it's always worth waiting. :leaf:
 
growerboy

growerboy

Active Member
Thanks everybody for your feedbacks!

I'm willing to follow your inputs and wait until the plants ripens.

I'm just wondering about timing estimates... the buds look still somewhat immature, but it does not seem - to my unexperienced eyes at least - to have still a long way to go.

Trichs are mostly milky-cloudy, I'd prefer to don't let too much of them to become amber - I like the high waaay more than the stone. But if you say "be patient and wait", I'm definitely gonna do that.

I'll check them almost daily, and let the plant tell me when she's ready! :)
 
jcdws602

jcdws602

Well-Known Member
What kind of light are you using??......... 14 weeks of 12/12??? doesn't look like it bro,I know sativa dominant plants can take up to 16 weeks but those look very immature for 14 weeks of flowering.
 
growerboy

growerboy

Active Member
Actualli, lighting is a weak point.
To sum it up, I use the sunlight that comes thru the window, and the plant is inside. So strong light (in sunny days), but not much total direct light hours. For the most, it's just ambient light. I try to give her as much as direct sunlight as possible, but there are no many hours in this season.

Also, "night" is another weak point: it is never completely dark, but I always have a shining coming thru the window.
Far from ideal I know. But this is my first grow, and that's what I can work with right now.

I'm counting 14 weeks from the day I first time spotted a pistil.
 
Masswhole

Masswhole

Well-Known Member
growerboy said:
Thanks everybody for your feedbacks!

I'm willing to follow your inputs and wait until the plants ripens.

I'm just wondering about timing estimates... the buds look still somewhat immature, but it does not seem - to my unexperienced eyes at least - to have still a long way to go.

Trichs are mostly milky-cloudy, I'd prefer to don't let too much of them to become amber - I like the high waaay more than the stone. But if you say "be patient and wait", I'm definitely gonna do that.

I'll check them almost daily, and let the plant tell me when she's ready! :)
Click to expand...
It may take another month. I would start the flush 2 weeks from now. I use a 175 watt MH and they would take that long. If you use a 400 less time, 600 less time more light= more production. The amount of time varies widely, you should get all conceptions of time out of your head, the plant doesn't know your plan and will be done when she wants.

P.S. you will not miss the window. Put your scope away and let her work alone for a while.
 
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