Yet another "newbie" looking for advice on when to harvest.

Hello all - firstly thanks to those who take the time to share their knowledge on this site.

I'm a first time grower and am doing so for medical reasons (cancer) after reading about (and practicing) Rick Simpsons articles.

At present I have 2 White Lemon (25 weeks) and 8 "Mongrels" (seeds from a mixture of sources -20 weeks) growing under 7 no. 1.5 m long G5 super cool fluorescents.

My question is with the White Lemons (which are furthest along) - are they ready for harvest or should I leave them a bit. I have enclosed a couple of pictures and at full zoom on my computer I can add the following info.
1. At the top left hand there are some amber trichomes - about 25 no. in total.
2. There are only a few white pistols on the entire plant.
3. I notice that some of the leaves close to the top bud have started to develop brown spots. I have been feeding blooming nutes every alternate watering.
4. Despite the developing brown spots most of the fan leaves are a healthy dark green.
5. Like a real newbie I didn't make a note of when I switched over to a 12/12 regime.

As I mentioned this grow is for medical purposes and I cant afford to loose the time that it would take to rectify any silly mistakes. Good plant material is hard to find here. Thanks for looking.

Brother your buds look ready to harvest however, if you want to be 100% sure, get a magnifying loop somewhere between 40-100x and check the glands. You want to see mostly cloudy with let's say 20% (personal pref) amber and a few clear.

https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/841773/

look nice to me

A week

Thanks for the replies so far.

Another question I meant to ask regards the leaves (see pictures) that are covered in trichomes. As I'm making mostly oil should I dry these and use them together with the bud to make oil? ie. is it the same "good stuff" that we're after?

I hear what you say about the loupe but I'm using a 22MP camera and I find that if I go to full size I can quite easily see the color of the trichomes.

Yes you can use the sugar leaves to extract the oils too. Either combine them with the buds or make a separate batch with only leafs and small popcorn buds (to separate the two extracts with two different qualities. BTW, include all the leafs with the sugar leaves to extract your oils. All fan leafs have cannabinoids too though at a much less amount!
Whether you use a loop or a good quality cam with a macro lense/macro function, the idea is to evaluate the teichomes to accurately assess ripeness! You want mostly cloudy with around 20%amber. Its best to sample your buds at different stages of development to decide what effect you like best. Harvest early, and you have more of a head high. Harvest later and you'll have more of a body high. Now, that is still dependent on the strain as a more sativa dominant will elicit a head high and a more indica dominant strain will elicit a more of a body stone!

https://www.rollitup.org/index.php?threads/841773/

Thanks for the replies. I'm keeping a close watch from now - looking for about 15% amber. Thanks all.

Make sure you decarboxylate your material before making the oil if you are going to consume it versus smoking it. It makes a world of difference in that in converts THCA to THC. I have been making oil for my hubby who has cancer for several years.

That's your first time? Well done! Best wishes on your health friend. Time to start some more plants up!