[HennoGarvie]

Can anyone help me please? It’s my grow and I’m not sure if these are ready to harvest

 

[Randyy]

 

[ArtfulCodger]

Here's how I think about it. You'll need good magnification to see what you need to see. We're looking at bud trichomes, not leaf trikes, which tend to mature earlier. Three basic stages of trichome maturity: clear, cloudy, and amber. Clear is too soon. Once all the bud trikes are at least cloudy, you've reached maximum THC potency. The more amber bud trichomes you see, the more secondary cannabinoids you'll have, at the cost of some THC. Cloudy tends to be a buzzier head high. More amber is a stonier body high. I aim for at least 10% amber on my bud trichomes, but once they're all at least cloudy, it's personal preference. 30% percent amber and higher is a delicacy you won't find in most dispensaries.

My hot take on this is that if you're smoking, you're metabolizing only about 10% THC. With a lot of today's genetics testing at 20% and higher, we aren't really giving up much "useful THC" in exchange for the varied and interesting entourage effects we can get running longer to get more amber. Just my $0.02.