When to harvest?

[sspitfire]

Hi. I have 2 indicas and 3 sativas. They're in the 8th week of flowering. I know that th indicas will mature faster. Right now 100% of the trics are milky white. Im going for head high and I plan to harvest when I get 10% amber trics. But my question is - am I going to be able to spot the amber trics only with a magnifying glass ? Microscope is not an option at the moment. I just don't want to miss the right moment - Im a first time grower. Thanks

 

[St3ve]

If you can see milky heads, you should be able to see the amber ones.

 

[kolah]

radio shack, 10 bucks for a 30x loupe.

 

[sspitfire]

ok so is it true that if I leave them in dark for 24 or 48 hours before harvest they will get more trichs or mature faster? and which one is it ?

 

[Dunge]

I suspect that "days of dark before harvest" is a myth.
The plant has spent months synthesizing the sticky mess we so lovingly cultivate.
Where is the logic or data that suggests a spike in these products will result from darkness?

I suspect a successful farmer was observed making the decision that his crop was ready to cut.
He turned out the lights and was heard to say, "Done. We will cut then in two days."
He knew his trim crew was busy, and couldn't get there for two days.
Perhaps dark would slow over ripening.

Misunderstanding observed actions is probably where the, "take off all those fan leaves" myth came from.
Some kid observes some prudent pruning, and the myth goes viral.

I'm ready to be proven wrong.
Please do.

 

[sspitfire]

Ok so back to the original question - 8 weeks +3 days now in flowering and I can't get a microscope b/c we dont have Radio Shack around here (only profesional microscopes which are too expensive) So - has anyone been able to spot the amber trichomes with a magnifying glass only? I want to harvest when I see the first amber trichs but Im worried I wont be able to spot them - they all look milky now and Im a first time grower. But I definately dont want to have amber trics. So should take a chance and wait for it until I see them (if I can) or should I cut them now ?

 

[UKgrow]

Hi. I have 2 indicas and 3 sativas. They're in the 8th week of flowering. I know that th indicas will mature faster. Right now 100% of the trics are milky white. Im going for head high and I plan to harvest when I get 10% amber trics. But my question is - am I going to be able to spot the amber trics only with a magnifying glass ? Microscope is not an option at the moment. I just don't want to miss the right moment - Im a first time grower. Thanks

To see the triclones you need 100x magnification, I buy them for a couple of bucks each inc free p&p from Hong Kong off ebay. Look for pocket magnifier etc but at least 100x etc. Yes when roughly 10 % turn from white to amber/red (this is the THC breaking down). If you want a more psychoactive high chop down before they all turn white (depending on the strain grown of course)

 

[Dunge]

If you want a more psychoactive high chop down before they all turn white (depending on the strain grown of course)

This is a new level of fidelity that I have yet read. It makes sense from what I currently believe.

And on the subject of proper optics for trichome inspection.
I am very happy with my Hong Kong via ebay jewelers loop on head glasses w/ LED target illumination.
Take off one of the loops and put a rubber band on the ear wires, and you can inspect all the flowers you can put your head near.

 

[sspitfire]

If you want a more psychoactive high chop down before they all turn white (depending on the strain grown of course)

What do you mean? As I said they ARE all white at the moment and I want to cut them when I spot the 1st amber trics. As far as I know the THC start degrading when they start turning from white to amber and not from clear to white? Am I correct?

 

[UKgrow]

yes you are correct my friend.

 

[Morgan]

the white / clear trichs are going to be your pick me up smoke more active during the day type smoke! when you hit Amber this is gonna be your couch lock and you heavy hitter! just pay attention to your ladies and you will learn from them like i stated on another thread . learn what they are teaching you and they will tell you everything you need to know about what and when they are in need of somthing!

oh yea you can also look at your Hairs the white will turn to red, brown , red, blue , purple, once you notice more of the hairs turn a color then they are gettin ready to come down!!

 

[MrBlazeAlot]

hey spitfire apologies but i plan to ask a question in ur topic to avoid starting a new one cuz i need a short true or false. Some1 told me that if I stop watering my plants around 2 weeks before harvest, plant thinks it is dying so it concentrates more thc from strains and leaves in buds/heads.. is it true :). <-newbie here

 

[El Cerebro]

Lots of good discussion on this subject in other threads. 30-60x will show the big picture, but need 100+ to drill down to see individual trichs better. Don't just go by colors/translucence, that's a rough guide and varieties/preferences will differ greatly, gotta learn em. With a new strain, cutting branches at several dates and curing them before testing will show what you want to know (takes some time and organization obviously, but worth the effort if you continue running it).

Dark at the end is not a myth, or else all the good growers here who've empirically tested it (side by side as above, and myself included) must be delusional. Do some searching, lots of deeper discussion about this in prior threads. This is an easy test to perform, just cut some before the long lightsout and compare to the rest, after a minimum 6wks of curing.

Stress of any kind can cause plants to react at the end, just not certain if it'll be a positive or neg thing. Gotta test yer girls and see what they do..

 

[Morgan]

For a beginner i just threw out a few beginner things to try and look for.you can make things very complicated if you want but I prefer to keep things as simple as I can the more you complicate it the more we effect our end result.

Also no grower is the same we are all special in our own ways.

You always need to keep in mind before going out and buying a 20 part nute that these plants where here long before us growing just fine before us. You will run into difficult strains due to MAN.

Keep it green