beginner's luck

Ok, here goes. A while back I decided to throw a seed in a pot and see what happened, not expecting much. To my surprise a nice little plant started to grow and I let it. A few months later, I was able to determine that it was female and manicured it a bit. Then later, I noticed some yellowing of the leaves and gave it a little fish emulsion. I was really startled when my little plant started to flower. I have done nothing like this before and only have that one little lonely plant. Honestly folks, I have done nothing else to this plant. No fertilzer, or watering schedule. It has been outside and I live in a very hot area with above average rain this year. Now, I am thinking it is close to harvest time since it has been quite some time in the flowering stage and I am confused about how to tell. I have seen some of the pictures on this site and don't see the crystally looking stuff (trichomes)? that are being described. It does have the partially red hairs that I have seen described. I will purchase a magnifying glass but I am also confused about this flushing process that everybody is talking about. I would appreciate any advice you can give me.
Many thanks

if you havnt used any fertilizer there really is no need to worry about flushing.

Flushing is when you use clean water to remove all the chemicals and bad tastes that would
end up in the buds of the plant if you didnt.

If there is plenty of rain and you are not fertilizing it, i wouldnt worry. Seems like mother nature is taking care of her for you.

Post some pics if you can!

_forbidden_

when those hairs are halfway red then it is ready to harvest. don't do it before or you may cheat yourself out of buds

Thanks for all your responses. I did buy a microscope this weekend and have been peering at the trichomes as I have seen mentioned here. This is really quite interesting and I could probably look at them for a long time. I wanted to share my expereinces. On Friday, they appeared quite clear and not at all ready, but on Sunday they appeared mostly cloudy with a few spots of amber. Was it supposed to happen that fast or did I just get lucky? The hairs are about 50% red at this point. Also, what is the estimated time now that the trichomes are turning amber? Should I look everyday? Should they all be amber before I harvest because it looks as if some have farther to go than others. Can I harvest the plant partially and leave other sections to grow? Thanks so much for your help. I will try to post some pictures but I guess it makes me kind of paranoid. Thanks again.

What a nice story, I tend mine constantly and have such trouble with all the lights and nutrients and all that crap and you have done it with little effort and none of that commercial rubbish. Pics please!

Yeah! You can harvest the plant little by little, litterally one brance at a time (if you like). Think of it like picking fruit - you go over the tree several times, each time you just take what is ripe.

The colors of the hairs on the buds have nothing to do with when its ready or not to harvest. Some bud doesn't even have red hairs.......Its all in the color of the trichomes!

Way to go. Keep an eye on the tris. Depending on the high you are after. Cloudy is a more up head high, the more amber you go the more couch frozen high you will get. Pick as rady to, you don't have to pick the whole plant at one time as mentioned. Take off the buds as they are ripe to your taste. Just as you would any fruits or flowers in your garden. Pick when ready. Good luck, keep us posted and show us a pic. lol

heres some good pics
Trichomes

One more question if you don't mind. I have a friend who insists that I wait to harvest until after the first cold snap. Where I live that could be more than 2 months away. Does that sound right to anybody? Since it appears that the trichomes are already turning, could that be possible? Thanks again for all your help.

I think your friend is being a silly billy. As I understand it various plants develop at different rates, if you think your plant is ready to harvest now and have taken the care to check out the Trichomes, I would ignore your friend, harvest it, smoke it all and then tell him the little fucker died in the cold due to your friends bad advice! (last part optional)

hehehe clang youre evil! good thinking tho rofl