Checking Trichs is hard

C

CaptainAdrock

Member
I'm in week 8 of flowering on this auto. First grow. Checking the trichomes has proven to be more difficult than anticipated. I have a microscope, but holding the damn thing steady is near impossible. It's really hard to get good pictures. Here's what I got though. Lets hear your thoughts.
 

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CaptainAdrock said:
I'm in week 8 of flowering on this auto. First grow. Checking the trichomes has proven to be more difficult than anticipated. I have a microscope, but holding the damn thing steady is near impossible. It's really hard to get good pictures. Here's what I got though. Lets hear your thoughts.
Click to expand...
Thoughts? Throw the scope away. When the pistils have all (or almost all) turned orange/brown and receed towards swollen calyx then the plant is ready.
 
Focusing on trichomes leads to early harvesting by many. Some of us don't even look at the trichomes.

Since you didn't post a picture of the entire plant which gives you a better idea than some scoped trichomes I'm going to say you have 2-3 weeks left on that plant just from the few pistils I see with some still being white. It does not matter what the breeder times state. 90% of the time they are way off and if you harvest when they say you will be harvesting early. Those times are not necessarily based on any actual finishing times but quite often is just for marketing. People want fast flowering plants. If they tell you a 10 week strain takes 10 weeks you'll buy seeds from the guy claiming a 10 week strain is done in 8 weeks.
 
xtsho said:
Focusing on trichomes leads to early harvesting by many. Some of us don't even look at the trichomes.

Since you didn't post a picture of the entire plant which gives you a better idea than some scoped trichomes I'm going to say you have 2-3 weeks left on that plant just from the few pistils I see with some still being white. It does not matter what the breeder times state. 90% of the time they are way off and if you harvest when they say you will be harvesting early. Those times are not necessarily based on any actual finishing times but quite often is just for marketing. People want fast flowering plants. If they tell you a 10 week strain takes 10 weeks you'll buy seeds from the guy claiming a 10 week strain is done in 8 weeks.
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For sure my man. She has at least 10 days left. Shes on her last nutes. Next week she gets only water until done. Honestly I was wondering how the hell checking trichomes was supposed to give you any kind of useful information. Luckily you have all educated me that trichomes, while fun to look at, are not a good source of any harvest timing mechanism. Here's a pic of the plant and buds, etc. She still has white pistols so I know she's not ready yet. Again, this was my first grow. DWC and she started in a 2x2 tent with a 300w blurple light.
 

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Checking trichs are for those that like to harvest early and get a racey head high. If you want a fully ripe plant with all the goodies do as those above say.. looks at those pistols, make sure they’re all brown/amber and shrunken back into the buds
 
CaptainAdrock said:
For sure my man. She has at least 10 days left. Shes on her last nutes. Next week she gets only water until done. Honestly I was wondering how the hell checking trichomes was supposed to give you any kind of useful information. Luckily you have all educated me that trichomes, while fun to look at, are not a good source of any harvest timing mechanism. Here's a pic of the plant and buds, etc. She still has white pistols so I know she's not ready yet. Again, this was my first grow. DWC and she started in a 2x2 tent with a 300w blurple light.
Click to expand...

It's not that the trichomes can't be useful. They just shouldn't be used as the sole source of determining when to harvest. Trichomes can change color for other reasons than the plant being done and on some strains the trichomes will not change color. The whole plant photos you just posted show at least 2 weeks until done but the photos of your trichomes show some amber here and there. Some growers get so caught up in the trichomes and are worried about the effect of the final product that they would harvest now because they are going for some "Head" high instead of the couchlock they believe allowing the trichomes to amber will bring. That is a flawed harvest method and leads to harvesting immature buds and the "Why does my weed smell like hay?" question.
 
xtsho said:
It's not that the trichomes can't be useful. They just shouldn't be used as the sole source of determining when to harvest. Trichomes can change color for other reasons than the plant being done and on some strains the trichomes will not change color. The whole plant photos you just posted show at least 2 weeks until done but the photos of your trichomes show some amber here and there. Some growers get so caught up in the trichomes and are worried about the effect of the final product that they would harvest now because they are going for some "Head" high instead of the couchlock they believe allowing the trichomes to amber will bring. That is a flawed harvest method and leads to harvesting immature buds and the "Why does my weed smell like hay?" question.
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Awesome. Good info brother. Sure makes harvesting a lot easier than. Thinking you have to figure out how to steady a microscope. But I thought the hay smell and taste was more from the drying/curing process. Which I am about to attempt for the first time.
 
CaptainAdrock said:
Awesome. Good info brother. Sure makes harvesting a lot easier than. Thinking you have to figure out how to steady a microscope. But I thought the hay smell and taste was more from the drying/curing process. Which I am about to attempt for the first time.
Click to expand...

Immature weed has not yet developed the terpenes that affect the taste and smell. I'm in the minority but I don't cure my weed. I dry it slowly and jar it to be smoked immediately. I like it fresh. Properly dried matured weed that hasn't been cured will have a better taste and smell than immature weed that has been cured.

As for the microscope. It's completely unnecessary. Cannabis growers tend to overcomplicate things. Always wanting some new high tech gadget to play with. If you want to check the trichomes you don't need some USB scope you plug into your phone and fiddle around with some app taking stills and short movies.

All you need is one of these.

loupe2.jpg
 
xtsho said:
Immature weed has not yet developed the terpenes that affect the taste and smell. I'm in the minority but I don't cure my weed. I dry it slowly and jar it to be smoked immediately. I like it fresh. Properly dried matured weed that hasn't been cured will have a better taste and smell than immature weed that has been cured.

As for the microscope. It's completely unnecessary. Cannabis growers tend to overcomplicate things. Always wanting some new high tech gadget to play with. If you want to check the trichomes you don't need some USB scope you plug into your phone and fiddle around with some app taking stills and short movies.

All you need is one of these.

loupe2.jpg
Click to expand...
Oh lord, I have a jewelers loupe, but holding it the right distance from my face and from the bud to focus is harder than using the scope. At least with the scope my face isn't smashed into it and I can take stoll shots lol.
 
xtsho said:
Immature weed has not yet developed the terpenes that affect the taste and smell. I'm in the minority but I don't cure my weed. I dry it slowly and jar it to be smoked immediately. I like it fresh. Properly dried matured weed that hasn't been cured will have a better taste and smell than immature weed that has been cured.

As for the microscope. It's completely unnecessary. Cannabis growers tend to overcomplicate things. Always wanting some new high tech gadget to play with. If you want to check the trichomes you don't need some USB scope you plug into your phone and fiddle around with some app taking stills and short movies.

All you need is one of these.

loupe2.jpg
Click to expand...


A link to wtf that is for us dummies would be appreciate sir. Thanks in advance
 
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