not cool enough for pot, don't know my ass from a trichome, help!

Alright guys, I'm laying it all out this time...

I'm not a smoker but I decided to grow this summer because I'd been wanting to buy some weed but am just not cool enough to know anyone who would sell it to me. What can I say, I guess pot isn't a yuppie thing .

So I've got these plants now, and I smoked a little bit and they definitely "work", but I've been looking at the trichomes with my magnifier and hell if know if they're cloudy or not - the light on the magnifier is so bright they look like the goddamn sun! I can't see em at all without it. I think they might be cloudy, but they're definitely not amber.

I started outdoors way late (germ 7/20) and I didn't do anything fancy, just dirt from the store and Miracle grow. My buds are small as shit, but whatever, they're definitely not growing anymore. These were Nirvana Blue Mystic Fem'd Auto's (I figured might as well buy seeds with every "Feature" known to man in order to minimize the chance of me screwing up).

So. Points for honesty, I hope?

Should I cut em now?

-Pistils are 100% orange.
-Buds are weak looking but def. not growing anymore.
-Gets me high; actually, more than that, more like knocks my non-pot-smoking-ass right to the ground (used the steam+microwave quick dry method and smoked out of aluminum foil... yep, all class).
-Trics are completely mysterious to me, they might be 90% cloudy... or the might be electric blue for all I know.
-They are 8 wks from seed, still outside, and being quite stinky.

What do I do?

they look great for your first grow looks like they could use a few more weeks though. are the 2 1st pics the same plants as the last pic.
also what area you in. if its getting really cold at night or is rainy thenyou might want to pick, but i think a few weeks is still needed.

This is NorCal. It gets pretty cool at night, but short of frost. Yeah all the pics are of the same plants, I only had 5 seeds.

looks pretty good man.

well being norcal if i were you and had no smoke i would harvest one and then let the rest go for 1-2 weeks

You have further to go. Hit them with a full-spectrum blooming fertilizer (15-30-15 or similar - Miracle Grow Blooming Fertilizer is fine). They may seem to have stopped growing but they still are not ready. Also, keep in mind for the smoke to be the best it could be you have a minimum of 5 weeks after they are harvested. Drying time is 5 to 10 days, and curing time is another 4 to 5 weeks; although I guess you could smoke it as soon as after 2 weeks of curing.

Countryfarmer said:

You have further to go. Hit them with a full-spectrum blooming fertilizer (15-30-15 or similar - Miracle Grow Blooming Fertilizer is fine). They may seem to have stopped growing but they still are not ready. Also, keep in mind for the smoke to be the best it could be you have a minimum of 5 weeks after they are harvested. Drying time is 5 to 10 days, and curing time is another 4 to 5 weeks; although I guess you could smoke it as soon as after 2 weeks of curing.

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you could smoke as soon as it dries but curing does help alot.
the first 2 pics looks like its done it has no white hairs and all red, but then the last pic they all look like they have white pistils. either way they need to go longer. if the weather permits. can you get more pics kinda closer then the 3rd pic but not as close as the first 2

They've been getting Miracle Grow Bloom Booster; they've looked essentially unchanged for 2 weeks. ALL the pistils are orange, maybe only 3% left.

doozer said:

They've been getting Miracle Grow Bloom Booster; they've looked essentially unchanged for 2 weeks. ALL the pistils are orange, maybe only 3% left.

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Get in close on the plants with a 30X loop and take a look at the trichomes. You can get a cheap one from Radio Shack for about $10 and it will do the job just fine. Some cameras and camera phones will also let you zoom in close enough to get a clear look at them. What you are looking for is their coloration and the frequency of that coloration.

You might want to read this article from Cannabis Culture Magazine: http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/articles/4822.html

It describes the types of high and what to look for to get them. It also does a good job of explaining how the plant genetics work in this process. While the coloration change of pistils is usually a good indicator that the plant has entered the late portion of its life cycle, until you are experienced enough to look at a bud site and know that it is ready, the best thing to do is break out the magnifying glass or microscope and take a look at trichomes.

Personally, I know I am not experienced enough, so I will be using a loop to ensure I harvest at the correct time. Long time growers here though can just look at a plant and know when it is at the peak point for them.