Please prepare a newbie to harvest and not butcher this girl

Ok, so never having harvested I have some questions. I have read all about it, but concerns linger. I have a small 30X jewelers loupe with led light built in. My game plan was to cut flower branches off the main stalk as they start to show amber trichomes. Is that how it is done? Actually I am unsure how to even check for trichomes. Do I just lay the loupe on the sugar leaves, or the flower itself? What parts of the plant mature first to check. Should I just clip off bud branches that show amber trichomes in small quantity and leave the rest of the plant to grow?Do all the little popcorn buds mature last? Sorry for the silly questions. Please add any tips that a first timer could use to harvest.

Check the bud itself with your loupe, also check multiple areas of the buds.More then likely your main cola(s) will finish first.You can take the tops and let the lower parts further ripen.

well here comes the pain in the ass part but also time to reap the rewards.
use your scope to check the flowers. looking for orangish red trichs. (looking at the little balls at the end of the stalks)
i usually start my flushing when i see the first signs and give it a week or 2 past that point before cutting down.
you can either cut whole plant or branch by branch. i cut branches of cause they are easier to work with.
you can either wet trim or dry trim and thats really just preference but i would recommend trimming wet before you hang it.
and as far as the popcorn buds go they do mature last, some people cut everything but them off an let them mature some more but i wouldnt. either cut them too and throw them in with the rest, make hash or edibles out of them, quick dry and smoke, really up to you what happens with the popcorn buds. GOOD LUCK!

Also, if it is your first harvest.Wanna post up some pics and we can let you know if you are indeed near harvest time.Its pretty tricky as the odd amber trich can show up and meanwhile you still have a few weeks to go...just be sure.

I was under the impression it was the leaves that I was supposed to check, and that's what I checked. The leaves showed amber ALL over and I was worried I let it go too long but it was only day 55 so idk but come to find out that after I cut a lot of the fan leaves and sugar leaves the flower itself wasn't soo amber. It's actually probably like 80% milky 5% clear and about 15% amber. I was hoping for more amber but jumped the gun cause of the sugar leaves. I plan on doing a partial harvest with my sativa as that should be up next in a couple more weeks. I would check all over though before you chop to ensure you get what your looking for.

Im in the middle of my first harvest now . Well it's there trying to dry but I left the whole thing to try the sloooooooow way but idk lol. I'm toooo fkn impatient haha. I already had to clip a couple nuggies off and tried trimming while wet. I've had to clip before thru out grow and hung with alllll the leaves then had to clip all those dry leaves off. Didn't mind till now that I tried wet and feel Like its a lot easier. A lot stickier but kinda faster lol. I guess what I'm saying is try a little of everything with it and find what suits you best. IMO if you want to try dry trimming, I'd make sure it's a indica dominat girl, those sativas sure do have shit loads of damn leaves!!! My sativa will be wet trim allll the way!!! Best of luck with whatever you chose.

Mattemil said:

Check the bud itself with your loupe, also check multiple areas of the buds.More then likely your main cola(s) will finish first.You can take the tops and let the lower parts further ripen.

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Thanks for the tip. Got it....so I need to check trichs around the flower itself, starting with the upper colas

drolove said:

well here comes the pain in the ass part but also time to reap the rewards.
use your scope to check the flowers. looking for orangish red trichs. (looking at the little balls at the end of the stalks)
i usually start my flushing when i see the first signs and give it a week or 2 past that point before cutting down.
you can either cut whole plant or branch by branch. i cut branches of cause they are easier to work with.
you can either wet trim or dry trim and thats really just preference but i would recommend trimming wet before you hang it.
and as far as the popcorn buds go they do mature last, some people cut everything but them off an let them mature some more but i wouldnt. either cut them too and throw them in with the rest, make hash or edibles out of them, quick dry and smoke, really up to you what happens with the popcorn buds. GOOD LUCK!

Click to expand...

More good tips! I am right on schedule according to what you said! Thanks.

Yes I will heed your advice about waiting for proper ripining I am gonna go with the gradual removal or ripened flowers and letting the rest of the plant live. As for trimming, having no experience I will go with the wet method and do a little daily.