A little trichome help?

[Ewwstank]

Hello friends!

I've been here awhile, had several usernames but kept forgetting the passwords

Anyway, I took several years off from growing and I'm more than a little rusty with my trichome knowledge. I've heard that clear is better than the old 30% amber 70% opaque. I'm currently at day 50 of flower and can't really tell what's going on with the trichomes.

Keep in mind I'm looking for the most potency, as this batch will be going towards medicine for my mother who is fighting breast cancer.

I've attached a few (really crappy) photos. 30x and 60x until my 100x handheld microscope comes in, and one of the canopy (ScrOG grow under two 400w hps).

If anyone could help, I'd really appreciate it!

 

[tropicalcannabispatient]

for me cloudy are the best!!

 

[Bacala]

30% amber is fine. And so is 40%, and so is 50%. You'll get tons of conflicting opinions and learn little, unfortunately. You can judge from the overall appearance of the buds too, so if you put up close and CLEAR shots of some of them we might be able to help. Don't stress over the trichs.

Best to you and your Mom as you go through this together.

 

[Ewwstank]

I know the pics are garbage, my bad! I'll attempt another set of pictures tomorrow.

Also thanks for the kind words! We've been buying some to make oil for her, but I enjoy growing, and the both of us don't need that extra expense.

 

[Bacala]

We've been buying some to make oil for her, but I enjoy growing, and the both of us don't need that extra expense.

Absolutely! I recently figured out that for about $70 I can grow (outdoor) what I need for a year and have leftovers to share, whereas buying my meds would cost $1200-1500 in my area. Since I love all aspects of gardening, it's perfect.

 

[Ewwstank]

A few "better" pics of the buds themselves, I really couldn't be bothered to screw with that loupe again for more crappy photos lol. Let me know if these are more of what you were looking for Bacala. 3x3 screen, that big one in the darker pic is probably 9 inches tall from the top of the screen.

Other than a bit of yellowing on some fan leaves, I feel like it's going well for my first time growing in over 7 years. Although any criticism is appreciated!

 

[Indacouch]

Just remember cloudy clear is guna be more of a head high and the more amber will be a body type pain control high at least for me

 

[SoOLED]

I see.....hmmm you need a better pocket scope!!!!

 

[Ewwstank]

I see.....hmmm you need a better pocket scope!!!!

Working on it, it's currently being shipped I had some loupes laying around the house and tried my best (with obviously terrible results lol)

 

[$bkbbudz$]

Nice Grow!

As for trichomes and maturity...there are a lot of schools of thought there. While it is generally accepted that the more amber the trichomes are the more mature a plant is. However, due to strain genetics and lineage many plants will have a great number of early amber trichomes. I see plants as living creatures and like humans even though someone may look old it does not necessarily mean they are nearing the end of life. To me there are a lot of different qualifications for harvest other than trichomes....age, leaf color, waiter retention, hardening of the upper stems, pistil color...and trichome color percentages as well....mostly I go by instinct and what my gurlz tell me.

 

[Ewwstank]

Anyone care to assist a bit with an estimation of harvest?

I again realize the pics are poop, but any input would be appreciated! I'm getting antsy and don't want to flush them too early and screw everything up

 

[Father Ramirez]

$42 well spent on a digi microscope
It crushes viewer micros Clamp it to a tripod for best results

https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Deluxe-Handheld-Digital-Microscope/dp/B004QF0A1Y/ref=sr_1_14?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1469153142&sr=1-14&keywords=digital+microscope

 

[Ewwstank]

$42 well spent on a digi microscope
It crushes viewer micros Clamp it to a tripod for best results

https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Deluxe-Handheld-Digital-Microscope/dp/B004QF0A1Y/ref=sr_1_14?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1469153142&sr=1-14&keywords=digital+microscope

Unfortunately I don't have a laptop for this guy. I'm looking around for my digital camera as well, that would at least give much clearer pictures at a higher zoom

 

[SoOLED]

$42 well spent on a digi microscope
It crushes viewer micros Clamp it to a tripod for best results

https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Deluxe-Handheld-Digital-Microscope/dp/B004QF0A1Y/ref=sr_1_14?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1469153142&sr=1-14&keywords=digital+microscope

added to wish list

aprx: 576k on my wish list lol

 

[$bkbbudz$]

Anyone care to assist a bit with an estimation of harvest?

I again realize the pics are poop, but any input would be appreciated! I'm getting antsy and don't want to flush them too early and screw everything up

Hmmmm...A bunch of budz!

As for flushing...more schools of thought on that than on trichome coloration...the search tool is your friend.

 

[$bkbbudz$]

$42 well spent on a digi microscope
It crushes viewer micros Clamp it to a tripod for best results

https://www.amazon.com/Celestron-Deluxe-Handheld-Digital-Microscope/dp/B004QF0A1Y/ref=sr_1_14?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1469153142&sr=1-14&keywords=digital+microscope

Decent reviews on that product...But, if you have a Mac...look else where.

 

[$bkbbudz$]

added to wish list

aprx: 576k on my wish list lol

Not to derail or jack this thread...but I have to know @SoOLED what the hell is that in your signature?

 

[Bacala]

Those flowers still have quite some time to go. Lots of life in those pistils.

 

[Ewwstank]

Those flowers still have quite some time to go. Lots of life in those pistils.

Thanks for the input Bacala! Digging through some previous posts has provided a wealth of info I'd forgotten over the years. I did notice that some of the pistils are just now starting to change colors while I was up there screwing around taking pictures. I'm thinking about getting more active in this lovely community, and I think I'm going to start a grow journal with my next set of clones if those are still even things anymore lol (it's been quite awhile since I've visited the site)

 

[Bulletproof_Love]

Just remember cloudy clear is guna be more of a head high and the more amber will be a body type pain control high at least for me

Honestly, that's what I want to go with in terms of harvesting by trichome coloration. But others would disagree and say to get amber down to >5%.

Some say indica's need more amber, Sativa's need absolutely no amber and hybrids like our white widows need somewhere in between.