Are these images of trichomes good enough?

Hi there,

I took some photos of my plant with a microscope which someone gave me a few years ago. Is the quality good enough for me to tell when the trichomes start turning amber?

I'll have another shot at the 'scope during lights-on tomorrow anyway; hopefully they'll come out better.

Thanks!!

Sure. Look at the heads now. see they are clear?

Ah right. Sorry I'm not sure how obvious it's supposed to be when they start turning amber. I've seen a few photos here and there, but am somewhat apprehensive as this is my first truly successful plant.

Just took another photo anyway and I think it's much clearer!

Thanks for your comment, +rep

The trichs on the leaf in the second pic still look clear, though it is on a white table. Really get close and try focusing in on the trichs one at a time. You'll definitely know if it's cloudy, clear or amber.

they look like they still got a couple weeks. I harvest mine when the trics are 60% amber 40% cloudy

whats a good way to harvest if you dont have a microscope to check trich's? im gonna be trying to get one but i have ALOT more money needed to be invested and i dont know if i can fit it into budget.

I was thinking leave it for 9 1/2 weeks after first signs of flowering. would that be a good time period then just chop without lookin at trich's? would it be ready? if i get a microscope ill be good cause ill just go by trichs


oh and sorry im not trying to thread jack, just i think its pointless making another thread on the already spammed RUI forum.

Ya know, for under $5 you can pick up a 30x jewelers glass on ebay.
Thats what I use.

rhino1111 said:

whats a good way to harvest if you dont have a microscope to check trich's? im gonna be trying to get one but i have ALOT more money needed to be invested and i dont know if i can fit it into budget.

I was thinking leave it for 9 1/2 weeks after first signs of flowering. would that be a good time period then just chop without lookin at trich's? would it be ready? if i get a microscope ill be good cause ill just go by trichs


oh and sorry im not trying to thread jack, just i think its pointless making another thread on the already spammed RUI forum.

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$12 for a lighted 30-100x magnifier @ Radio Shack. Love it!

After you take the picture at the highest resolution you can, use a photo editing software to crop a small section and re size it to 800x600. I use microsoft picture manager or if you want a free one there is Photo Scape that will do it. Thats how we get those close up shots.

NateDizity1420 said:

they look like they still got a couple weeks. I harvest mine when the trics are 60% amber 40% cloudy

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That's probably when I shall be harvesting mine, though I'm partial to harvesting a little earlier as I prefer those 'head' highs. Thanks for the guesstimate anyway!

cruzer101 said:

After you take the picture at the highest resolution you can, use a photo editing software to crop a small section and re size it to 800x600. I use microsoft picture manager or if you want a free one there is Photo Scape that will do it. Thats how we get those close up shots.

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I'll try that with Photoshop when I next get the 'scope out. Probably in a week or two, cheers!

I took a few new photos of the buds and trichomes to see what you guys think

The general appearance of the buds is they're very nearly done, but I don't really notice any amber trichomes, or is it just really subtle?

A couple of the buds haven't really got that many brown pistils on them, but others have loads. I reckon it's at least 3-5 days, what do you all think?

Thanks again

How long has your plant been flowering? looks like you got a blend of cloudy and clear which means its all head high. You don't NEED to wait for amber Trich's its only if you want to wait for them to get that body buzz. However a rule of thumb is you should flower for a minimum of 7 weeks unless you got time constraints and then 6 at the very least. The reason why is, even though you have Trichomes on the plant a lot of resin builds of in a individual flower buds Calayxs. That's why buds swell because its closed off and is producing all resin instead of a seed.

This major part in THC production usually starts at week 6.

She's now coming into week 7, but I would expect flowering to be somewhat slow as she was growing in the glorious sun until it ran out and I had to faff around trying to get the right bulbs.

Thanks a lot for that info' anyway, it's very helpful. I guess I'll leave it a week or so. +rep

Oh yea, she has a ways to go.
The brown pistils are just an indication of the end of growth during flower. The trichomes are the real deal.
From what I see in your pics you have clear trichomes. Those should ripen and become cloudy. its not subtle it's cloudy.

From what I understand they transfer light through the heads while the plant is growing, then as the plant ripens the trichs turn cloudy and less light is let through until the plant is finished. Thats when you see them turn amber. If you dont harvest at this time they start to degrade. Most people don't wait that long, I have, just to see what would happen.

I have harvested plants with clear, cloudy and amber trichome.
Clear and cloudy were close to the same head buzz but the cloudy lasted longer. Amber did give me more of a body stone.

I have had several strains that were suppose to be 8 week flower that took 10 weeks so your not alone.

Oh yeah definitely good enough! Just resize em if necessary =]

I love Thrichs <3 Give Em a week Or 2 more Tho Right Now Would Be Good Too

[youtube]N8BDVP4y9dY[/youtube]

Set of binoculars. Not the greatest, but if you have some lying around, they work. Turn them around and look through the front lens. I picked that trick up on here.

This video is THE SHIT!!!! I love that vid man...if I could give +rep you'd have it for that vid.

Bauks said:

I love Thrichs <3 Give Em a week Or 2 more Tho Right Now Would Be Good Too

[youtube]N8BDVP4y9dY[/youtube]

View attachment 1284934View attachment 1284935View attachment 1284936View attachment 1284937View attachment 1284938

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all my trichs for the most part look like these. a mix between mostly cloudy, very few clear and some maybe 15% amber

Thanks a lot for all your replies guys . The video and pictures helped a lot too. And it's nice to hear from someone who's tested it all cruzer - I reckon I'll wait until 15-30% of the trichomes turn amber and then turn the lights off for a day (or two? either way the speculative benefits of this darkness period seem substantial!)

This is my first plant that has made the whole lifecycle (others hermie'd or got covered in mold) so I'm looking forward to hack 'n' slash day . Great to know if anything bad happens now at least I'll have something from it! Though I'm practicing patience now as I expect the buds to really start filling out now.

+rep for your comments, thanks again!