Brown calyx = botrytis?? Pics provided..

Hi, folks. Posting in "Newbie Central" for a reason.. as such, brace yourself for everything you're about to read/see.

Upper midwest, outdoor.. historical drought conditions this growing season. I water minimally, feed never. I plant a lotta stuff and I guess I pay more attention to the other things I plant, namely vegetables, and I'm at peace with that! Some of the plants in my midnite garden looked a-okay this year especially considering climate, conditions, and my dedication (or lack thereof). This Jack Herer, however, looks particularly sad. I attached some photos. Obvi some brown spots. Under my pocket microscope, however, it sure looks like these otherwise brown calyxes and leaves are actually just patches of amber trichomes. Any experience(s) with this? Under the microscope, the actual body/surface of the calyxes and leaves look healthy, green. And I've yet to find additional evidence pointing to mold or rot.. no gray hairs, fuzz, etc yet.

Thanks for your time. Again, specifically posting in the Newbie Central section.. I'm aware of how ruff this plant looks. I think a lotta folks might toss it on the compost pile perhaps. Oh well. Also, I should mention I had incredible results this year with Triple Ott's Golden Pie. In terms of mold/rot resistance, that seed is bomb proof. I planted 6 or 7 strains and suffered rot everywhere else, in some cases a little, some cases a lot. Golden Pie was clean as a whistle, however. Best aroma in the patch too. They're outta Oregon.. check em out.

If your trichomes are so amber it is making your plant look brown, you are going to sleep for days

The only way to tell for sure is break em open and see..

is there any mushiness to the effected area? pinch a few of them and rub them between your fingers...any little puff of white dust from them?
if not, it's probably just natural coloration, but keep your eye on it as it dries.

Roger A. Shrubber said:

is there any mushiness to the effected area? pinch a few of them and rub them between your fingers...any little puff of white dust from them?
if not, it's probably just natural coloration, but keep your eye on it as it dries.

Click to expand...

Buds still seem to have plenty of integrity. No puffs, etc when I crush em up. Also I might mention we saw some pretty cold overnite temps prior to harvest.. 27-30F some nites. I covered w/ row cover but they probably caught a little frostbite one or two times before I could get em covered for the nite. I'll continue to watch as I dry. Thanks.

It’s kinda hard to tell rot vs not from those pics. From the look of the fan leaves, it does look like frost torched that plant pretty good.
I had one plant afflicted with rot pretty bad this year and like Roger mentioned, the integrity of the buds gets affected. They get real dry and crumbly after hanging for just a few days in addition to being brown. The smell is off too, buds with rot don’t smell good.