Plants Maturing Differently!

I've got 3 plants in a small hydro cabinet in wk 8 of flower. I started with seeds from two different strains. Plants 1 & 2 are the same strain. Each plant is exhibiting a very different level of maturity.

Plant 1 - buds are covered with small, clear trichomes, pistils are 50% brown. Trichomes don't seem to be growing any further. I'd start flushing, but for the other plants.
Plant 2 - (same strain as 1) pistils are totally white. Can see just the beginnings of trichrome growth.
Plant 3 - (different strain) pistils have all turned brown, but no sign of trichomes!!

I don't know what's going on with plant 3. I'm not very experienced but it seems strange I can't see any evidence of trichomes at this point.

My pressing issue is: Should I start flush now and hope that plants 2 & 3 will continue to develop without any nuts? OR: Should I let plant 1 go further - until the trichomes start to turn milky? (I've been told to harvest before they turn milky).

Ikiru said:

I've got 3 plants in a small hydro cabinet in wk 8 of flower. I started with seeds from two different strains. Plants 1 & 2 are the same strain. Each plant is exhibiting a very different level of maturity.

Plant 1 - buds are covered with small, clear trichomes, pistils are 50% brown. Trichomes don't seem to be growing any further. I'd start flushing, but for the other plants.
Plant 2 - (same strain as 1) pistils are totally white. Can see just the beginnings of trichrome growth.
Plant 3 - (different strain) pistils have all turned brown, but no sign of trichomes!!

I don't know what's going on with plant 3. I'm not very experienced but it seems strange I can't see any evidence of trichomes at this point.

My pressing issue is: Should I start flush now and hope that plants 2 & 3 will continue to develop without any nuts? OR: Should I let plant 1 go further - until the trichomes start to turn milky? (I've been told to harvest before they turn milky).

Click to expand...

Harvest can be done without flushing. It just means you need to dry and cure your plants slower to avoid bad tastes. Plants continue to respire pumping energy into their sex glands even after harvest so dragging out the drying time and curing time actually increases potency and eliminates most taste that the flushers say flushing eliminates. Plus the buds will be green rather than all the other colors wierd colors caused by plant nutrient starvation as a result of flushing.

To slow curing and increase smoothness of taste you can decrease respiration (or drag it out for slow curing) by doing the following during curing:
§ decrease temperature
§ decrease oxygen
§ decrease pressure, e.g. light vacuum
§ increase carbon dioxide

The most common method is to dry the plants just enough to prevent mold during initial curing and then placing buds in air tight containers (jars etc) in the dark in a cool place. If you have CO2 then inject CO2 into the jars to displace O2. Open jars every few days to release humidity and then reinject CO2 and reseal jars.

Myself I also dry in a sealed CO2 charged closet with an air conditioner/dehumidifier but that is less commonly done with the smaller amounts normally being cured my most growers.