This Is When To Harvest

Hi, I see alot of people making statements referring to harvesting by the color of the stigma's. IE, they usually say when the stigma's turn red, you harvest.

In case anyone is "lost" by the word stigma, these are the hairs growing off your bud.

Someone even made this visual aid....

This is so wrong,, and not a good way to determine when to harvest at all.

You need to harvest by the color of the trichomes.

You'll need a 30x glass, loop or microscope. (I bought a 30x uptp100x scope with light at radio shack for only $10.00)

The stigmas, as well as their color, can be seen easily with the naked eye. The trichomes can be seen with the naked eye too, but you can’t see the color change without magnification. The trichomes, with the naked eye, look like crystals of sugar on the bud and surrounding leaves.

You can see in this picture below, that the hairs are about 50% red, but the trichomes appear totally clear. With magnification you can see that many of the trichomes are starting to turn amber on the caps and some have the amber streaking down the stalk. Again, to see the trichome color you need magnification, and can’t be viewed in this picture.

I've been asked repeatedly, is there any way to tell by looking with my eye, and the answer is no.
However, to make thing easier on you, this is what I picked up for only $9.99
Which should fit everyones budget.
RadioShack.com

• Powerful 60-100X magnification
• Compact design provides easy portability
• Easy-to-use controls allow for adjustable focus and zoom
• Built-in light with on/off switch

way helpful even though im far from harvesting i probably will keep this in mind. i did an outdoor grow a few years ago, and i harvested too early. not good. pretty much a waste of a good amount of herb.

Yeah, you need to get a 30x or higher, mine goes upto 100x and its pretty amazing to see.

Excellent thread, VM. This definitely will help at harvest time.

Good start, and whilst you tell people to look at the colour of the trichomes, you don't explain to anyone what the different colours actually mean in real terms.

The 'glandular stalked trichomes' the bract secretions we're mostly interested in because they contain the majority of ∆9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) the psychoactive cannabinol that gets us 'high' goes through 4 distinct colour changes in its maturation and degradation -

Clear - the colour new trichomes start out at
Cloudy - the commencement of THC decomposition
Amber - THC starting to break down into CBN
Dark amber - further decomposition and oxidisation of THC into CBN

The clear and cloudy states contain the most THC before it starts decomposing down into CBN and 50/50 clear cloudy is a good mix to shoot for. More info here -

https://www.rollitup.org/59084-post13.html

Good post videoman, I bought a similar magnifying glass today. I don't like it that much. You have to almost touch the plant in order to see anything. Kinda sucks. I might return it.

THanks for the additional info babygro. I have been reading up on when to harvest and what type of stone the different stages will produce. because I am on day 42 of flowering on my NL and I might harvest one of them today!

cool stuff videoman, i gone grab on next time pass by at a radioshack and babygro, great explanation on the "color code" thx you guys

While what babygro said is completely true, my intent was to keep this as simple as possible.
A couple of points to remember, what you are looking for is on the tips on the trichomes, what may appear sort of like a mushroom cap will appear, this is what you are looking at.
You want to judge the color of the tip, and by doing so you can retain some degree of control over what type of high you will get from your harvest.

wow. what an awesome thread! really informative, i'll have to keep this in mind when that magical harvesting time rolls around. lol. and like green_nobody, i'll definitely have to pick up a scope next time i'm near that shack full of radios.

Videoman, have you experienced the same type of problems with the magnifying glass that I mentioned in my last post? I have had a real hard time getting a good look at the trichomes because you have to touch the device up to the flower in order for it to work. Have you had this problem as well?

try a jewelers loupe. it can be held much further away. has a larger field of vision. and come in many different magnifications.

fdd2blk said:

try a jewelers loupe. it can be held much further away. has a larger field of vision. and come in many different magnifications.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'll try to pick one of those up. How much will that run me do you think?

If you have a pocket microscope, or jewellers loupe, you can examine the trichomes (trichs). They start out as just little sticks, and as your bud ripens they grow bobbles on the tops of those sticks. As soon as your trichs have bobbles on, and appear to be ready to burst, you can harvest.

If you leave them on, and keep an eye on the trichs with your magnifier, you can taylor the stone to what you require. They will firstly go a milky white colour, this is the process of THC degrading to CBD, THC gives you the heady "up" high, whereas the CBD gives you the body stone.

Most people chop when the trichs are mainly milky white. If you leave them a bit longer, you will see the trichs turn an amber colour, this is when the buds are at their most potent in terms of couch-lock, and is the best time to harvest if the smoke is to be used for medi purposes.

High psychoactive varieties produce clear or transparent capitate heads then they turn transparent amber then slowly oxidise to brown, none translucent. This type is most psychoactive at the early amber translucent stage.

Most varieties do not have a translucent amber stage. What you get is transparent then the milky none translucent that develops over time to the oxidised none translucent brown stage. This type is most psychoactive at the early milky stage.

The thing about amber trichomes, is that true amber trichomes only develop in some phenotypes and only with very high potency types!

The way to define it, is that high potency or should I say the type of plant that develops what I call complex psychoactivity, only develop with clear trichome stages, they go from glass clear to very light yellow to amber to red amber as they develop. The onset of the first red amber just showing is when the potency is at its peak.

At all these stages the trichomes are crystal clear like cut jewels! Its only as they start to degrade that they start to go brown and start to cloud ie: become none translucent this finally degrades to a dark muddy colour.

Types that go from glass clear to milky [like frosted glass]. With this type when you get 40 to 60% milky trichomes, new thc production is being produced at a lower rate than it is slowly degrading, this is the most psychoactive point for this type or variety, it will never produce true amber, instead when you get the oxidised thc starting to show, which is more of an amber brown but cloudy. With this type of var as soon as brown trichomes start appearing you know thc production is way over the top and declining rapidly, at this stage psychoactivity is also declining and the effect becomes more and more narcotic. You see this much more with genes that come from hash making type genetics or so called indicas. Its the same thing as fresh lightly pressed hash has a nice medium honey coloured look, but this very quickly starts to darken, becomes brown then black over time as the surface thc oil oxidises.

Real Amber trichomes only happen on a very few varieties (mainly sativa dominant), the order is clear, clear slightly pale yellow, ie [going amber], to clear red amber. [at all stages they remain jewel clear]

With most varieties (indica dominant) you get clear trichomes then slightly cloudy finally milky.

What happens to both types (sativa and indica) is that eventually both milky and amber trichomes will finally degrade to brown, people often confuse this brown with amber, true amber trichome types remain crystal clear until they finally degrade, they are not the same, the final brown is cloudy/muddy in both types, when trichomes are getting to this stage potency is declining rapidly and the buds well over the top.

With sativa dom’s time means little, as soon as you see the first sign of trichome changes ie milky/clear straw, you can start cutting a bud every week, then choose the stone you like best, sats take longer to mature especially real amber types, also longer to degrade to the brown oxidised stage.

Pictures 1, 2, and 3 show some pictures of trichome maturation which have turned milky in colour.

Picture 4 is a shot of trichomes ready for harvest on an indica dominant strain. Picture 5 is a sativa.

splifman said:

Videoman, have you experienced the same type of problems with the magnifying glass that I mentioned in my last post? I have had a real hard time getting a good look at the trichomes because you have to touch the device up to the flower in order for it to work. Have you had this problem as well?

Click to expand...

No Splifman, just rip or cut off a leaf, and sit down with it.

Jimmy, I think this is false......"Real Amber trichomes only happen on a very few varieties (mainly sativa dominant), the order is clear, clear slightly pale yellow, ie [going amber], to clear red amber. [at all stages they remain jewel clear]
With most varieties (indica dominant) you get clear trichomes then slightly cloudy finally milky."

I believe that indica dominant do indeed get amber in color.

Hey, all
Just got the Micorscope and now im really impacient. I checked and old Forum and found additional info. That backs everything up, i looked at some
leaves under the scope and . its clear but going cloudy, i want to hold out for another week, here is some info.
What are Trichomes?




capitate stalked trichome photo by: Eirik

Although cannabis resin glands called trichomes are structurally diverse, they come in three basic varieties:


Bulbous:
The bulbous type is the smallest (15-30 micron). From one to four cells make up the "foot" and "stalk," and one to four cells make up the "head" of the gland. Head cells secrete a resin - presumably cannabinoids, and related compounds which accumulate between the head cells and the cuticle. When the gland matures, a nipple-like protrusion may form on the membrane from the pressure of the accumulating resin. The bulbous glands are found scattered about the surfaces of the above-ground plant parts.

Capitate-Sessile:
The second type of gland is much larger & is more numerous than the bulbous glands. They are called capitate, which means having a globular-shaped head. On immature plants, the heads lie flush, appearing not to have a stalk and are called capitate sessile. They actually have a stalk that is one cell high, although it may not be visible beneath the globular head. The head is composed of usually eight, but up to 16 cells, that form a convex rosette. These cells secrete cannabinoids, and related compounds which accumulate between the rosette and it's outer membrane. This gives it a spherical shape. The gland measures from 25 to 100 micron across.

Capitate-Stalked:
Cannabinoids are most abundant in the capitate-stalked gland which consists of a tier of secretory disc cells subtending a large non-cellular secretory cavity. During flowering the capitate glands that appear on the newly formed plant parts take on a third form. Some of the glands are raised to a height of 150 to 500 micron when their stalks elongate. These capitate-stalked glands appear during flowering and form their densest cover on the female flower bracts. They are also highly concentrated on the small leaves that accompany the flowers. The male flowers have stalked glands on the sepals, but they are smaller and less concentrated than on the female bracts. Male flowers form a row of very large capitate glands along the opposite sides of anthers.



photo by: Proof_of_the_pudding


photo by: Proof_of_the_pudding
The figures above denote capitate-stalked trichomes with green arrows, the bulbous trichomes with yellow arrows & the red arrows mark the capitate-sessile trichomes. Cyan arrows denote cystolith hairs.

Life inside a capitate-stalked trichome

image by: Snaps_Provolone
Disc cells, attached to leaf or bract by stipe cells (RED) & basal cells (GREEN), release fibrillar wall matrix into secretory cavity where it contributes to thickening of subcuticular wall during enlargement of secretory cavity. Plastids (ORANGE) in disc cells produce secretions called lipoplasts which synthesize quantities of lipophilic substances that accumulate outside the plasma membrane, migrating into the endoplasmic reticular cytoplasm and through the plasma membrane and cell wall into the secretory cavity where they form vesicles (BLUE) in the secretory cavity. Vesicles in contact with the subcuticular wall release contents that contribute to the growth of the cuticle during the enlargement of the secretory cavity. THC occurs in the walls, fibrillar matrix & other contents surrounding the vesicles, but not in the vesicles. Trace amounts of THC is present in the disc cells.


photo by: Eirik


When to harvest your trichomes
There are several schools of thought as to when it is the time to harvest. I shall attempt to explain how you can determine the harvesting time that will produce the most favorable psychoactive effect for your individual preferences.

We are most concerned with the capitate-stalked trichomes, as these contain the overwhelming majority of the psychoactive cannabinoids (THC, THCV, CBN). Different cannabinoids affect the high in a multifaceted manner.

THC:
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol & delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol - THC mimics the action of anandamide, a neurotransmitter produced naturally in the body, which binds with the cannabinoid receptors in the brain to produce the ?high? associated with marijuana. THC possesses high UV-B (280-315 nm) absorption properties.

THCV:
tetrahydrocannabivarin - prevalent in certain South African and Southeast Asian strains of cannabis. It is said to produce a ?clearer high? & seems to possess many of the therapeutic properties of THC.

CBD:
cannabidiol - previously believed to be psychoactive, or to contribute to the high by interacting with other cannabinoids, conversely the most recent research indicates that CBD has negligible effect on the high, it is however a strong anti-inflammatory, and may take the edge off some THC effects, such as anxiety. CBD as a non-psychoactive cannabinoid appears to be helpful for many medical conditions. CBD biosynthesizes into cannabinol (CBN) & tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

CBN:
cannabinol - a degradation product of THC, produces a depressant effect, ?fuzzy? forehead.

CBC:
cannabichromene - non-psychoactive , a precursor to THC.

CBG:
cannabigerol - non-psychoactive, hemp strains often posses elevated levels of CBG while possessing only trace amounts of THC.

Heavy trichome production is not necessarily an indication of a potent plant. Some hemp strains have moderate layers of trichomes yet pack only a strong headache. In a drug strain, a thick layer of trichomes is a symbol that it may well posses an elevated potency level, but it is certainly not a guarantee.

What defines a cannabis drug strain is the plant's ability to produce THC & THCV.

A small 25x or stronger pocket microscope, which can be picked up inexpensively at an electronics store like Radio Shack, works well for getting a closer peek at your trichome development. We are examining are the capitate stalked glandular trichomes, the coloration of these gland heads can vary between strains and maturity. Most strains start with clear or slightly amber heads which gradually become cloudy or opaque when THC levels have peaked and are beginning to degrade. Regardless of the initial color of the secretory cavity, with careful observation you should be able to see a change in coloration as maturity levels off.

Some cultivators wait for about half of the secretory cavities to go opaque before harvesting, to ensure maximum THC levels in the finished product. Of course nothing tells the truth more than your own perception, so try samples at various stages to see what is best for you & the phenotype your are growing. While you may be increasing the total THC level in the bud by allowing half of the glands to go opaque, the bud will also have a larger percentage of THC breakdown products such as CBN, which is why some people choose to harvest earlier while most of the secretory cavities are still clear.

Indica varieties will usually have a 10-15 day harvest window to work with. Sativas and Indica/Sativa hybrids often have an extended period to work with.


photo by: Eirik


photo by: Proof_of_the_pudding
The figures above denotes clear trichomes with green arrows, the cloudy trichomes with yellow arrows & the red arrows mark the amber trichomes.

Why did trichomes evolve in nature?
Cannabis has evolved trichomes for a multitude of uses in nature, some of these require THC & other cannabinoids to be effective, and others that do not.

Insect Protection:
Many insects find the thick coating of trichomes unpleasant, this offers a level of protection for the developing seeds.

Animals:
The layer of trichomes and cystolith hairs makes cannabis less palatable to many herbivores & omnivores.

Desiccation:
The layer of trichomes helps to 'insulate' the pistilate (female) flower from low humidity levels and high wind.

UV-B Light:
UV-B light is harmful to living things, THC has very high UV-B adsorption properties, thus cannabis evolution may have favored the evolution of genotypes that produced these THC laden capitate-stalked trichomes as a built in 'sun-screen' for protection against UV-B light rays.

Fungal Protection:
Some of the compounds present in the trichomes actually inhibit the growths of some types of fungus.

Quite possibly, the most important reason for the evolution of the THC laden capitate-stalked trichomes is the intercession of man in the natural selection process, favoring genotypes that produce copious amounts of THC laden trichomes.

Hey people, that was some nice information. I kinda liked that "photo by: Eirik" shot, maybe I am stoned but that looked like a huge penis.

Actually, it was nice that it touched upon "(THC, THCV, CBN)" these are very important, and help to determine the type of high that you will get. There is actually a technique, floating around using sulfuric acid, which turns the CBN's, & CBD's into THC, but that's a little off the subject now.
Peace

videoman40 said:

Hey people, that was some nice information. I kinda liked that "photo by: Eirik" shot, maybe I am stoned but that looked like a huge penis.

Actually, it was nice that it touched upon "(THC, THCV, CBN)" these are very important, and help to determine the type of high that you will get. There is actually a technique, floating around using sulfuric acid, which turns the CBN's, & CBD's into THC, but that's a little off the subject now.
Peace

Click to expand...

oh i'm glad that im not the only one with that thought that pic freaked me out at first, damn mid west upbringing

that is not just your problem, okay i'm off, have to see my priest, lil confession to do