Trichomes, clear vs amber

okmtnbiker said:

A question for you, when you chop like you say to your preference, what do the pistils look like? Because according to pistil color method I have a lot that’s ready now.

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Here is info I share with new growers so they can learn how to read their plants at harvest time. I've grown thousands of plants at this point in my life from lots of different strains, and this info holds true 95% or more of the time. Its never about looking at one sign of ripeness, its important to look at the whole plant and read all the signs!

The signs of ripeness are pretty standard for cannabis plants.

First a few of the pistils begin turning color and start receding. Your plant is just starting to ripen. Depending on the strain you could still have two months to go. We're just starting this journey.

Two to four weeks later you'll notice that most of the pistils(>80%) have now changed color and curled back into the bud. It's frosty, way bigger than it was a few weeks ago(aren't you glad you waited), and smells dank! It's time, right? Not a chance killer. Patience is a virtue.

Over the next 2-3 weeks it doesn't look much different, maybe a little more swelling in the calyxes, and the rest of the pistils change over, but the stems are starting to bend under the weight of the buds. These ladies are putting on weight internally by adding density and now the buds are doing their final ripening.

Now you begin looking at trichomes, on the calyx, not the leaves, and harvest according to your preference. When looking at trichomes it’s essential to look at them from the side. The bulbous heads can magnify the opaque stalk under it. Looking from the side allows you to more accurately see the condition of the resin in the trichome head.

There is still no rush to harvest, the window just opened, and you have several weeks before you MIGHT start having to think about it possibly beginning to get too ripe. It takes WEEKS for plants to mature not days.

It is very easy to harvest a plant to early. It is very hard to harvest a plant to late. I’ve never seen someone accidentally wait too long.

twentyeight.threefive said:

Trichomes are clear. Ready to harvest??

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Wait til it flowers

@Thundercat I planted mine in April (way too early), and I’m in zone 7, if any of mine have 4 weeks to go they’ll have icicles hanging off them. Earlier if there’s an early frost. Before legalization I always heard local harvests happened in early October. Plus a new nearby commercial grow around 60 acres planted in mid July. Hmmm… very confusing lol

not really that confusing. Different genetics grown in different environments take different amounts of time.

Also plants don't grow by calanders.

FInally as regards the OP:

Clear trichomes get you less high for a shorter amount of time

Cloudy trichomes are ripe, and get you more high longer. You want the whole plant to reach as much of its peak as possible, and make sure not to judge a plant early based off damaged or leaf trichomes. In order for the whole plant to actually have mostly cloudy trichomes you have to let the plant ripen long enough. Typically that requires some amber in the mixture to ensure you have waited long enough to let the plant reach peak potential.

Plant smells different overnight

okmtnbiker said:

This isn’t the link but it’s close and I’m still digging. From my research it seems that “ripe” depends on what you want. For best yield it’s better to wait, for more potency it’s sooner. I suppose if I were a commercial grower I would be most interested in yields, as for me I want mind blowing paranoia and anxiety strains, ‘cause they don’t do that to me they make me happy and couchlock is horrible!

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Ok so I watched the video. His data does seem to suggest what you say. I didn't really hear anything about trich colors though. He was showing peak THC at week 7. The strain I'm growing now is, according to the breeder, a 7 week strain. Since I've run this one before I know that around week 7 is when I'll start to see a good % of milky heads. I usually run this girl 60-65 days waiting for 15%-25% amber before I harvest. But then again I like to make hash and rosin. Amber= flavor. I understand perfectly though that you like the headier stuff. That's the great thing about growing your own. Pick it when you think it's ready.


Edited to add; I also know that lighter colored concentrates are what a lot of people are looking for. For that you don't want very many amber heads. I see clarity as more of a sign than color.

Trippster62 said:

Ok so I watched the video. His data does seem to suggest what you say. I didn't really hear anything about trich colors though. He was showing peak THC at week 7. The strain I'm growing now is, according to the breeder, a 7 week strain. Since I've run this one before I know that around week 7 is when I'll start to see a good % of milky heads. I usually run this girl 60-65 days waiting for 15%-25% amber before I harvest. But then again I like to make hash and rosin. Amber= flavor. I understand perfectly though that you like the headier stuff. That's the great thing about growing your own. Pick it when you think it's ready.

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I noticed he didn’t mention trich colors in that one, they did in the one I can’t find now but I still haven’t given up.

DrOgkush said:

Plant smells different overnight

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@DrOgkush Funny you mentioned that I was out there at sunset digging around and I also noticed mine were especially smelly tonight, no change in weather I guess that just means they are getting closer.

@Canuck3 just for you I called my commercial grower friend this evening and asked how they harvest, by what colors as in trichs or pistils, she said they pretty much go by 70% milky, 30% amber trichomes. I asked her about pistil color she said “huh”? They are known far and wide for quality and it’s a nice indoor grow, she sends me her test results and it’s often in the upper 20’s and they got 29.5% once, so there ya go…. Lots of conflicting information right? They are vertical too, they grow, process and sell at their own dispensary so I figure that’s worth something.

okmtnbiker said:

@Canuck3 just for you I called my commercial grower friend this evening and asked how they harvest, by what colors as in trichs or pistils, she said they pretty much go by 70% milky, 30% amber trichomes. I asked her about pistil color she said “huh”? They are known far and wide for quality and it’s a nice indoor grow, she sends me her test results and it’s often in the upper 20’s and they got 29.5% once, so there ya go…. Lots of conflicting information right? They are vertical too, they grow, process and sell at their own dispensary so I figure that’s worth something.

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They go around scoping every plants trichomes?

At work they go by dates. That’s how I know when I work. For example. My schedule is

sep27-oct1st
oct 2nd- 8th

I had those dates sent to me over a month ago. Lol. Trim dates

DrOgkush said:

At work they go by dates. That’s how I know when I work. For example. My schedule is

sep27-oct1st
oct 2nd- 8th

I had those dates sent to me over a month ago. Lol. Trim dates

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Most commercial grows go by dates. It’s unfortunate that plants can’t read calendars, or care about the schedules though.

It’s a domino effect. From harvest to transfers to bucking to trimming to packing.
It’s all gotta be done right. And on time. If anything backs up. It backs up everything, and everyone else, and then you have people having to cover other depts to pick up time/slack. One ripple effect

okmtnbiker said:

@Canuck3 sorry about robbing your thread man!

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Hey don't worry about it, I'm just sitting back reading all the comments and enjoying the show lol

okmtnbiker said:

@Canuck3 just for you I called my commercial grower friend this evening and asked how they harvest, by what colors as in trichs or pistils, she said they pretty much go by 70% milky, 30% amber trichomes. I asked her about pistil color she said “huh”? They are known far and wide for quality and it’s a nice indoor grow, she sends me her test results and it’s often in the upper 20’s and they got 29.5% once, so there ya go…. Lots of conflicting information right? They are vertical too, they grow, process and sell at their own dispensary so I figure that’s worth something.

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I appreciate it! Sounds like you have a nice friend over there! Thanks man

twentyeight.threefive said:

They go around scoping every plants trichomes?

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Yes, it’s a family operation, mom, pop and several adult children. Indoors and last time I was there he said he had about 300 in flower, so not huge. About the pistils, she said that’s the main thing they used back in the 70’s when nearly everything was landrace, but she says with the hybrids we have now it’s unreliable. She went on with a bunch of scientific jargon about how they use it as an indicator on some strains and if memory serves they were mostly sativas.

okmtnbiker said:

Sorry to interrupt your thread op, but since it looks like all the gurus are here I have a few questions. I’ve been watching mine closely, and 3 weeks ago my trichomes were mostly milky, however there weren’t so many of them. Since then lots of new trichomes have been born, and naturally the new ones are clear, then I’ve watched as those new ones started turning cloudy, and the earlier ones are now amber. And I have even more new clear trichomes. So this has me thinking that the clear/cloudy/amber method may not be right, because at least mine have gone through a few cycles and each time they are just more loaded. Does that make sense?

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This is exactly what we refer to when we say "beware of the false finish".

okmtnbiker said:

Yes, it’s a family operation, mom, pop and several adult children. Indoors and last time I was there he said he had about 300 in flower, so not huge. About the pistils, she said that’s the main thing they used back in the 70’s when nearly everything was landrace, but she says with the hybrids we have now it’s unreliable. She went on with a bunch of scientific jargon about how they use it as an indicator on some strains and if memory serves they were mostly sativas.

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Sounds like they need more education on growing. @Lordhooha do you scope every plants trichomes when you need to find out when to harvest?

twentyeight.threefive said:

Sounds like they need more education on growing. @Lordhooha do you scope every plants trichomes when you need to find out when to harvest?

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You don‘t? I only have 6 plants but I scope pretty much every bud at least once a day.

okmtnbiker said:

You don‘t? I only have 6 plants but I scope pretty much every bud at least once a day.

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You could be damaging your trichs every time you check. I personally never try to touch my buds unless absolutely necessary

And even then. Very gentle