Trichomes, clear vs amber

Thundercat

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
potpimp said:
I have about 30 plants that are either ripe or almost ripe. After reading the first half of the first page of this thread I decided to go ahead and chop about 10 of them since the trichs are cloudy but no amber that I can see. I'm going to let the others go 2-3 weeks longer. I had bought a new timer (couldn't find my old one) and I didn't notice the little switch on the side that turned it from "on" to "timed" - so I accidentally vegged them an extra 2-3 weeks, and of course they are really tall. This will be a nice experiment.
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Before you harvest any more plants read this and pay attention to the signs your plants will show you. Don’t worry about any of the nonsense on the first page of this thread.

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.
 
PadawanWarrior

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
Quintana said:
I’m in Washington state and I used to be the marketing guy for one of the largest light and air system equipment manufacturers for commercial indoor growers. In my experience:

A. Yes, they do go through their crops meticulously doing quality control and checking trichomes development. I’ve been in the facilities and have seen it myself from multiple producers.

B. In our area they only allow indoor growing, and these facilities have hundreds of plants so 10% more makes a huge difference in their profit margins and they do wait longer for higher yield.

C. You’re right, amber trichomes development isn’t 100% going to give you couch-lock, but it’s going to also depend on the strain you have. Based on feedback I’ve been given and my overall experience growing, more often than not, it’s going to be more a sedative high. That may not be the case for everyone though for sure.
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jesus.jpg
 
J

JumpinJimmy77

Member
Canuck3 said:
I know many on here don't like to use trichomes as an indicator anymore, I myself do still look at them when judging harvest time, but also take into consideration how the buds naturally look, swollen, etc.
Anyway, I see a lot of people telling others to wait until half are amber etc... Jorge Cervantes writes in his indoor horticulture book that clear trichomes are at their peak of THC, while amber shows THC diminishing, as they are beginning to decompose in a way. Hard to have big swollen buds though without trichomes turning amber already...

What do you guys think about that statement, clear vs amber and THC content?
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Trichs are a great indicator of build up of cannabanoids. Go ahead and chop at all clear and find out for yourself
 
Quintana

Quintana

Well-Known Member
lusidghost said:
I’m not saying most commercial growers are necessarily pulling them early, but from what I’ve seen they aren’t letting them go all of the way to heavy amber. Even little old me gets rushed by the next cycle of unruly vegging plants from time to time.

Also here’s that joint. I just noticed that I took a picture. I smoked more than I thought. I think thc effect is mostly your mental state going in. Who could be couch locked in a winter wonderland? (A weak first snow, but better than the autumn muckland)


View attachment 5044753
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I dig your style dude.
 
New weed grower

New weed grower

Well-Known Member
Trippster62 said:
Here is what I have heard or read. Clear trichomes are immature and may cause anxiety or paranoia especially in people prone to that kind of thing. Milky trichomes are at the peak of ripeness and contain the highest amounts of THC. Amber heads are over ripe and THC starts to degrade into CBN, which is less psychoactive but produces a more sleepy type body buzz.
So, if you're for a short lived, speedy, anxiety ridden buzz harvest while heads are clear to milky. If you are looking for highest THC content wait until they are milky. If you're looking for that couchlock/body buzz type of high look for a good amount of amber 25-50%.
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I know this is an old thread but I don't know what kind of "high" I want (sad face). Obviously I don't want the clear tric buzz, doesn't sound like a buzz at all!
Mine are all milky and have been for nearly 2 weeks now. I'm tempted to chop a bud to dry it and wait for the rest to go a little further and then compare for myself.
But... im afraid if I chop a bit now it'll miss out on the fattening up at the end. The buds feel quite firm and very sticky.
 
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