Trichome Color is a Waste of Time

cb99

Member
Have you determined strains that don't turn amber> Is this more likely to occur inside or outside? I picked some some Pure Afghan (Pure????) from Amsterdam seeds. She is 5/6 weeks into flowering. God knows I'm a newbie, so I'm going to follow what you are saying. She has a huge single cola and I don't want to mess her up.
 

Sunbiz1

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

Hope I didn't sound like a jackass yesterday, sometimes I get frustrated here when the same questions are asked repeatedly. For fun, I bought a new portable microscope from Radio Shack today. It adjusts from 60-100X, only it appears I would have to remove a leaf for examination under it.
 

Brick Top

New Member
After 6 years of looking at them, some strains do NOT develop opaque or amber.

This is NOT a viable determination of harvest time.
It is the most accurate way to determine when is the best time to harvest.

You cannot rely on pistil color to know the best time to harvest since not every strain will have orange/red/brown (or whatever) pistils when it is time to harvest. Some strains, Matanuska Tundra being one, will still have white pistils when the plant is ready to be, and should be, harvested. In cases like that if you wait for pistil color change and or for them to recede you will be harvesting very late, too late in fact if you want quality.

The most knowledgeable, experienced and skilled growers know that going by trichome color is the best way to decide when to harvest.
 

Brick Top

New Member
Have you determined strains that don't turn amber>
Not every strain will follow the clear, milky/cloudy, amber trichome progression that most people assume is all trichomes will do, though most do. Some will begin clear, others a clear-yellow, others a clear-amber and I have seen clear-reddish and clear-purple. In the cases where they do not begin just clear (no coloration) you wait for clouding. They may never change to a different color, they may only cloud. When mostly, or all, cloudy that would equate to a clear trichome that turned milky/cloudy and be a sign that it is time to harvest. If someone waits and waits and waits for a color change that will never occur they will end up harvesting late.

Far more times that not people will see a clear, milky/cloudy, amber trichome progression. But it will not always happen and when it doesn't happen people need to know to not expect the same signs of when to harvest and know what to look for.
 

Sunbiz1

Well-Known Member
It is the most accurate way to determine when is the best time to harvest.

You cannot rely on pistil color to know the best time to harvest since not every strain will have orange/red/brown (or whatever) pistils when it is time to harvest. Some strains, Matanuska Tundra being one, will still have white pistils when the plant is ready to be, and should be, harvested. In cases like that if you wait for pistil color change and or for them to recede you will be harvesting very late, too late in fact if you want quality.

The most knowledgeable, experienced and skilled growers know that going by trichome color is the best way to decide when to harvest.
Yet when pistils turn from orange/red to eventually brown, we know they are no longer producing oil...correct?. And if this the case, then there is some merit to aging. I have read quite a bit on the subject, some prefer earlier harvest for less CBD's etc, I always considered that aspect a grower's choice or preference as opposed to a necessity. I have a sativa here I had to force flower, somehow I screwed up last Spring and mixed up a bean...I have no idea what it is!. It took 17 days to show the first pistil. It is now at day 70, I'm guessing another 3 weeks minimum. That's why I bought the microscope, the other strains I've worked with already so I know when they're done...but not this one.
 

Brick Top

New Member
I have read quite a bit on the subject, some prefer earlier harvest for less CBD's etc,
THC, CBD and CBC all begin with the same precursor element, CBGA. Different alleles determine how much CBGA becomes THCA or CBDA or CBCA, (which of course then become THC, CBD and CBC) not age/length of flower, harvesting earlier or later.

What comes with harvesting later is increased amounts of CBN. CBN is pretty much a waste byproduct of lost/degreaded/oxidized THC. It is only mildly psychoactive and it causes confusion and drowsiness, neither being a true high or a true stone. Sadly, many believe the confusion and drowsiness to be a sign of increased potency and a true couchlock stone so they throw away THC in favor of increased levels of CBN.


 

Sunbiz1

Well-Known Member
THC, CBD and CBC all begin with the same precursor element, CBGA. Different alleles determine how much CBGA becomes THCA or CBDA or CBCA, (which of course then become THC, CBD and CBC) not age/length of flower, harvesting earlier or later.

What comes with harvesting later is increased amounts of CBN. CBN is pretty much a waste byproduct of lost/degreaded/oxidized THC. It is only mildly psychoactive and it causes confusion and drowsiness, neither being a true high or a true stone. Sadly, many believe the confusion and drowsiness to be a sign of increased potency and a true couchlock stone so they throw away THC in favor of increased levels of CBN.


Thank you for this. I think I may have purchased a microscope that is too powerful. I removed a bud leaf and have it focused in here at 60X. There's a bug on this leaf that cannot be seen with the naked eye, looks like a horror movie or an extra from the remake of King Kong!. 60X is the lowest setting, do I need to exchange this for a 30-40?.
 

Brick Top

New Member
Thank you for this. I think I may have purchased a microscope that is too powerful. I removed a bud leaf and have it focused in here at 60X. There's a bug on this leaf that cannot be seen with the naked eye, looks like a horror movie or an extra from the remake of King Kong!. 60X is the lowest setting, do I need to exchange this for a 30-40?.

60-100x magnification should be good. That is what I use and it works well for me.
 

sso

Well-Known Member
i just snip off a tiny bud and testsmoke it.

what are colors gonna tell me?

next time around i know exactly when to harvest or even if i should harvest the same plant twice.
 

doser

Well-Known Member
i think the amber trichome method is for noobs, since my first plant i have retired my microscope and i can tell by glancing at them if they are done.
First off, I'm a nooby but I do agree. If you know your plants, then you will know when they change to "ripe". Bassically, I'm looking for "Fall colors".
After that they are just too late. Also, I'm entering the problems that are occurring durring the finish such as budworms and mold into the decision making. If It's now or nothing then I'm cutting and running! I also leave a good portion of bud on the plants to further finish. This time I was blessed with some summer weather to finish the final buds of this harvest.
 

Brick Top

New Member
First off, I'm a nooby but I do agree. If you know your plants, then you will know when they change to "ripe". Bassically, I'm looking for "Fall colors".
There are those who believe in keeping their plants green right up until harvest. I have seen some breeder information on strains say to get the best results keep the plant green right to the end. If someone believes in keeping plants green or grows a strain where the breeder says for best results keep them green then there will not be any "Fall colors." What would you then use to judge when to harvest?

There has been enough research and enough written on the subject of trichome color and harvesting and other ways to judge when to harvest and how they are not as accurate as trichome color that there should never be any discussion of it other than to inform noobies. It should be accepted common knowledge.

Anyone who claims that trichome color is not the best way to judge when to harvest might as well also say that seeing the first light of the morning is not an accurate sign that morning has arrived and a more accurate way to judge when morning has arrived would be when the temperature begins to rise.
 

Samwell Seed Well

Well-Known Member
you are simply wrong my friend

get a usb scope that goes to at least 60x with a blue led light on it, not only will you see the tricks go from clear to cloudy to colored, one of the big book of buds goes into it(different terpines and all) but ya it does very based on the color of the bud and and the colors around it just like most human eye perseption

doesnt change the fact that it is and does happen

also the shape of the resin or thc gland is also an indicator of maturity if your eyes are sensitive enough to see the colors

all over the plant are visible indications of how mature it is
 
Top