the brown hairs coming outa the bud sites, are the buds! the reason theres not big buds is cuz you have 1000000 tiny ones. grab a microscope and check the trichromes, if they are clear, im 100% wrong, but im gonna go out on a limb and say they are cloudy or amber. and its harvest time.
i think the reason the buds are small but you got a 9 foot plant, is low light. more light = smaller bushier plant, and bigger nuggs. for a 9 foot plant, you would need a LOT of light to make big buds.
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they say you need atleast 30x magnification, or a jewelers loupe. ironically, i am a jeweler and have NEVER seen a loupe other than 10x or 15x. (anything stronger is for diamonds, and use a microscope that does 50x or 100x.) i use the ordinary jewelers loupe, 10x. and can see them. i also have good vision...
Either way, the trichomes are what ya need to see. usually the Pistils (inch long hairs coming outa the calyx, or bud sites) will be white/yellow and start turning browner around the time that trichromes turn brown. Brown hairs, on a 9ft plant, 3 months flowering, makes me say its done, or damn near. i hope this helps