Can u check trichomes without lenses?

LegalizeNature420

Well-Known Member
Is it possible to check trichomes for harvest time with just the naked eye.. I want mostly milky trich's.... are there any tricks with lighting or anything like that.. My second question if the answer is no is does walmart sell any thing useful in this regard.. cheap? They stay open 24 hours and its all i got living here.Thanks.
 

CuriousSoul

Well-Known Member
I do not know the answer to you question though I would very much like to know. You can however, tell when they're ready to harvest approximately by looking at the colour of the pistils.
 

Little Tommy

Well-Known Member
Trichome development cannot be observed with the naked eye. It takes a minnimum of 30x magnification to get a look into their alien world. Radio Shack sells a 60x-100x hand held lighted microscope that runs on batteries for $13.00. One of the best investments I ever made. A small price to pay for knowing when the plants are really done.
 

thelastpirate

Well-Known Member
I do not know the answer to you question though I would very much like to know. You can however, tell when they're ready to harvest approximately by looking at the colour of the pistils.
I have heard that theory all my life. Yeah, you could go by that, get a GENERAL idea, and end up with So-So weed. You could also just go by the time (8 or so weeks of flowering) and get about the same results. The only real way to zero in on the ideal time to pick is by observing the trichomes, and for that you'll need a scope like the one Tommy says above. I have one, and it's made the world of difference. The trichs will tell you when to pick to get the kind of high you are after.
There ARE some folks out there who claim they can tell by looking with the naked eye, or with a loupe. I don't have any reason to doubt them, but you are talking someone with MANY, MANY grows under their belts


All you have is a Wal-Mart where you live? Man that has just GOT to suck ass. Surely to god you have a car or can get a ride into to civilization. They have Radio Shacks in most towns that have sidewalks and flush toilets.
 

BudLuvr

Active Member
I'm on my first grow, I couldn't find anything with that power of magnification myself, I just bought a 5x magnifying glass, I can just barely tell that my tryches are mostly clear still, seems better than nothing. Besides, I like to think there is a more natural way to find out, I will be following this thread. I am growing totally organic with the exception of the lighting.
 

****spliffstar*****

Active Member
Is it possible to check trichomes for harvest time with just the naked eye.. I want mostly milky trich's.... are there any tricks with lighting or anything like that.. My second question if the answer is no is does walmart sell any thing useful in this regard.. cheap? They stay open 24 hours and its all i got living here.Thanks.
You can check out Trichomes using your digital camera. That's waht I did for my grow. Here are the steps:

1) Put your digital camera in Macro mode (this is the setting that looks like a flower)
2)Get as close as possible to a leaf with Trichomes.
3) Transfer the picture to your computer.
4)open in up in a editing program (Photoshop, Paint etc...) and zoom into the picture.

Below is a post I did with the steps above, it has given me good results. I am currently blazing my weed right now, and it is AwEsOmE!!!!


https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/114214-check-out-my-trichomes.html
 

thelastpirate

Well-Known Member
I'm on my first grow, I couldn't find anything with that power of magnification myself, I just bought a 5x magnifying glass, I can just barely tell that my tryches are mostly clear still, seems better than nothing. Besides, I like to think there is a more natural way to find out, I will be following this thread. I am growing totally organic with the exception of the lighting.
I can "see" the trichs with my 5x loupe, but not well enough to judge the color or percentage without my microscope. Radio Shack carries the "Pocket Microscope" for like $12. Surely you are within driving distance of a RS. Even if you have a couple hour drive to get one, it would be well worth it. I can see your point of wanting a method to judge ripeness thats more in keeping with the "natural" organic mindset, but that kind of eye and skill would only be achieved thru the result of many years and many grows experience.
I'm on my second grow, and like you I am all organic this time. I have a really good Sativa that I get from bagseed no less. If you have a pure or mostly so Sativa, just sit back and don't be in a hurry. Keep in mind that they are gonna take their own sweet time ripening.
Good luck on your grow.

TLP
 

fozman

Member
A 30 power microscope is great for looking at your buds to see if they are ready, and they are also great for looking to see if you have bugs, and if after treating them, to make sure that they are all dead(they might still be on the leaves after treatment, but not moving...... dead). The microscopes take a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of them, you won't want to be without one. To get used to it, just go around the house magnifying different things(your hand, piece of paper....etc.) till you've mastered it. When you are ready to use it, put it up against the bud, and you will see hundreds of little clear globules(don't be afraid to move it around). When 90% of these globules turn milky, it's time to harvest. If you can't get your hands on a 30x microscope(although you should keep looking till you do), there is another way to tell when your buds are ready. Flowers go through three flowering stages. Of course you want to keep track of when you went into flowering with a calender. At the first flowering(which happens around the second to third week of flowering), look closely, and you'll see little pods with two to three hairs(pistils) growing out of them, which will be a greenish white in colour. The hairs will eventually die, shrivel up, and turn red, yellow, brown.... That's where you get the different colour hairs. It's just plant matter that died and shriveled up(kinda like like when a leaf dies), but they will still be attached to the pods. On the second flowering stage, the pods pump out more new greenish/white pistils(hairs)(about 5 to 7), while still having the old withered pistils still attached to the pods. The flowers will be looking quite nice, and you will be feeling pretty proud of yourself by the results so far, especially when those 5 to 7 new pistils start turning red, brown...etc. Now here is the important part. At around the 45th to the 47th day(the beginning of the third flowering stage), the pods will close up and all those hairs will start falling off. You'll go in the room one day(night, cause it's cooler and that's when you should be running the lights), after this happens, and think to yourself that your plants looked a hell of alot better the day before. This is where alot of the newbies will get scared that they went to far, pick the buds, and call it 48 day stuff. Now just hold tight and have faith. What will happen is the pods will start closing up(that's why most of the hairs fall off), and they will blow up like the pods are growing seeds in them(they aren't). At around the 54th - 55th day, the pods will open up, and where you had 5-7 hairs growing out, you'll start seeing 10, 20-30 hairs exploding out of them. When about 90% of these hairs turn red, brown, yellow... It's time to harvest. This time frame is approximate with differentials being growing enviornments, strains, stress...etc.
My credentials are a college basic horticulture course, family owned indoor gardening store(Paradise Gardens Hydroponics) since 1994, and doing a co-op medical marijuana grow op for the past five years.
 

MoppinSauce

Well-Known Member
Once you get idea of what they are supposed to look like under the scope you can definitely see amber vs cloudy/clear trichs with the naked eye. Look in the valleys of the bud, for whatever reason I can see them there best with my naked eye.
 

SmokeyRx7

Active Member
Is it possible to check trichomes for harvest time with just the naked eye.. I want mostly milky trich's.... are there any tricks with lighting or anything like that.. My second question if the answer is no is does walmart sell any thing useful in this regard.. cheap? They stay open 24 hours and its all i got living here.Thanks.
Amazon sell a "national history museum microscope" it cost me $12 delivered! When you learn how to scope it it is a very useful piece of kit its cheap, small and reliable.
 

jojo69698

Member
SAM_0142.jpgSAM_0127.jpg so this one of my babies..5 1/2 tall about around 9 weeks flowering under a 600 hps...i dont have a microscope(yet) but it looks and smells ready to me..lol any thoughts from anyone? Think i should start my flush? Being my biggest plant it takes up all my light lol
 

hsfkush

Well-Known Member
View attachment 3015271View attachment 3015276 so this one of my babies..5 1/2 tall about around 9 weeks flowering under a 600 hps...i dont have a microscope(yet) but it looks and smells ready to me..lol any thoughts from anyone? Think i should start my flush? Being my biggest plant it takes up all my light lol
Couple of weeks yet, it's still swelling up.

Basically, your buds have no mass yet, it's just pistils at the minute. Judging by how the plant looks, I'm guessing it's a sativa dom strain and could take up to 15 weeks to finish. However, it will more than likely be ready in 12.
 

jojo69698

Member
They have gotten a lil bigger and way thicker...buds are starting to weigh down the branches lol even with them tied up lol
 
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