Why Are My Trichomes Still Clear?

oill

Well-Known Member
Trying to figure out why my trichomes don't seem like they're ripening. I'm now at 64 days of flower (nine weeks and one day).
All my plants, including indicas like Purple Kush or Northern Lights, seem like they're progressing slower than expected.

What could cause this? I have a lot of time-proven strains in my room from PeakSeedsBC growing in organic, living soil.
If you squeeze a bid is it hard... rock hard yet?
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
I have always had the same thing with my buds. I'm usually baking them under a lot of EYE Hortilux super HPS lumens but it takes forever to see even a few amber ones. Power cost me 25¢/KWH so it's costly to wait an extra week or 3.

Jorge Cervantes states in his grow books that peak THc is reached when the trichomes are 50/50 clear and cloudy. Amber shows up as THC breaks down to CBN which gives the 'couch lock' effect but is less medicinal than THC so it depends what you are after in your pot. I want the best medicine I can get!

Trichomes degrade after the buds are harvested too so why tie up the flower room waiting weeks for amber when it will go amber later. Exposure to heat, UV light like from the sun or just air and age will make them go amber. I'm liking my 5 yo Kali Mist x NL#5 better now than I did when it was fresh. I'm not such a stoner that I use up all the pot I grow and have a few pounds of pot on hand with some that's 7 years old. It's great stuff in my mind and I've been smoking pot since age 13 and grew my first buds in 1978 so I know what nice pot feels like. Give me some good Thai Stick and you can have half my stash! LOL

I slo-dry and cure my buds over a period of months and most end up looking like this.

Fresh trimmed.

OG18Harvest14061701.jpg

Same buds after proper curing.

OG18Budz240717A02.jpg

I'm now just lightly trimming buds then freezing them fresh off the plant for later processing as much medicine is lost through the dry/cure steps.

Just drop frozen buds into hot coconut oil and grind them up with a hand blender to make my cocobudder.

Learning new stuff every day helps keep the Oldtimer's disease at bay! :)

:peace:
 

GiovanniJones

Well-Known Member
I have always had the same thing with my buds. I'm usually baking them under a lot of EYE Hortilux super HPS lumens but it takes forever to see even a few amber ones. Power cost me 25¢/KWH so it's costly to wait an extra week or 3.

Jorge Cervantes states in his grow books that peak THc is reached when the trichomes are 50/50 clear and cloudy. Amber shows up as THC breaks down to CBN which gives the 'couch lock' effect but is less medicinal than THC so it depends what you are after in your pot. I want the best medicine I can get!

Trichomes degrade after the buds are harvested too so why tie up the flower room waiting weeks for amber when it will go amber later. Exposure to heat, UV light like from the sun or just air and age will make them go amber. I'm liking my 5 yo Kali Mist x NL#5 better now than I did when it was fresh. I'm not such a stoner that I use up all the pot I grow and have a few pounds of pot on hand with some that's 7 years old. It's great stuff in my mind and I've been smoking pot since age 13 and grew my first buds in 1978 so I know what nice pot feels like. Give me some good Thai Stick and you can have half my stash! LOL

I slo-dry and cure my buds over a period of months and most end up looking like this.

Fresh trimmed.

View attachment 4506372

Same buds after proper curing.

View attachment 4506374

I'm now just lighly trimming buds then freezing them fresh off the plant for later processing as much medicine is lost through the dry/cure steps.

Just drop frozen buds into hot coconut oil and grind them up with a hand blender to make my cocobudder.

Learning new stuff every day helps keep the Oldtimer's disease at bay! :)

:peace:
Wow, that's some great info there. Thanks for posting!
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Wow, that's some great info there. Thanks for posting!
I sometimes post stupid shit but really enjoy sharing all I've learned after 50 years of using and growing pot.

What good is it if I take it to my grave. ;)

They talk about 10,000 hours to become expert in any subject. I've done triple that at least about pot and spent 3 years getting a diploma in environmental chemisty in my mid-30s. I love this shit man! :)

:peace:
 

GiovanniJones

Well-Known Member
Here's a question....

When I'm checking my plants with my loupe, do the tiny sugar leaves sticking out of the buds at the top count?
Or, should I only check the trichomes on the calyxes?

Thanks.
 

GiovanniJones

Well-Known Member
I sometimes post stupid shit but really enjoy sharing all I've learned after 50 years of using and growing pot.

What good is it if I take it to my grave. ;)

They talk about 10,000 hours to become expert in any subject. I've done triple that at least about pot and spent 3 years getting a diploma in environmental chemisty in my mid-30s. I love this shit man! :)

:peace:
Well I certainly appreciate having you here! Maybe one day I'll be able to pay it forward to a younger generation! :)
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Here's a question....

When I'm checking my plants with my loupe, do the tiny sugar leaves sticking out of the buds at the top count?
Or, should I only check the trichomes on the calyxes?

Thanks.
That's a tough one. I go by the trichs on the main buds but then I always harvest in stages. Take those phat colas off first for primo trimming and curing then let the lower ones ripen up over a few more weeks and all the smaller stuff gets a quick trim and frozen fresh for later processing. I have a deep freeze half full of that stuff.

Depends what you want and how hardup you are for some smoke I guess.

:peace:
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Well I certainly appreciate having you here! Maybe one day I'll be able to pay it forward to a younger generation! :)
Hopefully you will. I'm not rich enough to throw money around to support all the causes I believe in but my decade+ of being in pot forums has helped many for sure and those folks are still buddies spreading their experience far and wide all over the web. I was the last Admin at the CC forums when it got shut down and have been a couple of people over at 420 and many of my old buddies are at OverGrow where I am known as LabRat like I was since my old BBS days in Vancouver before the interweb was invented.

Got some miles under my belt. ;)

:peace:
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Your trichomes are clear because you offended God. Somehow.
Do you still believe in Santa Claus too? I just got re-ordained as a minister in the Universal Life Church and have a new set of credentials with the original ordination date of Oct. 14, 1978 on them. Wallet card, Hanger for my mirror saying Minister on Duty so I don't get parking tickets and a Press pass to sleaze my way into various venues easily. Doesn't hurt that I look like an old hippie/father type with hair half way down my back and a solemn demeanour when I want to project that. ;)

But a god as depicted in the christian/muslim/etc world? Not a f'n chance.

The ULC uses as it's credo that every human should be free to do what they want as long as it does not interfere with others. Or things to that effect. Still can't perform marriages etc here in Canada but other than doing that for friends or wierd-ass weddings it's not a big deal to me. If I ever got a few friends on board we could create a church and get some kick-ass tax breaks legally. ;)

I do believe in a higher power tho. For sure there is something that can be drawn upon in times of need but not a bookeeper logging your sins and credits to decide where you spend eternity when you pass. I hope there's something later but pretty sure it's the blackness you had before you were born. That didn't hurt so why would more?

There is very likely no god so enjoy life and share with your neighbours when you can.

Heaven is right here on this earth if you want it and I'm certain there is no hell other than of your own making or by the evil actions of others.

:peace:
 

cannabineer

Ursus marijanus
Do you still believe in Santa Claus too? I just got re-ordained as a minister in the Universal Life Church and have a new set of credentials with the original ordination date of Oct. 14, 1978 on them. Wallet card, Hanger for my mirror saying Minister on Duty so I don't get parking tickets and a Press pass to sleaze my way into various venues easily. Doesn't hurt that I look like an old hippie/father type with hair half way down my back and a solemn demeanour when I want to project that. ;)

But a god as depicted in the christian/muslim/etc world? Not a f'n chance.

The ULC uses as it's credo that every human should be free to do what they want as long as it does not interfere with others. Or things to that effect. Still can't perform marriages etc here in Canada but other than doing that for friends or wierd-ass weddings it's not a big deal to me. If I ever got a few friends on board we could create a church and get some kick-ass tax breaks legally. ;)

I do believe in a higher power tho. For sure there is something that can be drawn upon in times of need but not a bookeeper logging your sins and credits to decide where you spend eternity when you pass. I hope there's something later but pretty sure it's the blackness you had before you were born. That didn't hurt so why would more?

There is very likely no god so enjoy life and share with your neighbours when you can.

Heaven is right here on this earth if you want it and I'm certain there is no hell other than of your own making or by the evil actions of others.

:peace:
I could yatter for hours about m beliefs but I will spare you.

By and large we agree.
 

etruthfx

Well-Known Member
^^^ This got my attention, lol. ^^^
Not with Tri alone. But with Co2 and good nutes. Along with this compost tea recipe. There's a reason Amino Acids cost so much.
Besides some good genetics and an IPM (Integrated Pest Management Plan) There's nothing else you really need. Grow some dank every plant a quarter pound+. Giving away literally all of my secrets.
1584428891046.png
1584428778430.png
1584428651799.png
If It doesn't feel like my rockhard morning boner then it's too soft! ;)

:peace:
Now this I can relate to bongsmilie
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Not with Tri alone. But with Co2 and good nutes. Along with this compost tea recipe. There's a reason Amino Acids cost so much.
Besides some good genetics and an IPM (Integrated Pest Management Plan) There's nothing else you really need. Grow some dank every plant a quarter pound+. Giving away literally all of my secrets.
I can agree with most of that other than the pest management part but I may not understand how that works. I watch for pests and if I see any I manage them but make sure I identify the pest before managing it. Totally different ways to win dealing with fungus gnats or mites and thrips and I won't spray unless in veg and know my enemy.

How does IPM really work?

:peace:
 

etruthfx

Well-Known Member
I can agree with most of that other than the pest management part but I may not understand how that works. I watch for pests and if I see any I manage them but make sure I identify the pest before managing it. Totally different ways to win dealing with fungus gnats or mites and thrips and I won't spray unless in veg and know my enemy.

How does IPM really work?

:peace:
I think every grower goes about it differently. Whether you treat preventative or when problems are discovered, both need discretion when using products. There's many aspects to it in my opinion and alot of it controversial as far as what's safe and what's not. Proper usage is the most important factor, and the correct product. Almost everyone will agree to try to grow as organically as possible and using natural ingredients not that cancerous shit.
First things first if you get clones from another garden, those and the rest of the garden need to be treated for the first week so nothing gets contaminated.
After that, it's good to keep a weekly or bi weekly schedule until 2 weeks into flower when buds appear, preventing any issues until they come down and no need to spray buds ever. For example if you found a problem late in flower and need to begin treatment. Would never happen, as they are already taken care of. I use Lost Coast Plant therapy, followed by compost tea the next day, weekly, throughout veg into beginning of flower.
It's commonly said compost tea helps prevent pests and diseases, another benefit of using it.
Healthy plants are better able to fight off pest attacks and compost promotes healthy plants. So indirectly, compost is helping reduce problems with pests.
Sorry for the wall of text.
1584431220727.png
Forgot to add I use the Compost Tea as root drench and foliar.
 
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OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
I think every grower goes about it differently. Whether you treat preventative or when problems are discovered, both need discretion when using products. There's many aspects to it in my opinion and alot of it controversial as far as what's safe and what's not. Proper usage is the most important factor, and the correct product. Almost everyone will agree to try to grow as organically as possible and using natural ingredients not that cancerous shit.
First things first if you get clones from another garden, those and the rest of the garden need to be treated for the first week so nothing gets contaminated.
After that, it's good to keep a weekly or bi weekly schedule until 2 weeks into flower when buds appear, preventing any issues until they come down and no need to spray buds ever. For example if you found a problem late in flower and need to begin treatment. Would never happen, as they are already taken care of. I use Lost Coast Plant therapy, followed by compost tea the next day, weekly, throughout veg into beginning of flower.
It's commonly said compost tea helps prevent pests and diseases, another benefit of using it.


Sorry for the wall of text.
View attachment 4506525
Forgot to add I use the Compost Tea as root drench and foliar.
I guess you haven't seen a lot of my page long posts yet. ;)

I only recently finished off a 2 year battle with mites I got from plants rescued from a freezing greenhouse. I knew they were there along with the thrips and rampant PM. I quickly dispatched the last two but those mites were a bitch. My own fault for not being more consistent and thorough about keeping to a spray schedule.

I just used Safer's End All II I bought as a concentrate then added 10ml/L canola or neem oil to each batch. Every 4 days for 4 or more treatments got rid of them. I kept all plants up in the spare bedroom where it all started and left the grow room empty but kept the heat at 80F for a month so any eggs would hatch and the buggers would starve. Must have worked as I'm bug free 8 months down the road in both rooms. I never sprayed or sterilized the rooms at all. I've been growing in that basement room every day since I bought this place 18 years ago come November.

I knew better but in my arrogance threw caution to the wind and it kicked my ass for a while. :D All good now tho.

:peace:
 
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