Thanks for the comments! I was thinking about doing it piece meal but wasn't sure how much skill was required. Didn't wanna screw it up. So, taking a bud or few buds at a time isn't going to shock the rest of the plant? I'm a little concerned about extending harvest time because of the lack of leaves on her. What do you suggest?
Nope, wont hurt it just pick a cola that looks ready and chop.
I would say you have at least 2 weeks though.
You want to wait until all those white stigmas/pistils have turned orange and the calyces have swollen. Once you dont see anymore white hairs, then you can take the scope out and you want to only look at the trichomes on the calyx and not on any of the sugar leaves, those will mature and amber before the calyx have swelled to their peak size.
If you harvest before this, you are giving up weight from the size of the swelling, potency, flavor and smells because the majority of those smells and flavors and active compounds, those things are developed after that stage of the white hairs... So the trick is to get the most calyces swollen, without compromising other parts of the plant. Like the other poster said, you can harvest if there are white hairs on some of the larfy bottom branch nugs, you dont want to go past the peak potency point waiting for some airy buds on the bottom to finish... With that said... You can definitely cut the colas off as they ripen. Any shock may even help kick start the others to finish up quicker.
One more thing when looking at trichomes using the scope, remember to always look at each mushroom trichome from the side, and not the top. Sometimes they will look like the mushroom cap is cloudy and white, but really its the mushroom stalk that you are seeing through the clear mushroom cap
.
I've included a few pictures to show what Im talking about as well as some others to give you a good idea of the life cycle of a calyx and when you want to pick them... Ignore any seed breeder times of X weeks flowering XX day flowering or whatever.. Just focus on the life cycle, and take your crop when they are at their peak. Post plenty of pictures when you think that is... But for now... Just keep her happy until those white hairs have changed.. I would say it will be about 2 weeks, but sometimes they just pop one day and mature real quick sometimes they take forever it seems,, But one things certain, they will have a plump look to them when they are ready, and eventually you'll learn to recognize that.
Good luck.