Trichome blindness ! Help ?

Hey guys, I've been having lots of difficulty determining what stage my trichs are at by mere sight since I've gone into growing. Typically I can't tell whether I'm looking at clear or milky. I've attached some close-ups. Some are of the colas, some a couple of popcorns. It's an indica dominant hybrid entering its 8th week of flowering. More than 90% of pistils have browned and shriveled up (not a determining factor I know). I'm aiming for mostly milky this time around with as little amber as possible. Apologies if the photos aren't clearer/crisp. Did my best with the means available . What do you guys see ? Would you harvest at this stage ?

Hi, they look mostly clear to me with a few half cloudy.

I’d give it another two weeks and check again, I also aim for fully milky maximum thc all the way.

Full plant/ bud pics will help. With those pics, no I wouldn’t harvest

All i could muster up now. I'll post more later. Thoughts ?

Im thinking around 2 more

Maybe more

I dunno man them buds look ripe af. Kinda been hanging there in the same state for the past 10 days or so..

Too early... be patient. Prob as said above, couple more weeks.

Keep going - don’t fool yourself - breeders always give you that 8 week bullshit .

at least 2 weeks. Plus flowers seem a bit underdeveloped in size.
Was there issues during grow ?

Budzbuddha said:

Keep going - don’t fool yourself - breeders always give you that 8 week bullshit .

at least 2 weeks. Plus flowers seem a bit underdeveloped in size.
Was there issues during grow ?

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Underdeveloped in what way ? May have to do with the photos being close-ups. Otherwise, I'm looking at bunch of fat colas that are slightly leaning from the weight, i believe. Hardly any issues during grow. Veg went smoothly and flowering began a week proper after switching to 12/12.

Edit: also if you look closely enough, you'll notice a few amber trichs which I'm trying to avoid. Hence my asking..

Also, I've been reading up on testing buds prior to harvest. Would that stunt potential growth, trichome development for the rest of the plant ?

bump ?

If you live in a legal State.. you can have THC/Terps (also called Potency Tests) for about $50. Otherwise, no, it's not going to affect your plant to pluck a sample for lab testing.

sensimilius said:

Underdeveloped in what way ? May have to do with the photos being close-ups. Otherwise, I'm looking at bunch of fat colas that are slightly leaning from the weight, i believe. Hardly any issues during grow. Veg went smoothly and flowering began a week proper after switching to 12/12.

Edit: also if you look closely enough, you'll notice a few amber trichs which I'm trying to avoid. Hence my asking..

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They haven’t “beefed up” yet. You think they’re fat now? Wait til you actually let them ripen. If they are not on supports.. just wait til one falls over. Lol I been there. Even then it’s not done. The last 1-2 weeks packs on a nice amount of weight.
Example: (active grow)

I’m in week 6.. my buds kinda look like they are in the same stage.. you may be a week or 2 ahead of me.. but I know better not to check trich’s at week 6. These look good to chop to my rookie eye too.. but it’s an illusion. I am letting these go another 3 weeks before I bust out the microscope.

sensimilius said:

I dunno man them buds look ripe af. Kinda been hanging there in the same state for the past 10 days or so..

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If you really believe this why are you asking us? Those need another 2 weeks minimum.

You have weeks left yet, they haven't started their final round of swelling and none of the pistils have retracted either. This is the time to be patient to make the most of your harvest in terms of cola density and terpene production. One of the #1 reasons to grow at home is to grow fully ripe bud which is hard to find in the marketplace. This is a good post with signs of ripeness to look for beyond trichomes. https://forum.grasscity.com/threads/a-guide-on-when-to-harvest.666373/

HydroKid239 said:

They haven’t “beefed up” yet. You think they’re fat now? Wait til you actually let them ripen. If they are not on supports.. just wait til one falls over. Lol I been there. Even then it’s not done. The last 1-2 weeks packs on a nice amount of weight.
Example: (active grow)
View attachment 5117821View attachment 5117821View attachment 5117821
I’m in week 6.. my buds kinda look like they are in the same stage.. you may be a week or 2 ahead of me.. but I know better not to check trich’s at week 6. These look good to chop to my rookie eye too.. but it’s an illusion. I am letting these go another 3 weeks before I bust out the microscope.

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What a babe That's the thing though, week 6 my colas already looked twice as chunky and full as yours. They stopped packing serious weight about 10 days ago or so, I'd say. Guess I'll go another week, see if there's any noticeable progress. Nothing to lose anyhow

DoubleAtotheRON said:

If you live in a legal State.. you can have THC/Terps (also called Potency Tests) for about $50. Otherwise, no, it's not going to affect your plant to pluck a sample for lab testing.

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I meant for a smoke test but thanks anyway

waterproof808 said:

If you really believe this why are you asking us? Those need another 2 weeks minimum.

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Cause it's the noob forum ?

Rurumo said:

You have weeks left yet, they haven't started their final round of swelling and none of the pistils have retracted either. This is the time to be patient to make the most of your harvest in terms of cola density and terpene production. One of the #1 reasons to grow at home is to grow fully ripe bud which is hard to find in the marketplace. This is a good post with signs of ripeness to look for beyond trichomes. https://forum.grasscity.com/threads/a-guide-on-when-to-harvest.666373/

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Sweet. Be sure to check it

sensimilius said:

What a babe That's the thing though, week 6 my colas already looked twice as chunky and full as yours. They stopped packing serious weight about 10 days ago or so, I'd say. Guess I'll go another week, see if there's any noticeable progress. Nothing to lose anyhow

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If they stopped swelling 10 days ago, it would be a good time to bust out the microscope to check the calyx portion of your colas. The trichomes on your leaves will show amber way ahead of the actual calyx/bud. (I’m open to believe it’s not the case with all strains. There are lots of different varieties out there)

Also ! Fan leaves have been rapidly yellowing, been about 10 days as well. I’ve had this happen before to a couple of plants nearing harvest time and i’ve been told that’s perfectly ordinary

sensimilius said:

Also ! Fan leaves have been rapidly yellowing, been about 10 days as well. I’ve had this happen before to a couple of plants nearing harvest time and i’ve been told that’s perfectly ordinary

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Yellowing leaves are only "ordinary", if you stop feeding your plant.