Trichome Confusion

Hey guys and gals,

I am nearing the end of my first flowering cycle and have some q's. I just picked up one of them radioshack scopes and it works pretty good. I have read about trichome checks and am a little confused. The two nlxbigbud will be 8 weeks friday. A few others I have seen grow this strain say they go a little longer towards the ten week mark. I have not really seen any solid info on how to check the trichomes as in where to check. So I started with some of the tiny bud leaves from the middle of the plant. I cut little snipets and put them on a white sheet of paper. They are looking nice and cloudy. Then I thought maybe I should check the top. So I did and my indica dominant is looking around 20-30 percent amber up at the very top and the sativa dominant is looking about 10-15 percent amber. I don't really feel they are ready. What do you all go by and what are your methods for trichome checks? Don't want to hack them too early. I would like a heavy couch lock stone by the way.

The more amber trichs you have the more couchlock the high will be.
I check my trichs while still on the plant but its kinda hard to keep a stable hand.

With those radio shack scopes as well as the 420scope (which is better, i know i have both) you have to put them FLUSH with the bud. You start with the lowest magnified and lowest focus. Then turn the magnification wheel where you want it THEN focus. What you want to look for is little stalks with balls on top. They will be sticking straight up. Check them while they are young so you can see what clear trich look like compared to cloudy trichs. You want to harvest when roughly half are cloudy/milky. This is amatter of preference of course. As the other guy said, the longer you wait the more couchlock it will be. If you like an "uppity" high harvest when they are mostly clear and just starting to turn cloudy. Hope this helps ya man.

F4t4LShot said:

With those radio shack scopes as well as the 420scope (which is better, i know i have both) you have to put them FLUSH with the bud. You start with the lowest magnified and lowest focus. Then turn the magnification wheel where you want it THEN focus. What you want to look for is little stalks with balls on top. They will be sticking straight up. Check them while they are young so you can see what clear trich look like compared to cloudy trichs. You want to harvest when roughly half are cloudy/milky. This is amatter of preference of course. As the other guy said, the longer you wait the more couchlock it will be. If you like an "uppity" high harvest when they are mostly clear and just starting to turn cloudy. Hope this helps ya man.

Click to expand...

I know how to use the scope and think it is pretty good for the money. I also can see the difference between clear and cloudy and amber. I want the couch lock so I want them to grow out but I also don't want the potency to degrade. I guess my question is where on the plant should I test(high,low,mid) for the best overall results? If I went by the tops I could probalby harvest in days. I don't think I should though as I really am after as much cheeb as I can get so I can last another grow cycle.

heres a guide that mite help..

cnl491 said:

heres a guide that mite help..

Click to expand...

Yup, I get how to read trichomes but that guide or any others don't really say what else goes with it. Do you check at the top of the plant or bottom or middle? Or multiple spots? I know I should have most amber when I harvest but like I said originally I have a major difference between the top of the main cola and a couple nodes down.

akramtona said:

Yup, I get how to read trichomes but that guide or any others don't really say what else goes with it. Do you check at the top of the plant or bottom or middle? Or multiple spots? I know I should have most amber when I harvest but like I said originally I have a major difference between the top of the main cola and a couple nodes down.

Click to expand...

i never cut a plant all @ one time unless it is in risk of being found outside. harvest the parts that are looking like the are to the point that you want them, and leave the rest standing to finish. usually plants finish from top to bottom (since thats the parts that receive the most light_

when during this process do you stop feeding any nutes and go straight water?

kochab said:

i never cut a plant all @ one time unless it is in risk of being found outside. harvest the parts that are looking like the are to the point that you want them, and leave the rest standing to finish. usually plants finish from top to bottom (since thats the parts that receive the most light_

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I have heard of this before. It makes allot of sense really. It would also let me drop the light closer to the rest of the buds and let them get more light. I think that is what I will do.

akramtona said:

Thanks for the info. I have heard of this before. It makes allot of sense really. It would also let me drop the light closer to the rest of the buds and let them get more light. I think that is what I will do.

Click to expand...

i keep my 400 about 9 inches from the tyop of the canopy. If i harvest ther top 1/3 of all the plants, that then leaves 2/3 of all the plants standing. so whenever you change your total canopy height then you need to move the light again.