Will the ol' red hair trick work for timing harvest?

[funkervogt]

Hey all,

I've got some evil bagseed growing out that has almost no trichomes in the bunch, and I have the wrong kind of loop. In any case, I can't tell if my trichomes are milky or clear.

I was wondering if the ol' red hair trick worked or if it was just a myth? My biggest plant has about half of its red hairs turned white. Would I be safe cutting at 80% hairs or could it be weeks later that its ready to go?

Thanks!

 

[killa-bud]

it really depends on the strain,the fact that you have a bag seed doesn't help.but ya,you could go by hairs, it won't be as precise tho.....

 

[stihgnobevoli]

its been working since before the days of the internet. i doubt it'll fail you now.

 

[Tony Aroma]

My biggest plant has about half of its red hairs turned white.

I'm guessing that's a typo and you mean white hairs turned red.

For years I harvested when the hairs were about 3/4 red. Then I discovered trichomes and realized that hair color and trichome color do not always correspond. Since I started checking trichomes, I've found that hair color is a reasonably good indicator most of the time although, as previously mentioned, not as precise. And I've had a few plants that were ready when the hairs were mostly still white.

IMO, going by hair color is better than nothing, but not the best method for determining ripeness.

 

[FRIENDinDEED]

well who knows anymore by means of "red hairs" ? just let this crop go for now and go and get a proper microscope, so you can look at trichomes.

and the reference to the redhair question is based upon the variation of strains of cannabis out there. no one can really tell by redhairs, that why trichomes are sooooooo important.

dont mean to come off any type of way, im blazed nicely right now and may be sounding like a complete prick and not even know it but in any case man, get the proper equipment for your grow. . . . i mean your gonna need it anyway

 

[CLDBD]

Yeah you can use it as a general idea but it is better to check trichs. I would suggest getting you one of those $10 radioshack microscopes. Works great for me. The last two grows I did were nirvana ak48. The first time I cut a week or two early. They were flowered for 8 weeks. I did not have my scope at the time. The high was a great out on the town heady high. I like couchlock so the next grow I had the scope and let them go almost 12 weeks and the trichs never turned amber. I don't know if it is the strain or if it was something I did wrong but I got tired of waiting and chopped them and the smoke is super couchlock.

 

[uncle louie]

red hairs is not always acurate best to look with a scope $12 radio shack

 

[FreezerBoy]

Do a popcorn test. Pull a couple of popcorn buds. Remove all leaf, chop up bud. 10 minutes at 200º in the oven. Add chopped leaf, stir, bake 10 more minutes. Smokes hot and harsh but, now you'll know if it's ready.

 

[CannabisSativa]

If you have a digital camera, try to take a picture as close as possible...right before it gets blurry. Now upload the picture to your computer and zoom in when you view the picture. I did this when my loupe died...

 

[AlwaysLearning]

If you're going to try and tell completion by hair color, you have to find a bud in the right zone. One at the bottom of the plant in little light will have its hairs turn all red sooner. A big ol cola that is very close to the light may produce white hairs forever. Finding a few buds in the right amount of light is key. Wait until the calyx's swell and you'll note the hairs darkening from the bottom of the bud moving up. Try to harvest before the top hairs of a bud in the right zone turn red. Good Luck!

 

[smokeymacpot]

i found (strains will vary!) that the plant is ripe when nearly ALL hairs are red and only sprouting a few white ones in odd places.

good suggestion by "cannabissativa" to use your digi camera to get a macro shot of the trics, it will take some 5-10 photos to get one that will be clear enough to see the trics well enough.