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Trichome "Myth"? What do you think?

aridbud

automeister
ICMag Donor
Veteran
wrong thread!
but have seen some interesting trich ripening modes
some don't like to turn cloudy, tropical influences from what i understand

Haven't grown tropical sativas since the Mexi-brick days back in the mid 1970s (bag seed).

So, guessing it's more pistil color change vs. cloudy trichomes? Interested in your experience.
 

igrowone

Well-known member
Veteran
it's one particular case, a nl#5 that ripened to the beat of its own drummer
trichomes didn't cloud but turned yellow, never saw a cloudy trich on it
they would eventually amber but took forever, we're talking 20+ weeks here
at 12 weeks the stuff was rocket fuel, too much rocket for my tastes
i've discussed this with some hard core sativa growers who confirmed the trait in some tropical sativas
rare to see in hybrids
 

Gry

Well-known member
When I collect the trichs and apply heat,

I find reality enjoyable. No myth for me.
 

prune

Active member
Veteran
yep, more stoner science - based on myth, no better than a fairy tale. but if it keeps you safe and happy in your beds at night, god bless...

Trichome heads don't RIPEN, they AGE. Some take care of themselves and lead long clear lives. Others lay out in the sun and smoke cigarettes and die an early death.
 

JockBudman

Well-known member
Plants grow new bracts daily once they’re in full flowering phase. Each bract matures independently than the rest. Therefore some bracts will have trichomes that mature at different rates. Personally I use a loupe and look at a number of flowers throughout the plant to get a good gauge of where the plant is as far as ripeness goes. As far as desired effect it’s obvious to me that it depends on the strain, not all clear, cloudy or amber trichomes will give you the same effect, not to mention the terpene profile. The best way to find out is to test the flowers at different levels of maturity along with everything else you do to check for maturity.

For me this is the best post in this thread.

I've seen so many new growers chop just based on trich colour from a cursory glance with the loupe and the plants themselves look nowhere near done. All white pistils, no swollen bracts but "I saw an amber trich" so out come the shears. They don't know enough about the way the plant matures because they're learning off growers who don't let their plants mature and sometimes they're looking at trichs on sugar leaves rather than calyxes, which tend to mature quicker but get trimmed off anyway.

I used to be a loupe lover myself until I read the harvesting guide over at a UK based growers forum, written by really old school experts including oldtimer1. They show how the plant matures from where most people would be chopping, through to when it's actually mature - swollen calyxes, all red hairs etc. They make the point that it's only when it's all swollen and heavy, that you should be louping to dial in peak harvest time. They even show a plant that's gone too far - over a month past optimum harvest point - to make the point that the harvest window is a lot wider than many people think. Since I put the loupe away and started following that guide, my yields and highs have improved a lot and most of the time now I judge harvest almost completely by eye and feel, only scoping to confirm what I already know.

In reference to the op's question about new growers, I do think it was wrong to call trichome colour a myth, but I also believe new growers should be encouraged to flower out their plants fully before harvest and learn how the plant looks at peak ripeness.

The other thing that's coming up in this thread is the colour balance of clear/cloudy/amber and percentages. Well to paraphrase the guide I mentioned - if you want an up high, grow a load of sativas to full ripeness and find the plant and pheno that suits you. If you want a stoned couchlock effect, grow a load of indicas to full maturity and find the plant and pheno that suits you.

Anyway, it's all about what you as a grower want. If louping your plants from week 3 and chopping with all white hairs is pickling your pudding it's no business of mine and I say good luck to you. Whatever gets you the high you seek.
I only interjected to share my experience and balance out what I think is a common error new - and sometimes not so new - growers make.

:tiphat:
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
I also agree with Jock. Back in the 60's I had no clue about trichs or amber or any of this. I went by the look and taste of the plant. At the time I was growing a landrace Columbian that was 16 weeks in flower. I only got in 2 crops a year. That was ages before commercial seeds (at least for me) and decent hybrids were few and far between. I remember forcing the extra nice plants to hermie so we could have "Feminized" seeds. LMAO

Anyway, back on the topic of trics, here is a good example. This Bruce Banner still has mostly cloudy, some clear and zero amber. IMO, this plant is ready. Perhaps past. Like mentioned, calyx's are swollen, bracs and leaves are fading, it just LOOKS ready. LMAO

I could be wrong. I'm a rookie and don't know shit about pot. Still I've been doing it 50 years and you can't walk down a dusty road without getting a little dirt on your shoes.

Also, because the timing will be right for the other plants in this tent, I'll be taking these Banner toward the end of this week.

I am open to comments. The location of the plants in the tent made it impossible to get a pic of the entire plant but just these bud shots paint a clear picture.

Like I said, I'm all ears.




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mexweed

Active member
Veteran
it is really easy to tell an immature trichome vs a degrading one and when it's in between just by looking at the plant, I only ever used a loupe on my first plant when all I knew better was the stuff I read on the internet and hadn't actually grown any plants yet

they sort of swell up when they get milky and are filling up with a higher concentration of oils, the area of frost will look fuller and brighter, if an area looks silver it's immature

fresh trichomes are still maturing when some start to degrade, some buds are still filling in when some trichomes start to degrade, if a trichome looks darker and like it has shrunk compared to the others it is starting to degrade, but if one harvests at the first sign of this it will hurt yield and overall potency which is what I feel noob loupe growers are somewhat conditioned to do

when I start noticing that is when I start thinking about beginning flush, maybe with one last carbs/sugars feed, plants are 110% more of a pain in the ass to handle and move around this late in the game, patience is key

harvesting at the advertised flower time and at the first sign of amber is the easy way out, if you want champion buds you have to take them the distance

overall I feel that pistil maturation is a more important thing to pay attention to, if there are fresh long white hairs it means that calyxes are capable of swelling in those areas bringing fresh trichomes, but you have to be a lot more on point with that method, like if the last of the pistils are receding you can't just start flushing then, they have to be ready to be chopped within the next 3 days or bud rot and selfing seed start to become potential issues
 

JockBudman

Well-known member
I also agree with Jock. Back in the 60's I had no clue about trichs or amber or any of this. I went by the look and taste of the plant. At the time I was growing a landrace Columbian that was 16 weeks in flower. I only got in 2 crops a year. That was ages before commercial seeds (at least for me) and decent hybrids were few and far between. I remember forcing the extra nice plants to hermie so we could have "Feminized" seeds. LMAO

Anyway, back on the topic of trics, here is a good example. This Bruce Banner still has mostly cloudy, some clear and zero amber. IMO, this plant is ready. Perhaps past. Like mentioned, calyx's are swollen, bracs and leaves are fading, it just LOOKS ready. LMAO

I could be wrong. I'm a rookie and don't know shit about pot. Still I've been doing it 50 years and you can't walk down a dusty road without getting a little dirt on your shoes.

Also, because the timing will be right for the other plants in this tent, I'll be taking these Banner toward the end of this week.

I am open to comments. The location of the plants in the tent made it impossible to get a pic of the entire plant but just these bud shots paint a clear picture.

Like I said, I'm all ears.




.

Now THAT is ripe :yeahthats
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
I believe nitrogen levels are worth noting, at least as far as new pistils and growth late in flower are concerned.

As for amber % and individuality, I've run across *many* growers who harvest with a lot of amber. I've also noticed they have a much higher tolerance to CBN (or terpene/cannabnoid combo making the narcotic/blackout effect), and/or they're using significant amounts of caffeine or other stimulants.

I do my best to avoid late harvested cannabis when I have work to do.
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
OK.... myth or fact: When the trics turn amber, that is an indication that the THC converting to CBN.

Is that true?


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