Pictures on when to harvest: Trichome colours
- Thread starter Smokin Moose
- Start date
jazzmatazz
New Member
u must be in US
they never ship there,i get mine from attitude seed bank
good luck mate
*sorry, idk why that posted twice*
But yea, u nailed it! Not hard to guess that one with the harsh laws of the "good ole USA" against natural herbal medicine! And really can't blame the seed banks for not shipping to the US for fear of the CIA busting there doors in and raiding the bank for distribution or some bullshit law they have to come up with! Sad. But anyway, thx again!
But yea, u nailed it! Not hard to guess that one with the harsh laws of the "good ole USA" against natural herbal medicine! And really can't blame the seed banks for not shipping to the US for fear of the CIA busting there doors in and raiding the bank for distribution or some bullshit law they have to come up with! Sad. But anyway, thx again!
Smoke3js
New Member
This thread has been incredibly helpful to this n00b grower. I'm close to harvest on my first grow ever (Indoor/DWC/LED) and now I have something to look for on these things.
Sincere thank you to all
Sincere thank you to all
Dutty Panty
New Member
Jeremy t. Check out cannazon I order seeds from them alot. There discreet. Just check them out.
Here's some trichome porn for you all. I took most of these trying to decide if washing buds ruined them.
(Washing buds greatly improves the quality of the harvest and does not damage the trichomes.
This bud was washed under forceful running water before taking the pictures).
These are all from a strain called RockLock, grown in soil under LED lighting in Colorado.
I always notice the amber trichomes start appearing at the tips of the sugar leaves first.
Last to turn are the trichomes on the calyxes:
(Washing buds greatly improves the quality of the harvest and does not damage the trichomes.
This bud was washed under forceful running water before taking the pictures).
These are all from a strain called RockLock, grown in soil under LED lighting in Colorado.
I always notice the amber trichomes start appearing at the tips of the sugar leaves first.
Last to turn are the trichomes on the calyxes:
In short, washing the buds is like washing fresh vegetables before canning or drying. Besides removing dust and dirt, washing removes surface bacteria and mold from the plant which slows decay during preservation. It also opens pores on the plants which speeds up drying. See Bud Washing for a full thread on this technique.
You can't wash off trichomes with warm water running at force from a faucet if you try. I have before and after bud washing photos in that thread. Right after harvest, the trichomes are very robust. They get much more fragile as they dry.
Conradino23
Well-Known Member
I don't wanna kill your trip man, but budz do not DECAY wheb you dry them, they just lose water and break down terpenes while being exposed to oxygen, which is a natural process and cannot be stopped. Now with bacteria I find it really funny being bacteria-friendly organic grower. Did you know that your life would be virtually impossible without bacteria in your mouth, in your stomach, on your skin? We live in a symbiosis with these tiny organisms and every time you go to chop their filthy heads off you basically undermine your own health.
Now to bud washing, I found it only useful when I had to get rid of mold from a bud, and it does give a smoother taste, but changes very little if plant was grown organically as I tested it on my Trainwreck. Downside is rapid loss of your sweet terpenes as you speed up the process pf breaking them down, which is the thing I didn't like at all. To me personally it's a fad, but hey to each its own
Now to bud washing, I found it only useful when I had to get rid of mold from a bud, and it does give a smoother taste, but changes very little if plant was grown organically as I tested it on my Trainwreck. Downside is rapid loss of your sweet terpenes as you speed up the process pf breaking them down, which is the thing I didn't like at all. To me personally it's a fad, but hey to each its own
Washing herbs and spices before drying has been going on for centuries, so I can't really say its "my trip".
In the food industry, it's commonly used as its known to improve the quality of the dried herbs. It's super easy for growers to test themselves. Wash a few buds and leave the rest unwashed. Try the end result. If it tests better, use it, otherwise don't.
Drying prevents bacteria and mold from continuing to grow on the plants. Drying buds too slowly leads to lots of mold and decay due to the bacteria and fungi digesting the plants. Organic grown crops have insects, larva, bird and bat shit and sometimes shit from the picker, so you are a fool if you don't wash your organic produce before consuming.
The acidic wash solutions also prevent oxidation. For example, dipping cut apples in weak lemon juice keeps the slices from browning as they dry and helps preserve their aroma and flavor.
Oxidation is easily prevented by keeping the herbs in airtight containers. Freezing helps.
Many people, like me don't want the buds to oxidize. We want the THC intact. If you want CBD and no THC, then expose them to air and heat. It's easy to oxidize, and pretty much impossible to go back.
In the food industry, it's commonly used as its known to improve the quality of the dried herbs. It's super easy for growers to test themselves. Wash a few buds and leave the rest unwashed. Try the end result. If it tests better, use it, otherwise don't.
Drying prevents bacteria and mold from continuing to grow on the plants. Drying buds too slowly leads to lots of mold and decay due to the bacteria and fungi digesting the plants. Organic grown crops have insects, larva, bird and bat shit and sometimes shit from the picker, so you are a fool if you don't wash your organic produce before consuming.
The acidic wash solutions also prevent oxidation. For example, dipping cut apples in weak lemon juice keeps the slices from browning as they dry and helps preserve their aroma and flavor.
Oxidation is easily prevented by keeping the herbs in airtight containers. Freezing helps.
Many people, like me don't want the buds to oxidize. We want the THC intact. If you want CBD and no THC, then expose them to air and heat. It's easy to oxidize, and pretty much impossible to go back.
Conradino23
Well-Known Member
Hmm you must've had these issues certainly. I never saq bat guano or bird shit on my budz, neither larvae for that mattee. The only dirt I ever detected were tiny grains of sand, which were detected when sieving the bud for has, and this was microscopic amount really.
To address decay I actually thought thst drying longer before jarring prevents mold as I caught it only when cutting off flow of air too quickly. And by the way what species of bacteria on the bud are so harmful that you just have to wash it to get rid of it? Would be interested to see if they are also so brave to survive flaming them with a lighter.
Very interesting this theory about turning THC completely into CBD, cause I actualy thought that it's CBN that is an effect of breaking down THC over time as amount of CBD is usually genetics dependent. To be really honest over time, after couple of months I only experoenced rise in relative potency due to curing, but maybe it was all CBD and no THC I was smoking all along
USB Camera vs Dissecting Microscope comparison.
I've owned an old dissecting microscope for many years and went looking for a way to take nice bud pictures. CCD microscope cameras are expensive and usually have very low resolution.
So I bought a $80, 3MP handheld Celestron microscope with an adjustable stand. It does OK, but it is hard to keep things in focus at high magnification. BTW, it's easier to hold a sample underneath a camera than hold the camera over a sample. Either way, you need something to rest your hands on so you get a clear view.
Here's what the calibration ruler looks like with the camera resting on the ruler, so it's at its maximum magnification.
USB CAMERA
The line on the right is 0.076mm which is about the thickness of human hair.
Dissecting Micoscope
Here's a similar view of the ruler under the dissecting microscope using a 4MP handheld zoom camera and home-made mount.
Here's the view at 40x Mag. Note you can now see the surface of the ruler and how the pockets of the paper towel are out of focus in the bottom view.
USB Microscope
Dissecting Microscope
Besides clearer pictures, the other advantage is the large working distance on the dissecting microscope means I can work on samples when under the scope. There's no room to work under the USB microscopes. However, they do make reasonable inspection cameras.
I've owned an old dissecting microscope for many years and went looking for a way to take nice bud pictures. CCD microscope cameras are expensive and usually have very low resolution.
So I bought a $80, 3MP handheld Celestron microscope with an adjustable stand. It does OK, but it is hard to keep things in focus at high magnification. BTW, it's easier to hold a sample underneath a camera than hold the camera over a sample. Either way, you need something to rest your hands on so you get a clear view.
Here's what the calibration ruler looks like with the camera resting on the ruler, so it's at its maximum magnification.
USB CAMERA
The line on the right is 0.076mm which is about the thickness of human hair.
Dissecting Micoscope
Here's a similar view of the ruler under the dissecting microscope using a 4MP handheld zoom camera and home-made mount.
Here's the view at 40x Mag. Note you can now see the surface of the ruler and how the pockets of the paper towel are out of focus in the bottom view.
USB Microscope
Dissecting Microscope
Besides clearer pictures, the other advantage is the large working distance on the dissecting microscope means I can work on samples when under the scope. There's no room to work under the USB microscopes. However, they do make reasonable inspection cameras.
Week 7 Reference photos
Here's photos of buds from the same plant 6 days later. Once can see there's more amber trichomes on the sugar leaves, but may trichomes are still clear.
I'd love it if some more experienced growers could comment on these photos and would point out where they look for the amber trichomes.
I'll continue to post weekly updates of changes to the buds on this same plant to help others see the changes that happen over time.
I'm hoping to harvest at the end of week 8. I prefer the pure THC highs, so harvest a bit sooner than late.
Here's photos of buds from the same plant 6 days later. Once can see there's more amber trichomes on the sugar leaves, but may trichomes are still clear.
I'd love it if some more experienced growers could comment on these photos and would point out where they look for the amber trichomes.
I'll continue to post weekly updates of changes to the buds on this same plant to help others see the changes that happen over time.
I'm hoping to harvest at the end of week 8. I prefer the pure THC highs, so harvest a bit sooner than late.
Smoke3js
New Member
For what it's worth I've had pretty good results with using the current state of the trichs as a harvesting guide. I tend to prefer a bit more of a heady/trippy buzz (not couch-lock), and I harvested a couple of my plants pretty early, here are a few shots from an iPhone-mounted 60x Microscope:
I harvested these (there are two plants represented in this set of shots) about 5 days after these photos were taken. I would be surprised if the trichs were much more than 10% amber at harvest. I've harvested like this and I let a couple of plants from that same grow go for another 10 days. The trichs were about 90% amber. The stone and the taste were quite a bit different after a proper dry and cure, so there is definitely a difference in potency/effect that is directly related to the time of harvest and the trichome color seems to be a pretty solid guideline. ymmv
I harvested these (there are two plants represented in this set of shots) about 5 days after these photos were taken. I would be surprised if the trichs were much more than 10% amber at harvest. I've harvested like this and I let a couple of plants from that same grow go for another 10 days. The trichs were about 90% amber. The stone and the taste were quite a bit different after a proper dry and cure, so there is definitely a difference in potency/effect that is directly related to the time of harvest and the trichome color seems to be a pretty solid guideline. ymmv
Thanks Smoke. I was about to give up on this thread as few seem interested.
Most people seem to be looking at the sugar leaf tips rather than the calyxes of the buds.
Here's my latest set of trichome photos, 12 days after the first set. One can see there is more amber trichomes than before.
Here's the underside of a sugar leaf I trimmed.
I decided this plant was ready and so I harvested the whole thing.
Most people seem to be looking at the sugar leaf tips rather than the calyxes of the buds.
Here's my latest set of trichome photos, 12 days after the first set. One can see there is more amber trichomes than before.
Here's the underside of a sugar leaf I trimmed.
I decided this plant was ready and so I harvested the whole thing.
Skybound
Well-Known Member
I think you found the right time CoNerd, adding a good bud washing will just make your product so much more flavorful and I bet a good mix of head blast and kick ass from the trichome states.
Smoke3js
New Member
I've found the differences to be subtle within the same strain. In other words, if I harvest a Northern Lights plant @ 10% amber trichs, then wait another week to 10 days and harvest another Northern Lights (from the same grow) @ 80% amber trichs, the difference in flavor and potency is fairly minimal. It's there for sure, but challenging to detect.
I've noticed more of a difference when the strains are not the same. Obviously, some of that difference is strain-specific, but I still believe that WHEN you harvest has a HUGE impact on how your finished product tastes and functions.
As far as where to look at the trichs, I tend to look all over the place. The sugar leaves, the calyxes, the stems, even some of the fan leaves. I've noticed that trichome colors vary across each region of the plant. From my own personal experience it seems you are correct that the color of the trichs on the calyxes seems to be the best indicator of ripeness.
I've noticed more of a difference when the strains are not the same. Obviously, some of that difference is strain-specific, but I still believe that WHEN you harvest has a HUGE impact on how your finished product tastes and functions.
As far as where to look at the trichs, I tend to look all over the place. The sugar leaves, the calyxes, the stems, even some of the fan leaves. I've noticed that trichome colors vary across each region of the plant. From my own personal experience it seems you are correct that the color of the trichs on the calyxes seems to be the best indicator of ripeness.
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