Get To Know Your Trichomes

in photography •  7 years ago  (edited)

"When to harvest?"

That seems to be a question a lot of people wonder when they're growing for the first time. It's definitely something I questioned and had to learn. Just looking at your plants won't cut it. Nor will only doing a flush. Some varieties take more time, this is when you'll need to know how to look at your plant's trichomes.

Hopefully you already have a microscope on hand for checking for mites and such. You'll definitely need one to make sure your plants are ready to go. I used a simple one that fit over my phone's camera like this.

Trichome 01_edited.jpg

As you can see in the image above, this plant isn't ready to go. The trichomes are still clear and just beginning to get cloudy.

Trichome 02_edited.jpg

In this second pic, you can see that the trichomes have started to take on a milky coloring. Some almost getting to the desired amber color.

Trichome.jpg

Looking through the microscope also allows you to appreciate the color coming into your plants. Nice deep purples on this Blue Dream. Now the trichomes are starting to take on more amber. You'll want to continue to monitor your plants like this each day as you approach your estimated harvest date. Once you've reached 30%-50% amber, you're ready to go.

The reason you don't wait longer than this, is because the trichomes will continue to change throughout the curing process. You don't want to take your plants down too late, unless you're trying to push CBD levels up in your plant.

Happy harvesting friends!

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I also think it all depends on what strain your growing, and what effect your going for. But if you do wait for the trichomes to turn mostly amber, thats when the magic happens and you see your buds swell!! Great post brother!

Thank you! I can definitely agree with that. So many factors and personal preferences go into play with this beautiful plant. There's nothing better than growing the exact medicine you want.

very nice article well done the photos are of a great quality I will follow you! Thanks for your work I love it !!! 😊😊

Thank you! I really appreciate it!!

I also publish on cannabis some article talks about the cbd colme a site that delivers in europe or wine cbd

Cool, I'll check it out.

Whoa! Nice microscope images :O

Thank you! I can't wait to take some new ones.