Can't distinguish amber!

[bcals0087]

Hello everyone,

I'm having difficulty with my pocket microscope distinguishing the amber trichomes from the clear ones. I get a clear view of them through the microscope, it has a light on it to light up whatever you are looking at, and I see clear, I see cloudy, and I feel like the light from the microscope is reflecting off of the clear trichomes to make them look amber:wtf:

so annoying...

Anyone got any ideas or tips? will the amber colored trichomes stand out when they are ideed amber?

Thanks

[Felixthecat]

yes bro you are supposed to see clear(15%), milky white(80%) and some shining like diamonds like rainbow glistening(5%), just wait but keep a close eye on it cause you only got a week time period from clear to milky white and then amber

clear- means not ready
milky white- means chop it, it's at peak(best high)put you on ur back
amber- means getting old, trichomes are ready to fall off

[Dutch Pimp]

:thumbsup:...

[Miroku12]

not trying to commandeer this thread, but i had a similar question regarding basically the same thing.
i have no pocket microscope to look through, is it possible to tell without the use of one, when its ready to harvest?
the chrystals on top are milky white, but i'm unsure if that's the trichomes
when i shine a LED flashlight on it i can see some shining like diamonds, as previously mentioned, but most are milky

i'll post a pic if i can get a good enough one to illustrate what i mean

[Weezard]

I'd give that one, another week or two if grown outdoors.
Indoors, some strains don't pop amber untill they are too old.
'Course, some folks like it that way.
I prefer mostly cloudy for most strains.

And even without a 'scope, you can look for headless trichomes.
If you see a lot of missing caps, and you have not been fingering them, it's time to cut.

Under the intense sun of the tropics, a cap on a trich can go from milky to amber in a few hours.
And they can go from fat and cloudy,
to amber, orange, red-brown, brown and shriveled, then tiny, dark, and missing in less than 8 hours.

Cheap microscopes are overkill for this.
Might want to buy a 10X jeweler's loupe and check them daily.
They are only a couple bucks on da bay and quantifying is much easier with a wider field and natural light.:cool:

Good luck,
Weezard

[bcals0087]

no problem miroku, my help is your help! Thanks felix for clarifying the shiny diamond rainbow colored trichomes as amber.

Tomorrow would mean a full 8 weeks for flowering, so I know the time is getting close. I still seem to be seeing mostly clear trichomes, which was last night, so I can imagine its only going to be a couple of days before I chop em.

Miroku, go to radioshack they have a 60x-100x pocket microscope for 12.99, its really worth the money and definately spending to make sure you get the best out of your bud.

Does anyone recommend chopping 3/4 of the plant or 1/2 to then expose the bottom and leave the lights on a couple more days for the trichomes to mature? Have heard mixed feelings about this and would like some more input. Thanks!

[bcals0087]

So here's what they look like as of 1 days short of a full 8 weeks. I see mostly cloudy on them today not to many amber. I figured I should be able to see a couple amber trichomes in each shot I take when looking at different parts of the plant under the microscope.

Anyone experienced enough to be able to tell how many days are left? Harvest time quoted by the seedbank was 8-9 weeks for all of them. so hmm

[Weezard]

Sweet, sweet ladies!:thumbsup:

From the long shot, they look about done.
Get a close-up of the preflower calyx at the first 3 junctions.
If they look like ripe seed pods and have lost "sheen" along with the stem, you are there.

I'd take a cola from each, yesterday, and start it drying while I watch the rest closely.

As long as you don't chop more than say 1/6th, she may pause, but the ripening will continue.
Taking too much at once, can shut her down and/or stress up a banana or two.

2 cents.

Weeze

[bcals0087]

Well I didn't know what you meant by preflower calyx's so I just took a bunch of high def pics for ya instead :thumbsup:

Still think I should have yesterday? I see some trichomes with no heads, but I have fingered now and then so thats acceptable. gettin pumped!

[bcals0087]

2 more...lookin FROSTY! :jointsmile:

[GetThisOrDie]

Your ladies look good! Great job. You will be enjoying them very shortly just keep an eye on em.

[Faddenator]

2 more...lookin FROSTY! :jointsmile:

Its a little hard to tell under the HPS, but from that second close up I see mostly cloudy trichs, but a few clear ones yet. I'd wait another 4 days or so. If you can get another close up like that one, it should be easy to compare.

I'm at the exact same point with my lil lady, I'm cutting in about a week. :thumbsup:

[Weezard]

No agonize!:buzz_saw:
Investigate!:detective1:

Here's a CU that got one lady cut n hung the next day;
[attachment=o236674]
Of course I had to white balance and color correct to make it clear. Click for larger version. Click again for a very large version indeed!

Raw, it looks more like this;
[attachment=o236675]

And few will chastize, should you take a "sacrificial limb"* or so.:D

*("I was just moving the plant and it snapped off.");)

We've all done it on our first few grows.:)

'Course now, I just snip off a lower bud, take it indoors, immobilize it, and then examine with the eyeclops, I take a few snaps, edit them for clarity, then decide her fate.

Yeah, I know. It's not easy being OCD
But, no more 'scope in da wind fo' me.
I too lazy to w*rk dat hard:rastasmoke:
Dat's fo' monkeys, I'm a 'zard.

Aloha, brah
Hope dis he'ps

Wee Zard

[bcals0087]

Thanks for the info!

I was a little thrown back by this considering according to my schedule, they should still have about another week, but its ok, i'm getting everything ready as we speak.

I've begun the shock ripening stage; I pulled the plug on the lights, still got the fan and climate control goin. And luckily today was feeding day so I gave them some ice cold water. I'm going to do this for the next two days I think and chop at the end of the second, thats if the trichomes do indeed change that quickly.