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I'm exactly 8 weeks, 1 day into flower. I bought a hand-held microscope, 60x power to examine for cloudy/milky crystals, but I guess to my untrained eye, I cannot really distinguish between clear and cloudy. Any advice here? Also, are the pistils any indicator? Such as when most of them have turned red/rusty colored? Will update with pics when I can
this might help
I'm at 58 days and I'm 10-20% amber. I want to wait another week but we'll see what happens, maybe this week end. I've been checking the daily.
i think its when they all turn mostly amber color das but im not sure as i can only get male plants im jinxed ! hey lit up got a grow log going on them girls
clear is more heady, amber is sleepy. but i usually wait till i see an amber or to on about 2-3 places i look per plant. i must state i like sativas though
as far as pistols its easier on indicas because i have a sativa that looks done pistol wise (8 weeks) but just plumps for a month and her trichs are pink, purple, maroonish but at week 12 ill get some amber trichs. but shes still good at 8 but the high is wider at 12 where i get clear milky and amber.
Many people say that sativa or sativa dominate crosses should be harvested when the trichomes turn cloudy.
I have also heard many people say that once the trichomes of an indica or indica dom cross start to amber is the optimal time to harvest.
Everyone strain will have it's sweet spot :)
Do you tear-off a piece of leaf, and inspect it on a flat surface, or are you trying to inspect while leaf is still attached? Be sure to check the globular head of the trichome for 'milky' appearance. (not it's stalk)
Pistils are not a good way to assess plant maturity. As they age, the older/degraded pistils die-off. (from wind damage, age, handling, irritation from adjacent plant or leaf, pollination...) But since fresh pistils appear daily, they can not be a gauge of plant maturity per-say.
Plant maturity also doesn't go by a strict calendar. The finish time for each strain is dependant on your lighting, techniques you employ, equipment, experience levels of the gardener, (troubleshooting) the chemicals (nutrients) that you use, and lastly, genetics.
A timeline provided by the breeder is great, but I usually add a couple of weeks to allow for a comfortable finish for any new strain I grow whether sats doms or indica doms.