Somebody has got to know the answer

New to growing here this is my first time. I have a soil grow with a 4oo watt metal halide and I think I'm in the later stages of flower(8weeks/1day). It was just a few seeds that a friend gave me I assume bag weed. dont know the origin or strain/ sativa or indica. But he did tell me that this was a 45 day grow from beginning to end. against his advice I have not harvested because from everything I have learned on here I thought they were immature. I watch their trichomes very carefully and I have not seen any sign of amber.. In fact most look stalked capitate but still appear clear in color. Here is the tricky part. Everyone says to harvest according to preference, and I do not smoke at all. So I do not have a preference either way. I am at 8+ weeks into flowering and still no amber trichomes, should I be worried? Had a temp drop for a bout a week, could this affect the grow? they seem to have stalled. about 50% of my pistils have turned amber but still no amber trichomes. I would really appreciate some educated advice as I have come this far and don't want to f@#$ it up now.

Lets see if this helps ya! Partial copy and paste, click on links..

I: http://cannabis.com/growing/curing-w...ichome-101.html Main Menu

harvesting and curing

What are Trichomes? � � http://cannabis.com/growing/sp3r500w.jpg capitate stalked trichome photo by: Eirik Although cannabis resin glands called trichomes are structurally diverse, they come in three basic varieties: Bulbous: The bulbous type is the smallest (15-30 micron). From one to four cells make up the "foot" and "stalk," and one to four cells make up the "head" of the gland. Head cells secrete a resin - presumably cannabinoids, and related compounds which accumulate between the head cells and the cuticle. When the gland matures, a nipple-like protrusion may form on the membrane from the pressure of the accumulating resin. The bulbous glands are found scattered about the surfaces of the above-ground plant parts. Capitate-Sessile: The second type of gland is much larger & is more numerous than the bulbous glands. They are called capitate, which means having a globular-shaped head. On immature plants, the heads lie flush, appearing not to have a stalk and are called capitate sessile. They actually have a stalk that is one cell high, although it may not be visible beneath the globular head. The head is composed of usually eight, but up to 16 cells, that form a convex rosette. These cells secrete cannabinoids, and related compounds which accumulate between the rosette and it's outer membrane. This gives it a spherical shape. The gland measures from 25 to 100 micron across. Capitate-Stalked: Cannabinoids are most abundant in the capitate-stalked gland which consists of a tier of secretory disc cells subtending a large non-cellular secretory cavity. During flowering the capitate glands that appear on the newly formed plant parts take on a third form. Some of the glands are raised to a height of 150 to 500 micron when their stalks elongate. These capitate-stalked glands appear during flowering and form their densest cover on the female flower bracts. They are also highly concentrated on the small leaves that accompany the flowers. The male flowers have stalked glands on the sepals, but they are smaller and less concentrated than on the female bracts. Male flowers form a row of very large capitate glands along the opposite sides of anthers. http://cannabis.com/growing/sp1r500w.jpg

1)Growing Information
2)http://boards.cannabis.com/basic-gro...sty-hairs.html

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:postreadfaq:.....pearls before swine borrowed from Dutch Pimps Signature

4)http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-faqs/37003-trichomes-close-up-say-cheese.html