xiansi,

the trychomes are indicators of the optimal time to harvest the buds. The will begin clear, then become cloudy, then whitish, and eventually a rusty color. You want to harvest when they are cloudy because that is when you will have the highest THC content in your buds. Anything after and the THC begins to get broken down.

Hoped that helped you and Im sure you didnt intentionally mean to hijack my thread, lol. Right now I am going to designate about 9-10 weeks for flowering but i would still like to hear from anyone else who either agrees with marimbas or has a different tecnique.

Thanks,
JPG