Thread: ready to harvest??

4 of my babies have been flowering for about 7 or 8 weeks not..not too sure EXACTLY how long. ALL of the plants have amber brown trichomes...just makin sure its the right time.

Okay just double checking that you are looking at the 'crystals' and not the hairs. If you have amber crystals, you're ready to go. The frost on those plants is very nice, high five.

Originally Posted by stinkyattic

Okay just double checking that you are looking at the 'crystals' and not the hairs. If you have amber crystals, you're ready to go. The frost on those plants is very nice, high five.

what crystals? im talking about the trichomes comming out of the calyx. they are amber brown

The trichome is the tiny structure that contains the resin. It is like a golf ball on a tee, and that's what makes the buds look white. You can see them much better under a magnifying glass or microscope. When unripe, they are clear. When they are ripe, they are cloudy. When they are fully ripe and starting to degrade, they look amber.

Pistils, on the other hand, are the hairs. They stick out of the calyx. When the plant is growing, they are white, ivory, pinkish, or even scarlet. When the calyx has been pollinated or is too old to be fertile, they die and turn brown.

well i still dont quite know what your talking about lol....sorry first time growing. But the hairs on top of my buds are cloudy with some amber ones too if thats what you mean

Hairs are opaque by nature so the difference between clear and cloudy does not apply... the hairs aren't what we're concerned with here, but if you must harvest by hair color, wait until only tiny and occasional tufts of fresh white hairs are being produced.

It's the crystals you are interested in... didn't you ever get a bag and look at it and go, ooooh! it's so CRYSTALLY!!!?
Go get a magnifying glass and look closely at the buds. Or google the term 'trichome'. Better yet, search 'trichome ripeness chart'.

nice for a first grow.

heres the deal on trichromes and pistils:

1) when flowering starts, a bunch of white hairs grow all over the place and are the core of the buds (i know this isnt totally percise-its just simplified)
2) as flowering continues, trichromes (or frost) will appear on and around the buds/hairs
3) as flowering finishes, the hairs will usually begin to die, turning an orangy-brown colour.
4) also, the trichromes (frost) will change from clear to cloudy, then to an amber colour. you need a microscope or powerful lens to properly see them (only the heads of them change, not the entire thing)

when approximately 1/3 of the trichromes have moved from cloudy to amber, its harvest time.

looking at your plants, im gonna guess that thyre ready to come down. but check first.