I’ve read enough to be fairly sure I’ve been letting it go too long, I’ll reel it in a bit and see how that goes?
Thanks everyone for their contributions to the thread.
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Stereoscopes are awesome, even if its just because looking at trichomes under magnification from different perspectives is fun af.
I’ve seen some really good deals online for them by searching for University Surplus stores. They take all the old equipment from campus and resell them cheap when they get new stuff. There can be some real nice stuff real cheap if you got some patience and don’t need something right away
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Thank you @ThePotanist I’ll check that out.
I enjoy exploring the micro world, its surprising what you find.
The downside is I end up wanting a scanning electron microscope to really see what it is I’m seeing,
I had the same problem with telescopes lol I wanted the hubble after a week.
I can’t upload video, the gif is run off from coco.
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The SEM never produces a color image, though.
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Depends…
I have had strains where the actual tastes can
Be different the closer to finish you get.
Depending on how you want your herb to taste
Is how I look at it a lot.
Mindless can have a spicy taste 10ish weeks in
But if I get her around 8.5 weeks leans more
Fruity.
So it really depends on what YOU want
And like.
Of course you have to.run the same strain a few times to really get to know them and what you prefer.
Good luck
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Just coming in to drop a controversial opinion: when it comes to distinguishing when a plant has finished, I personally judge by growth/metabolism, and only really scope trichomes out of curiosity
I find most plants have a very obvious peak of water throughput/intake during late flower, followed by a pretty dramatic decrease, slowing almost to a stop. That usually coincides with the peak and trough of formation and maturation of new calyxes. After that point, imho, nothing is being added to the plant/trichomes, merely the existing material degrading
Unfortunate we have to rely on anecdotal evidence, and it will be a long, long time before we have solid research done on a topic like this
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Fair enough the evidence is anecdotal but it’s also overwhelmingly commonly said by experienced growers, I don’t think everyone can be wrong, even my own suspicions nagging away made me create this thread,
I also got in contact with a commercial grower I know and got the same advice you guys are giving which was earlier for terps rather than later.
@Toker1 what you’re saying is exactly what I’ve had a number of times, its not necessarily bad it’s just not what I’m after.
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We got research happening on this right now!
There are likely going to be more papers published this year!!
There are def research papers detailing changes in biochemistry over plant and trichome development timelines. The next step that is needed is post harvest biochemical studies so we can see what’s happening during curing. Current research def supports @JoeCrowe and his drawing.
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My bubblehash bear says that observations are the key to understanding. He can be pretty clever for a lump of trichomes
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Hello folk’s, it’s been a while.
I’ve been cutting a few testers from around 55 days on.
Fk me what a difference in taste and smell, its a result for sure.
I harvested them at circa 75 days, it’s a pain with different strain maturation times so I aimed for a middle ground and it’s harvested and drying now.
I only cut the lower buds then dried them room temperature so its only a very rough guide, I can’t wait until its dried properly and try the prime buds 
Thanks guys
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