The Trichomes are Whispering Pt. 2
Change comes at you fast!
This dialog is getting very interesting. I have posted some updated pics below and you can see the rapid advance of the ripening process in just a few days. It’s hard to see in the pics, but a subtle color change is emerging, not so much snowy-white to dark amber, but a more general smoky tint over an entire calyx near the emergence of the rusty pistil. I think you can see much the same thing in other near-harvest trich pics, more a “yellow-ing” than amber. That’s kind of what Cannoli seems to be hinting at in his article.
It’s clear that there is much more to this than Trichome gazing than Clear-Cloudy-Amber. Trichomes are only one metric in a holistic perspective to harvest time. As a grower, I want to understand and utilize as many “Levers” as possible to obtain the desired result.
My background includes a great fondness for good wine and I’ve spent a lot of time prowling the vineyards of Napa, France, Australia, South Africa, etc. I spent a few Autumn months in the Loire valley, harvesting Muscadet grapes with a gang of pot smoking Frenchies. (Oh, to be young again!)
“Wine is proof that Gawd loves us and wants us to be happy!”
-Benjamin Franklin
What impressed me most (besides the pleasures of great wine) was the control that the great winemakers had over their final product. That’s what I’d like to have over my cannabis harvest.
So, it’s definitely not about the percentage of Amber Trichomes as much as what those trichomes really mean in relation to the overall health of the plant, the size & constitution of the buds, etc.
The most interesting thing to me about Frenchy Cannoli’s article was that even our reading of the Trichomes is still somewhat mysterious! Understanding that one aspect is my quest and the purpose of this late harvest experiment.
Despite all my pompous posturing, I’m still floundering in the dark here. I made some trichome color estimate notes on the pics below, but it’s total guess work.
Paz y Amor compadres,
-Grouchy
The White Widow in labor
Look for the colors, mebbe 5% glass, 10% tan & the rest cloudy?
PS, Regarding the closeup pics, I found that by using a little clip to position a cheap 10x loupe in front of my old, lame iPhone I could take acceptably sharp hi-res micro-photos. A critical tool for us Trichome Hunters!