[terpking]

I don’t know much about it but I have had some plants that just don’t get amber. usually auto flowers. The last autos I did were a month past the suggested harvest date. It turned out amazing and really sedating stone. Knocked me out. But no amber trichomes.

[2Toke]

Hi. I’ve had the same issue with my auto flower. 3 weeks past due and no amber. Nothing! But it was an amazing buzz!!!!

[ol-no-7]

I grow a strain that turns a light flesh tone when finished and that’s usually 2 to 3 weeks past the stated finish time .. with that said there will be some darker ones inside the buds

[budwinjones]

!!!Old School Hippie-Science Incoming!!!

Ever hear folks say that the resin/trichomes are the plant’s sunscreen?

I’ve had this issue when I’m running plants indoors that are opposite the season outside – harvesting Spring-Summer. I think nature kinda “knows”.

I’ll turn my light intensity down from 60% to 40% (1000ish ppf to 700ish) and run cooler temps with more direct of a breeze during my last week. I think it signals the planet to finish up like it’s the end of fall.

The explanation is total Bro-science, I haven’t researched it, but it’s an SOP for me at this point because it works.

[Bruce_Maine]

I just tried this on my last run so I’m not sure how connected the two are but I switched my lights back to 18/6 7 days before harvest. Went from 50/50 milky/clear to a decent sprinkle of amber on the last day

[Bruce_Maine]

[D-Wreck420]

I’m gonna try this on my next photo run! Did you hear about this from Rasta Jeff? That’s where I’ve heard it.

[BudBurner]

I do the same . Helps put mass on the buds also

[TourFwenty]

+1 and for the first time on a run that just finished. I was having the same issues with things not ambering and the switch back to 18/6 was what made them turn the corner. Maybe also make sure to check your trichs under a couple different light color temps, that got me once when the amber was subtle.

[christopher-kush]

Cooler temps and lower light intensity in late flower is “crop steering”. You sir stumbled from bro-science onto plant science. Your instincts are correct. Is this what a “Green Thumb” is? You may have it. I’m still blown away by all the growers the DGC has and how smart/creative they all are. So glad @bnr made this site happen! It’s like being inside a library of (alleged)experienced cannabis growers.

[Unknown Member]

Strain dependent for sure. I have a tangie auto going right now at 13.5 weeks. It’s supposed 5o be a 9-10 weeker. That being said the watering at 13 weeks made the buds swell. Though even 4 weeks past suggested time very little amber. That being the case I think old school lights effected trichomes more.

[texasgrows]

I’ve been wondering if it’s my lights. They’re not the best and not the worst. Decent spectrum but I wonder if I have enough.<div>

Could not quite enough light cause a plant to take longer to finish?

I have two viparspectra 2000, they use samsung LM301b diodes and meanwell driver. They are 195 watts each over a 2.5ft X 6 ft. area.

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[TerpyTen]

Sometimes you just have such healthy plants that they’re able to resist that degradation of the trichomes. They will stay milky looooooong past the due date. If you want amber trichomes faster, you have to start selective stressing the plant. Maybe drought stress, heat stress (not recommended), cold stress, defoliation. This will trigger the plant to speed up that life cycle process. Though, I wouldn’t do this until I was sure she was done bulking up and just waiting on her to mature.

[texasgrows]

This also one of the reasons I was thinking on.

Could we be taking too good of care of these girls sometimes?

[bilbobagseed]

Could be strain dependent

[TerpyTen]

It’s definitely a little bit of both. I know for a fact heavy leaning sativas just don’t want to turn Amber. They’ll get milky and they’ll just stay milky while the rest of the plant degrades. If they were outdoors they’d be subject to the temperature swings to increases and decreases of moisture. Bugs mold mildew and all the other fun stuff that goes on in nature. That would definitely cause it to Amber up sooner but if it’s indoors and it’s happy and you’re giving it love and nutrients and water it’s going to stay as healthy as it can be for as long as it can be. Indica’s tend to amber off sooner than sativa dominant varieties. I remember my Tandy was supposed to be a 70-day cultivar and I was there until day 110 waiting for Amber trichomes and I gave up. She’s an amazing smoke, all milky, no amber but man she’s great for bedtime. There’s still so much to be learned about this amazing plant which we’re only going to start doing now, now that it’s legal.

• This reply was modified 5 months, 2 weeks ago by  TerpyTen.

[Colorado-CannaTopia]

So consider this. I was told that the amber color comes from the light sorce you have. Somtimes folks who grow indoors will experience their plant not taking on amber and show other signs it’s ready to harvest like foxtailing, swollen calyx or bracts, and or yellowing leaves. They pointed out some of Frenchies teachings on his website that talk about harvesting at the peak of maturity by looking at the Calyx and Bracts. They will swell up like fruit. Some even think a seed is in it but their won’t be. Looking at the plant as a whole rather then just the trichomes I feel is the biggest message they had. Definitely look at the tricomes but also look at the rest of the plant too. If we are looking at the tricomes however if you see the heads falling off or poping then the plant is overdone. I believe the stems of the tricomes may be a better indicator on how close you are to harvest then the color.

[Colorado-CannaTopia]

I believe it’s the uv light intensity specifically. Iv heard using artificial uv light can make your tricomes amber to quickly aswell.

[RASUFA]

There is really only one reason your trichomes are not turning amber and that is that they are not finished yet. Some sativa varieties can take up to 16 weeks in flower. If you have grown it from a seed and not a cut, then the breeder timeline is only a base to go off of. It could actually finish earlier or later than that depending on the phenotype. And for the record, whoever mentioned that trichomes are a sunscreen for the plant was 100% correct. The amount of trichomes depends on the variety and the environment. So I would let it ride buddy!🤙🏼

[lakeeriemonster]

Patients if you think it’s ready wait 1 week or 2

[bepennjier]

(new grower with no expierence)
here are my two cents:
there is this story that the oscillation of an oscillating fan died but
it kept blowing air over the same bud and this bud was way more amber
than the rest of the grow.
1. chemically I understand the ambering of the trichomes as an oxidation.
naturally this would be promoted by UV radiation. instead of harming the plant the radiation is “captured” by the oxidation before reaching tissue. but this reaction doesn’t necessarily needs UV and you can steer a reaction (like a plant). by providing more of the educts on the left side of the equation you promote the products of the reaction, thus:
2. blowing air with a fan over the trichomes will increase the oxidation rate
(of course everything else regarding plant steering and bud ripening still applies and has its own effects.)
if the above is true is it desirable to (kind of artificially) “age” your trichomes this way? I don’t think so. I’d guess you lose more than you gain and potentially screw your curing.
on the other hand if the above is true it raises the question if the ambering is indeed a sign of ripening/finishing or merely of aging/oxidation. this would be the question for adding UV to amber your trichomes as well. does it help ripening the buds or are you just ageing trichomes?
and it depends on what it does to the buzz or medical qualities you are after. there might be strains you want to harvest before it’s all amber and there might be strains you want to see a deep amber before harvesting to get what you want out of it.
I’d love to know the answer to that but you’d need a fully grown lab and a lot of time to actually test it
(again I’m new, with no experience and I’m definitely not a chemist)

[Havaniceday]

If your BB Kush is 2 weeks past the breeders 9 week indication, that does not matter much, many variables here, but if i read correctly, you could let them dryback once and try to get a bigger temperature difference from day to night, i would not lower the light intensity, but after a week of doing the two first tricks, you can girtle the main trunk just above ground level, that is to cut into the bark all the way araound…or twist it till it cracks if its not to thick.