Hey Weaselcracker: I just got great news from my tester! (I don't smoke) He said the test bud was exactly right! A heady high that lasted a good deal of time, and that was just cut, quickly dried a bit, and smoked in a bong. Cured, it should be really, really good for the smokers in the family!
The hairs are 90% amber, but I can't tell cloudy from clear trics with these old eyes, even with a 40x loupe. And the plant has her second wind, growing new calyxes. The smoke test was the only way I had of judging when to harvest.
So, do you think I could get away with harvesting the most mature buds, even tho they're growing new calyxes? Growth isn't any different than the last pic? What has been your experience?
Ha ha. I torture myself over these decisions, and that's with my own plants in front of me under the microscope and I still can't figure it out. It's really the end of growing that I have the most to learn about. The tail end. But- 'he said the test bud was exactly right'. No need to argue with that!
Sometimes those new pistils just keep coming and all too often there's no real clear ending for me till I make one.
I sometimes take the tops as well, and get the rest ten days later. But usually I'm too impatient by then.