Trichomes: How important are they?

[The Holy Mackerel]

My backyard plants are just starting to bud and I have trichomes bursting from them that my chronic friend says are quote "monsters". Everyone already jumped all over my nutrient questions, so I guess what I need to know now is:

1) What effect do they (trichomes) give the plant and the weed?

2) Are bigger/thicker trichomes better?

3) Should I be trimming leaves away so the bud is more exposed to sun?

4) When do I know when to cut the buds off the plant?

5) How much hash could I possibly make from the trimmings of seven medium-sized plants (ballpark figure)?

ANSWERS, PEOPLE!!!!! I've smoked for over a decade now but I still feel like a newbie douchebag. Help would be much appreciated for this Hoser.

 

[NormanTBates]

1) What effect do they (trichomes) give the plant and the weed?
2) Are bigger/thicker trichomes better?
3) Should I be trimming leaves away so the bud is more exposed to sun?
4) When do I know when to cut the buds off the plant?
5) How much hash could I possibly make from the trimmings of seven medium-sized plants (ballpark figure)?

High Crown,

I am no expert by any measure but I will try to help out as best I can.

1) The trichromes give the plant its potency, they are definately a very good thing

2) I would assume the bigger the better, once again more potent

3) That is hard to say without a pic or more info. How many weeks into flowering?

4) A good time to harvest is once a majority of the trichomes began to turn amber incolor.

5) I am not the person to ask on that one, I sure someone else will answer that for you. But once again, they will probably need a pic.

 

[StormChaos]

5) How much hash could I possibly make from the trimmings of seven medium-sized plants (ballpark figure)?

The quantity of hash depends on 2 main factors... The first being the quality of the material you are starting with and the 2nd being the method of extraction.

Outdoor plants are subjected to the elements... wind, rain, dirt particles in the air... etc. outdoor plants tend to produce less hash then the same plant grown indoors.

great hash comes from the close trim around the buds.

The method of extraction can be dry, water or chemical.

Dry sieving produces the least....

water extraction produces upto almost twice as much as dry, but that is dependant upon on the number of sieves used and the micron size of the sieve, as well as your overall skill.

Chemical extraction (i have never personally done) but is commonly done with alcohol and from what i am told produces pretty much as much as possible.

In so far as some figures... if you had say 90 to 100 grams of leaves and and some smaller buds thrown in you could prolly expect to get maybe 2 to 4 grams of dry hash and 5 maybe 6 grams on the low side upto 10 grams using ice water. again the higher end numbers are assuming your starting materials are really good and the lower end would prolly be a more realistic number... especially for outdoor stuff.

insofar as chemical or alcohol extracted hash... I have no idea as I have never done it I would expect toget atleast as much as Water extraction.

I love hash.