Vanilla Kush - Taking Forever to Finish

[BunkerMonkey]

It's been over 11 weeks since flowers appeared and I'm really getting tired of burning electricity on these plants if the trichomes aren't going to turn amber. All the sugar leaves have withered and turned brown. The calyxes are still green though.

That's a Colombian Gold I placed here to show the color contrasts.

Any opinions out there?

 

[BunkerMonkey]

And another thing...I just came down to the basement after being outside in the fresh air. The odor control I have is excellent until you open the basement door. It has been smelling like cannabis the past couple of months but now it smells like a hay barn.

And ANOTHER thing...these plants have really slowed down on their water usage. I was giving each one 3 gallons every 3 days but now the pots are still a bit damp after 5-6-7 days, and yes I've been flushing even though the buds I have cut smoked smoooth.

I think I'll chop down the brownest looking of these plants tonight. My biggest fear at this point is mold even though I don't see any sign of it, and then my next biggest fear is that the vanilla kush(?) is bullshit ditch weed that I'll be stuck with. I got electric bills to pay. Fuck.

 

[Conradino23]

Make a habit out of smoking samples as your plant are finishing to flower. This is the best way to get to know what's happening with your budz, especially if you're growing a strain for the first time. This plant looks long past the peak time by the way!

 

[BunkerMonkey]

Thanks for the reply, conradino23. I chopped it last night. I think I'll chop the final two plants tonight. Most advice says that trichome color is the thing but that some strains never really get amber trichomes. Well this damn strain is one of those. I need to get a better magnifier because it's hard to tell clear from cloudy trichomes with the cheap 30X loop I have. Also...how amber are the trichomes supposed to get?

The main problem with smoking samples is that it takes a few days to dry the budz out and also it's too damn subjective. I won't be growing that alleged vanilla kush again. I have four elephant bud(?) plants that will be ready to go into the bloom room just as soon as I build a recirculating DWC system in there which will be within a week or so. The elephants could stand to grow a little more anyway.

 

[David Bowman]

The closest in color to an amber trichome from the above selection would Dark Red Amber. Of course, they can be a lighter amber color, but too much darker amber and they become overripe. BTW, I've also seen purple trichomes -

 

[BunkerMonkey]

Thanks Colorado. I should have harvested about 2-3 weeks ago then at first sign of sugar leaf wilt but since my vegging plants weren't ready and I wasn't sure if the plants in bloom were finished putting on weight I thought I'd let them cook a bit longer. These plants also slowed their water consumption WAY down the past 2 weeks. I doubt I'll grow this strain again though because I can't even swear it's real Vanilla Kush. My cousin gave me three clones but they only had 5 leaves and the real thing has 9 leaves in photos I found online. I'm letting the other 2 plants sit in the dark for a day or two. I read that makes them a little more resiny.