When you’re growing your own cannabis, you need to know just the right time to harvest. After all, if you’ve been growing these plants, you want to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Choosing the right time to harvest can be a difficult decision, and there are some key steps you can take to find out when your weed is ready. Learning how to look at cannabis trichomes with a microscope can make all the difference.
Trichomes Can Help You Harvest
You may know that trichomes are great for a cannabis plant. These “hairs,” “fibers” or “glitter” accentuate the buds and sugar leaves of your cannabis plant and are packed with terpenes. They also contain the cannabinoids, THC and CBD, which make cannabis so beloved.
Large trichomes are fully visible when you look at your cannabis crop, but you can learn a lot more when you know how to look at cannabis trichomes close-up. In many cases, they look like a gray fuzz or a glittery substance when observed with the eye.
Examined in detail, these trichomes can be bulbous, pointed, flat or stalked. You can see the resinous heads of the trichomes under a microscope. When these heads appear mostly cloudy-white and begin turning opaque or amber in color, you can generally start to harvest your cannabis crop.
How To Look At Cannabis Trichomes
It’s relatively straightforward to examine your plant with a microscope. Point your device at a bud and focus in on the trichomes. If you use a high-magnification device, you’ll need to hold it closer to the trichomes for clarity. Make sure to have good lighting so that you can fully see the color and opacity of the trichomes you are examining.
You want to make sure to have a quality device with a good resolution. If your lens blurs small details together, it is not a good choice for examining tiny cannabis trichomes. There are several different types of magnifying devices that you can use.
Handheld Magnifying Glasses and Jeweler’s Loupes
These simple, classic magnifiers are easy to use. You probably already have one on hand. You can hold it up to a bud and examine the trichomes. A regular magnifying glass may be good for a quick look at your plants, but it doesn’t provide the level of detail that you can get from a microscope.
A jeweler’s loupe is a smaller, pocket microscope. These often have higher-powered lenses with more precise resolution. You can also attach these to a smartphone camera lens for better preservation and detailed examination.
Handheld Portable Microscope
Just connect this type of digital microscope to your computer and go. Many USB pocket microscopes connect to a laptop or desktop. You’ll have the full, high-definition screen to examine the trichomes on your plant. With magnification of up to 100X available, you’ll be able to produce gorgeous images and examine your cannabis crop in detail.
Tabletop Stereo Microscope
This “science lab” microscope is perfect for viewing details of detached plants and trichomes. For many growers, a portable option is fine, but this can be a great investment as you develop a deeper interest in cannabis growing.
There are a number of great options to help you get a clear view of your crop’s trichomes and determine when to harvest. Get to know your cannabis more intimately through the lens of your microscope.