Better picture of my purple trichomes

[pinkgirl]

Do we consider purple trichomes to be in place of amber ones when it comes to harvest time? This is our first grow. We are growing purple punch-an indica strain. We planted “Jane” and “Mary” March 1st. Jane got cut a few days ago and is drying. Mary has a little bit of amber on the leaves. But I am not really seeing any on the buds. But I don’t want to wait too long to harvest her and wait for amber trichomes that may never come. I need it for pain control so I need her to have some of the couch lock effect to help with that but of course not too much or I will never want to get up and get anything done. Lol.

[Ckbrew]

If the purple is from the plant- in early growth like a flower pigment, then I would think not. You should look at the trichs on the buds, the ones on the sugar leaves will turn amber sooner than the buds, but it is the buds you are after. Can't see much on your pix.

[WolfMansBrother]

I am no expert. With that disclaimer out of the way...
In your 2nd image i do see amber. Low percentage. Wouldn't guess at a % but not 30%
Also, the purple may be a sort of illusion. If the trichomes act like a fiber optic filament, it could carry the leaf's purple color up to the bulb of the trichome. Just a thought. As the trichomes turn less transparent, that effect should diminish. Then again, why wouldn't this same effect happen with green leaves?

By the way, I took over 1000 photos of my buds to try to get some sense of the amber levels. Bud rot forced my hand to harvest early, but I completely share the concern and obsession of staring at these photos hoping for guidance from trichome colors.
Good luck!

[dilvish]

how long has the plant been growing? Personally I wait for the leaves to start yellowing on the plant when in final stage of flowering because that's an indication the plant is drawing up all the remaining nutrients to the flowers (buds). I don't typically go by trichomes but I look at what the breeders website says in terms of "time to harvest". then I add about 2 weeks to that number. Breeders tend to give weeks (or days) based on ideal conditions which many growers do but many new growers don't.

If you are in a hurry, weed is weed and you should consume it as required. But, If you want it to be as potent as possible, even after it's ready to cut, it still needs to be properly cured which can take another 3 weeks.

[Jimmynuetron]

If Jane just got cut, give Mary another week and you’ll have a mild and stronger choice for day or night time use ?

[grouchyoldman]

Nicely done pinkgirl !

There already are some amber trichs in your second pic and I'm sure you'll see more in another week. I think you'll be rewarded for waiting and you can sample Jane while you let Mary mature a bit more.

If you're looking for pain relief this might be a good time to study up on tinctures. You can concentrate them for potency and they allow you to control your dosage. Here's my goto thread on that subject:

https://overgrow.com/t/not-just-another-tincture-thread/7668