Yep, two different things topping and defoliation, also look into LST. There is a horde of information on YouTube!
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I’ve read and watched so many videos. I don’t find them very useful as they haven’t been good at truly explaining their points. It’s why I’m lost still. I mean I can’t even tell the difference between clear and cloudy trichomes. No idea how to identify a main branch. So yeah. I’m lost. Like right now it looks like my buds have clear and some Amber trichomes but that doesn’t make sense. I cent even see any cloudy trichomes. 
When does one remove the extra branches ? How do you Identify a main branch?
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I gotcha. The more you grow the more familiar it will become. This was a great first go for a first try!! You should be proud! Just keep listening to other growers and form your own opinions but just keep reading. All the good info is buried in old forums on Reddit and other Cannabis grow forums
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This was my second grow so still don’t entirely understand some stuff.
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I feel u homie I’m in a similar spot. I’ve killed a few already so I understand what not to do😂
I’m constantly reading and rereading. It’s a bit of an obsession, but at least I can assist you!
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@Tebori,
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(#TeamHasGotYouCovered): {
}:
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}:…
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(The Two Shoots Become Two Promising Bud-Sites):
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(The Main Stalk Is In The Center): (Like The Main Road In The City):
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(Promising Bud-Sites):
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(Topped This One Onced, Then A Second Time On Each Brach): (AboveResults): {
}:
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(Right In The Center Is Where Your Flower Will Begin):
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(Only Remove Branches When The Top Never Reaches The Light With The Rest Of Your Canopy):
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@Tebori,
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(#ISearchedIt): (Lots Of Choices Of Videos ):
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(When using a pocket microscope, the best way to examine your trichomes is to cut a small sugar leaf and place on top of a white surface like a piece of paper. If you are new to examining trichomes, the best recommendation I can offer is to look at your trichomes every few days.):
1): {Search - - -
@Tebori,
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(You’re In Shape My Friend, Those Are Opened Calyxes Doing Their Thing): -Also- (You Have Lots -And- Lots Of [
] Amber Trichomes To Go Ahead And Harvest Her Now, Congratulations): (This Batch Might Put You To Sleep [
]):
}:
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@Tebori,
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((#Harvesting)): (#Congratulations):
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Well since I can’t tell under a microscope, the phone attachment or the eye loop. Here are some flower pics. I’m not sure how the trichome method is accurate at all. Neither grow has shown consistent trichome properties. So many are clear. Move to another flower and so many are Amber and don’t see any cloudy with the amber. It seems depending on the light etc. clear and cloudy are quite hard to differentiate. Is the flower method better? Or does someone have a better viewing recommendation for trichomes? I have a microscope that plugs into my laptop and so far nothing gives a good look. That or I’m clueless.
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Take a small bud from the middle area of canopy and analyze it off the plant with your microscope, you’ll get a general idea of what your plants maturity is.
Looks to me like at least a week or two in flower left but only true way to tell is w a microscope
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I’ve looked allover the plant with the microscope. Can’t tell much of anything from the trichomes. The last grow too. Too hard to tell the difference between cloudy and clear. The look too similar and lighting can make cloudy look clear so it’s very deceiving and unreliable. Unless I’m doing something wrong.
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Cut a small bud off and look at it under the microscope outside the Grobo. Most likely you have 2 more weeks to go 
No way of knowing without a pic!
Use the microscope and try to get a good look at it with your eye. It can be tricky but sacrificing a bud to train yourself on how to use a microscope isbeneficial 
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I’ll try it. I know it’s hard to have it be steady while using the microscope in the grobo. And the lights make it hard. But I’ll do that tomorrow and check it out. But that still doesn’t help me in the future lol. Is there a better microscope? Maybe I’m using a difficult or inferior one.
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They’re all rather weird to use at first, I just bought the one offered on the Grobo site and it looks like I’ll have to do some fine tuning. The jeweler’s loupe that comes with the growers kit is rather straightforward. There’s a telescopic portion that is adjustable for “zoom” on the lens. I found it to work rather well! But I wanted to try something I could take pictures with so I purchased the phone camera attachment 60-100x zoom lens
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I’m assuming trichomes continue to ripen while in the flush stage? Trying to gauge when I should switch to flush. Flower seems to be ready.
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Yeah they do! You could probably send her to flush any day now. You want her to flush into exactly where you want the trichomes to be, it takes some practice.
In my tent I figured my plants were finished and I harvested, but they easily could’ve stayed finishing up for another ten days and put on more weight Still learning
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I noticed the flowers grew new white thicker hairs this week when most white hairs were gone. What is this all about?
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Do you have a wireless digital microscope to look at the trichromes? I like this one:
Normally the top bud sites mature faster than the lower bud sites. Where are the new pistils forming? This might help give an idea on why new pistils are forming: Why Some Buds Keep Making New Pistils | Grow Weed Easy.
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It is pretty normal for plants to shoot out new hairs, especially towards the end of flowering.
Sometimes this is a sign of ripeness, sometimes it is genetic, sometimes it is stress related, but I think this is a sign of nearing ripeness for your particular instance in my own opinion.
The Grobo is strange; the flowers may never get the density that higher powered lights provide so the trichome method is the most surefire way to tell… Also, observing the orange hairs too, which it looks like most of yours are looking pretty close from the last pics.
I used something similar, with a little patience, and it helped me with my grow.
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I do have one yes. But with the lighting in the grobo and having a hard time of steadying the microscope it’s nearly impossible to get a passable look. I’ve tried dozens of times on two grows now. Can’t get a good look with the loop that came in the kit, the microscope or the phone attachment. Too hard to tell. Not sure how everyone else is doing it.
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Mostly the top buds started the new thick white hairs but really it looks like it’s happened all over. Just more predominant on the top buds.
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Here are some pics from today. The lightest green background is from a much lower bud site. The rest are all on top. I guess I was wondering if some of the trichomes that look cloudy really are or is that the light making them look that way. I always wait until I see several Amber because I don’t want to harvest too soon although sometimes I’d like to grow more of the energetic high but no clue when to flush to get that stage.
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