Look Ma, I made cannabinoids!

in #cannabis5 years ago

Come on a close-up journey through fields of trichomes, loaded with dank organic cannabinoids and terpenes!

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(All photography by DRutter February 2019)

The Steem OG female "Ace" I've been flowering for 9 weeks is looking mature...

...Almost ready to harvest:

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Those are her 4 top buds or 'colas', all nearly identical. She was always a very symmetrical plant right from the start. Below each of the top buds are 3 lower levels of pairs of nice chunky popcorn-sized buds.

Steemit is only allowing 640 pixel width right now, but even so, we can get closer to the 'sugar leaf' from the first pic:

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And then get right into those cloudy trichomes! Some are turning amber or brown:

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Trichomes typically begin clear as they fill with THCa, the acid (living) form of THC. Cloudiness indicates progression toward more activated cannabinoids, like THC.

As trichomes go amber-coloured, their cannabinoid content is beginning to decarboxylate (a form of breakdown). The cannabinoids transition toward CBD, and eventually to dark CBN and other heavy 'noids.

This is a good thing for those seeking more heavily-medicating finished bud. Personally, I prefer eating my CBD (and other darker cannabinoids), and vaping/dabbing my THC. For extracts to dab, I prefer a lighter flavour - essentially just THC, THCa, and some of the more volatile terpenes like pinene and limonene.

Zoooom...

Since I intend to smoke, vapourize, and extract/dab the bud from this plant, I'm looking for mainly milky trichome heads, with a little bit of colour:

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Yum, I'm seeing just about exactly what I'm hoping for! Another look:

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For my needs, Ace is looking almost perfect.

These photos are a couple days old as I write this post, and every day matures the trichome heads a little more.

Extracts

Extracts are easily obtained from the trichome heads in cannabis buds. Depending on many factors, the extract may have a variety of finished colours. Some I currently have on hand:

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That's a Kush (Indica strain) 'BHO' shatter. BHO means it was made using the solvent butane, which is vaccum evaporated away, leaving nothing but the cannabinoids and terpenes.

Here's some hybrid BHO shatter, made with the same process, but starting with only well-trimmed high-quality bud (no trim):

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And lastly, for dessert shall we say, an extract made using hand-selected top shelf colas (no small buds):

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The smell is of fresh dank cannabinoids and just a hint of sweet and floral terpenes.

The taste of a dab is diesel, floral, very smooth. Great pain relief, PTSD and cancer treatment, etc. Cannabis is such an incredible plant.

"Ace", the Steem OG female bred by my friend @jonyoudyer, will soon be harvested! She's had her last watering. Stay tuned for the harvest, drying, curing, and extracting!

DRutter

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It's so nice to see how lush and healthy they are. I can feel the excitement in your writing :) It's such an amazing plant! I've been using CBD oil for over a year and love it. It's a great pain relief. I have no place to plant it at home but once I will have better conditions I'll make sure to make my own too.

If you're looking to have better resolution, you can post through @steempeak instead of Steemit directly. I've been using them for a couple of months already and the experience is great!

Thank you for sharing and have a lovely weekend!

Thanks for your compliments, and the tip about steempeak. I'll have a look :)

Glorious shots. Resteemed to the @Greatesteem followers <3

holey smokeamoley! mmmmmmm yes please :))

That's so very cool to see a few amber root beer-coloured ones starting. @Drutter and I knows someone who loves each and every head almost as dark as it gets before harvest. She's an indica head for sure.

I don't know enough about how THCA makes me feel personally. THCA tincture takes the edge of symptoms. I know I love the effects of CBD (with a tiny bit of THC to set it off)! mmm zzzzz

Some very nice trichomes and extracts :)
upvoted!

yummie! Are you on smoke.io, too?

No, I'm just here on Steem, FB, and YT :)

but why??? Do you know smoke.io? It's a blockchain like Steem where you earn the cyrypto smoke. You would definitely fit us very well!

Did that auto-trigger because I mentioned popcorn in my post?

How did you know I love Michal Jackson music, including Thriller! :D


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