Look Ma, I made cannabinoids!

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

^{(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:

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:

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

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:

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

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:

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):

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

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