If you don’t have a magnifying glass or jeweler’s loupe to check trichomes, there are still a few things you can look at to know if she’s close to harvest. The first sign is pistils: when most of them have turned from white to orange/brown and start curling in, that usually means you’re in the final stretch. Another indicator is the overall look of the buds – they’ll look more swollen, dense, and the calyxes kind of ‘pop out’ compared to earlier weeks. Also, the smell gets way more intense and resin will feel stickier on your fingers. That said, checking trichomes is really the most reliable way, because pistils can sometimes be misleading. If you don’t own a loupe, I strongly suggest downloading a magnifier app from the Play Store or App Store – just search for ‘Magnifying Glass’. It’s not perfect, but it helps a lot and it’s way better than guessing blind. With the app you can zoom in enough to see if trichomes look clear, cloudy, or amber, which is exactly what you need to judge the right harvest window.