Pistils browning means very little on its own, since wind and handling turn them early. A cheap jeweller's loupe at sixty times magnification shows the trichomes, and cloudy heads with a scattering of amber is where most people cut. Recommended harvest windows per variety are given on budweedseeds.com, though the plant in front of you always overrules the catalogue. Cutting a week early costs weight and changes the effect noticeably.
