Hi and
Stage3b! I’m flattered but I am far from an expert. I’ll accept adept apprentice lol.
Congratulations on taking the bull by the horns and growing your own medicine.
Regarding trichomes, I normally harvest at or near all cloudy with a few clear or a few amber.
What are you hoping to get from cannabis? This could heavily dictate when harvesting would be ideal.
Taking clones in flower, in my opinion, should be avoided unless you really need to save the genetics. I’ve done it successfully and my advice would be to trim off all the bud sites when you take the cut. I see no reason why taking cuts in flower would create a problem. Just remember that it is still stress to take a cut. This will likely draw some energy away from making buds but again, you have to weigh whether that’s worth it.
I’m glad to have ya Stage. Stick around and we can both learn how to grow outdoors lol. I’m very fortunate that I have so many fantastic growers that stop by here. There’s a lot of knowledge you can gain from these folks and this is the best place on the internet to do it!