Question on Peak Harvest Time

I am getting ready to harvest my second crop and need to get some input from experienced growers. My last harvest was crap because of the light I was using. I had a 150w MH on one plant. The plant was in the flowering cycle for 11 weeks and the trichomes were still not amber. Most were milky and some were still clear. For reasons out of my control I had to harvest the buds but I figured 11 weeks would have been plenty of time. Boy was I wrong and the quality of the buds suffered. After this horrible event and waste of time I invested in a new setup.

Right now my current setup is (1) Northern Lights plant under (1) 1000w HPS and (1) 150w MH. I have been flowering for about 9 weeks with a lighting schedule of 11 on and 12 off. I have been checking my plants trichomes regularly to ensure that I harvest the plant at the peak time. Recently I have noticed that some trichomes are turning amber. Only about 10%. From what I have read you want to harvest at 50%. This brings me to my dilemma.

I am leaving town for a week on Monday morning. As of today Thursday only 10% of the trichomes are amber. I wanted to find out if anyone has dealt with NL and know how fast the trichomes change once they have started. I am hoping that this happens fast so that I can harvest before I go out of town but don't want to end up with the same mediocre bud I had last time due to early harvest.

The other option is to let it go until I return the following Friday and hope that it is not over ripe. Does anyone know how long the peak harvest time is for NL or have an opinion on what I should do. Will the buds over ripen in a 6 day time frame?

Any input on this will greatly be appreciated.

Greenthumb

Monday is coming fast. Does anyone have an opinion on this. What kind of window will I have for peak harvest?

I was also reading that some breeds trichomes won't turn amber. Is NL one of them?

Any help would be appreciated.

Greenthumb

it wont be over ripe....let it go while your gone..you will thank me ..

let it go...just get a timer.

I'm glad you replied because I was about to cut them tomorrow. I'll wait and see. The leaves are yellowing and I started to get nervus. My last crop was not very good due to early harvest and I didn't want to wait too long and waste another 10 weeks harvesting too late.

THANKS!

Greenthumb
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We1 said:

let it go...just get a timer.

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I have it on a 11 on 13 off cycle.

I'm going to post some pics tomorrow so everyone can see what i'm looking at.

Greenthumb

Here are some pictures if the plant as of today 2/3. I am going to let it go until 2/9.

Nice Bush! The way you have the dowel and string placed for tieing is awesome! I don't think I've ever harvested 50% amber trich's, hee-hee, althouth i hope to have the patience some day! Peace

Thanks for the props EazyMan. I'm hoping they will be OK till I get back to them.

Your profile pic makes my eyes go crossed and I haven't even smoked yet.

Greenthumb

looks good, i would let them go for the week. but i have a couple of questions for you. why do you have only 1 plant under a 1000w? you should grow more plants so you can get the value out of the electricity use, otherwise you are wasting quite a bit of light. also, why are you running a 23 hour cycle? nature has 24 hrs. late

Those look very nice to me! However from what I can tell they look ready, or days to no more than a week from ready, however, I have always gotten better taste and more bank for my buck letting them fatten just a little longer than needed. I think when you get back you will be ready to cut, dry, and then cure. I guess it also depends on what kind of high you want, when these babies are done you are gonna have one hell of a full body high! Also did you say what strain this is? uhumm! yummy yummy.

We1 said:

Also did you say what strain this is? uhumm! yummy yummy.

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It's Northern Lights. I got it from a fellow grower so I'm not sure if it's pure NL or some mix breed NL.

Greenthumb

jsgrwn said:

looks good, i would let them go for the week. but i have a couple of questions for you. why do you have only 1 plant under a 1000w? you should grow more plants so you can get the value out of the electricity use, otherwise you are wasting quite a bit of light. also, why are you running a 23 hour cycle? nature has 24 hrs. late

Click to expand...

I know that only having one plant under 1000w is a waste of light but I am limited by the room. My setup is in my spare bathroom with 8' ceilings. What I started to do is put a second plant in the room 1 month after I started the other. So really I have two. This way I get a harvest every month or so. Plus my girl doesn't like the idea of having a lot of plant in the house.

Two more days till I get home to my babies.

Oh yeah. It is on a 24 hour cycle. 13 off 11 on.

Greenthumb

Well. I'm back from out of town and I checked my plants Trichomes. The extra week of flowering didn't effect the plant that much. I did have more than 50% amber trich's but I think this will only help the high. They are now hanging and I can't wait to try them.

Thanks for the advice CALIGROWN! I'm sure I will thank you after they cure and I'm stuck to the couch drooling on myself....

Thanks everyone for your input. This is the best growers forum on the net!

Greenthumb