Im growing some northern lights crossed with belladonna and it is 34 days into flower and showing some cloudy, clear, and amber trichomes. It had preflowers before switching it to 12/12 and was vegged for 9 weeks from seed....could it be nearing the end this quick? they also have yellowing leaves that seem to be progressing that I thought may have been a deficiency but possibly since its on its way out? I don't want to chop too soon but I also want that heady non couchlock effect of my bud. here are some pics
I only seen 2 Amber. Id let it go for a bit longer and wait for more AmberSent from my SGH-I747M using Grasscity Forum mobile app
well I still haven't flushed yet, a bit longer being 3-4 weeks or more like 2 weeks? that estimate will definitely effect my flush as I want to preserve the best taste
Are you looking at the trics on the bud? If looking at leaves I've read on here that they tend to turn amber quicker. From the pics I say 2 weeks minimum. Still too many white hairs.
yeah I am looking at them on the leaves, I noticed most of the hairs are white, and by the looks of this strain in full bloom there's supposed to be a lot of orange.I figured it was at least two weeks, I guessed more like 2.5. I just watered yesterday so I guess my next watering in 4 days i'll hit them with one last bloom booster and then straight water from there. I really cant get up to my buds with my magnifier its a handheld, so I shouldn't judge by leaf trichomes?
The trichomes are only part of the equation. You gotta look at the state of the pistils (white vs orange and are they receeded?), are the calyxs swollen at all as that's where a lot of weight comes from. It's only a couple ambers and like you said it was on a leaf, try getting upclose and checking out the trichomes on the buds themselves.
isn't it true that some strains don't get all orange hairs? I will be honest, I don't know what I'm really looking for as far as calyx swelling as in I can't tell how far along I am as far as those go. I was recommended to look at leafs at the top, middle, and the bottom and count the ratios of clear, amber, cloudy and shoot for 5/10/85 by taking an average of all the values I find from my samples. I wish I could get up close and personal with the buds but I fear I will break trichs getting that close with my scope
You won't break them. Pistils naturally turn orange and receed after they've fulfilled their life cycle and have not taken in pollen. The pistils will turn orange, thin and than receed back into the bud. I think what you are referring to is that not all strains have trichomes that will go amber. I've heard this also. But not about pistils. The calyxs looks like pods that the pistils are coming out of. They swell up if not pollenated. When you see buds that look as fat as a beer can that's a product of the calyxs inside the buds swelling up and increasing the size of the bud/cola. It's not something you have to wait on, but if you can you'll end up with more weight.
That is exactly what I am trying to do, get highest yield without sacrificing the cloudy to amber colors. From what im getting it is kind of a trade off, or is it possible to harvest with highly swollen calyxs and still low levels of amber trichs? Or am i gonna have to settle for a 50/50 mix to get the weight i wantSent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Last time I looked a few days ago I do not have a 50/50 cloudy to amber ration and I'm harvesting my northern lights on sat which will be 66 days worth of 12/12 flowering (they veg'd for 42 days). Mine really started swelling this last week and a half. It's all a big educated guess on when to harvest.
so once I see calyxs starting to swell that is a good indicator of two weeks coming up until harvest?
They tend to put on most their weight in the last 2-3 weeks. When you see them swelling up and the pistils turning orange and receeding you'll know your on the home stretch. How much time exactly depends on what you want out of your bud (head high vs body stone, weight alone, etc...) as you can manipulate those things by harvesting early or late. Unfortunately it's not an exact science.
If you want to increase taste and really see them swell up give them some molasses (than lots or it close to harvest). I use stuff called FloraNectar Fruit Fusion, it has sugar cane and molasses. The sugars promote process in the plant to carb load them and plump em up and also it helps improve the taste of the end product when dried and cured properly.
How much molasses should i be adding? And do you do it throughout the flush, as in the last 2 weeks? im done feeding besides my bloom booster that is a 0-15-14 and an earthworm casting slurry top dress, so it shudnt interact negatively with thoseSent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Start of week 6.......havent checked trichs yet but would you say this is still 2 weeks out? The closest is my northern lights belladonna cross then the next two sets of pictures are chemdog og kush cross and white widow in that order Northern lights belladonna Chemdog og kush
even on the northern lights crossed with belladonna? I'm looking for a good harvest yield, but I'm willing to sacrifice a little yield to maintain a more heady cloudy trich high as opposed to couchlock