What's the hold up?

[Mellowyellow25]

First time grower. I'm heading into week 11 for auto AK-47. Indoor grow inside a cabinet with three high output 6500 spiral FL lamps. All went very well but now not so sure.

Clear trichomes appeared two weeks ago. Flushed 11 days ago. Just watering every other day. Not a single trichome has turned milky yet and that has me concerned.

Should they by now?

I was given two thoughts on the lights. Some said with auto no need to switch to warmer 3500 lamps, others said switch them out. Should I have switched them when the buds started to appear and is this the hold you?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Mellowyellow25]

http://i67.tinypic.com/5038k3.jpg

 

[MrBungle]

The warmer color spectrum might signal that the end is near and help the plant finish closer to the "finish time"
it could be a longer finishing pheno too? I didn't look at the pic, but it sounds to me like you are in the harvest window....
if you have to know but are willing to wait.. my best advice is to chop a lower and dry it out for a few days.... you will get an idea of what the pot is like and your plant will still mature some....
When you say 11 weeks is that from the beginning of flower or including veg? it is an auto right? whats your day/night hours looking like?

 

[Mellowyellow25]

Having trouble getting this pic to appear. Hopefully this time will work as I cannot seem to edit after posting.

http://i67.tinypic.com/5038k3.jpg

 

[Mellowyellow25]

Time is from the day the seed sprouted in soil.

Lights are on 20 hours and off for four.

I tried a bud last eve. I dried in dehydrator then cured for 5 days. Seemed very weak. Burned most of it and little affect.

 

[MrBungle]

I still can't see it....Well assuming these are your only plants going, you could probably cut your light schedule back to 18 on /6 off

11 weeks from sprout? I don't have any intentional experience with auto's, but I imagine there were at least 3-4-5 weeks of veg?? that would mean its at week 6-7-8? of flower.. it could need 2-4 more weeks..

Good on you for giving it a test... Next time I'd let it dry naturally for a better effect

 

[Mellowyellow25]

This is what I find confusing. If the seller says "flowering time" is that from the time buds appear of from the time it sprouts?

 

[MrBungle]

From the time the flowers appear would be flowering time

 

[gaiusmarius]

flowering time normally refers to the moment you switch to 12/12 flowering schedule. with autos, it might well refer to the time the first pistil hairs start showing. not from sprouting i wouldn't think, but i don't really know much about autos so can't be sure. but if it was from sprouting it would say so.

 

[Mellowyellow25]

Well, looking at my grow chart it shows I started adding Bloom to the water at the beginning of week 6 so that must be when I saw buds or what I assume is meant by "flowers".

So, that puts me at the end of week 4 of flowering. Well, guess I flushed way too soon. Can I go back adding Bloom 3-12-6 to the water or is it too late or not a good idea?

The top leaves have gone from green to yellow to dryed out. About 30% of the lower fan leaves are yellowing having their nudes depleted.

I will add... I dried some of the bud from last nights test in the microwave on low for a bit. Felt way too moist. That dud the trick. Smoking a tiny bit and I have a very mellow high that I did not get with it a tad wet.

Appears there is some hope even if I pulled it now. Would like to wait for milky trichomes if you feel there is no danger it all going bad.

 

[gaiusmarius]

thats what matters, if it gets you high the right way you are good. specially if you fast dry ed it, as slow dried fully flushed will be even better.

 

[pop_rocks]

week 4 is super early in flower for most varieties
depending on variety, she will probably go between 8-11wks so you can see you were only half way into flower
plus, those last few weeks are where you will often see the most dramatic changes

i would ease her back into her normal feeding at first
she should rebound no problem and then you can continue to feed her like you normally would

sounds like you got an early flower sample off your plant
if she smokes good now its going to be fire when she grow a few more weeks

 

[Mellowyellow25]

i would ease her back into her normal feeding at first...
she should rebound no problem and then you can continue to feed her like you normally would

Ok, so I can continue using the Bloom.

That means I need to flush a second time. Would you say flush when the trichomes start to turn milky. Is that a good indication the harvest is soon... Say with two weeks?

 

[pop_rocks]

/i reread some of your previous post and you mention she is really yellow
do you have any general fertilizer?
it sounds like you kind of starved the plant when you flushed so early, so i would prob give her a light feeding of a basic veg fertilizer, just to help her green up
give her a half strenght feeding and watch the plant closely
after a week of that you can start back wiht the bloom but i would start really light

dont worry too much about flushing your plant right now mate, lets get her back on track and healthy first
/i think two weeks is still way too early if she is onyl at week four right now

hope this helps

 

[Mellowyellow25]

Here are some pictures of my AK-47 auto at week nine from planting/sprouting.

And after my apparently too soon flushing and stopping feeding, this is her as of this week.

Close up of upper section.

I will do as suggested and ease back in to feeding. I started off just with plain old bone meal applied to the top of the FFOH soil. Then, when buds appeared started adding some Bloom 3-12-6 to the water every other day.

Guess where I went wrong was I got tied up in this talk about flushing before harvest or you end up with bad tasting product. When I saw the pistels turning orange and the trichomes big and clear I assumed the end was near.

Only have this one plant growing in a 2' x 2' x 3' steel cabinet. Three high output 6500 FL spiral lamps. Muffin fan that draws air in from bottom ports through the plant and out the top. Temps have remained 70-80 degrees F throughout. Humidity around 50-60%.

 

[MrBungle]

yea feed her for 2-3 more weeks.. then plain water for the last week or so... she looks like a pretty decent yielder too

 

[Mellowyellow25]

yea feed her for 2-3 more weeks.. then plain water for the last week or so... she looks like a pretty decent yielder too

Will do and thanks!

So can someone explain the trichomes to me, please. This is one of the things where I'm confused.

After they appear and have nice, clear globes on the ends, how long after that would they start to turn milky?

My understanding is, when they are 50/50 clear to milky is the optimum time to pull the plant. Going longer will get you a stringer high but when they start to turn red they are losing their THC.

Correct?

 

[MrBungle]

Honestly I don't pay attention to that.... its all personal preference.....

Some folks like the "uppy" early pick high you get...

Some folks like the couch lock effect of a late pulled plant....

My best advice is to not let it confuse you... its your world.. do what you like...

It takes lots of time and experiments to grow it exactly how YOU like...

Taking small tester buds and noting the age of the flower, and the buzz you get is a good way to figure it out as you go....

Growing pot will teach you lots of things.. but the main thing I have learned above all.. is to be patient...

 

[pop_rocks]

were all these pics taken at the same time?
the top pic looks like it has a lot more green in the leafs
the last and second to last look like a plant that is on her way out and ready to chop almost

see how in the last pic you have a bunch of shriveled, orange hairs but also a lot of fresh, plum white hairs
normally the plant goes through several stages of flower, throwing fresh plump hairs
as those mature and die a new wave of fresh white hairs is layered on
depending on the plant it can do this several times voer the course of flowering
/this not only adds lot of size and weight, but fresh new tricomes
i wait until it has stopped producing fresh flowers and the older flowers have matured before i pick

like mrBungle said, there is no right and wrong here mate
its your plant and you can grow her out to suit any style you like
most growers are looking for the heaviest harvest and potency so they wait until the plant has matured
i would trim off the dead leafs and let her go a few more weeks, at least until most of the new growth has withered
you will also notice the color of the trichs change
one thing you can do now is to pull of a small sugar leaf ( the little guys close to the bud) and look at it under a magnifying glass
see those little stalks with the bulb on top
those are the trichomes
they will prob be mosty clear, but some may be milky white
if you pull a small sample in a week or two you will probably see the change between the two
/if you can, take a pic now and then do it again in a couple weeks and take another pic; compare the two pics
depending on what you like you can pick when its 50/50
/i usually wait for most glands to be milky and a few to turn amber, but that s jsut me
let this plant teach you all she can and dont worry too much

 

[Ncali]

Looks like you're about 2 maybe even three weeks from maturity, don't quote me though it could be longer. What you're looking for next is a "swelling" in the buds and you will notice amber thrichrome becoming more abundant. I find it difficult sometimes to differentiate between clear & "milky" and prefer to look at the ratio of amber thrichromes to clear/milky. All three "colors" will be present at the end. You may also notice it will be significantly more pungent smells and frost level will increase when shes ready. I would not go crazy with the nutrients right now. Maybe a little pk & cal mag. Then just water until she ripens, maybe even a little cal mag though, very light.

Finish line is close bruh. It's all a learning experience, your next grow will improve so much from what you've learned with this one. congrats.



NC