What Happens If Harvested Too Soon?

I have these crap northern lights that have been nothing but a pain for the past few months. Some of the hairs are turning red, not orange at all. But mostly still white. And they have not changed at all in for ever. My question is, I am sick of wasting time and energy on these things that are not going to give me a great turnout anyway, so i am curious, if I harvested too early what would happen. I dont mind giving them another week or two if that would make a difference, but if a week or two wont make a difference, I have other better plants to use the lights for.

Again, just a few hairs are almost a deep burgundy color. no amber, what happens if i harvest now?
Thanks

It doesn't really matter the color of the hairs as you know, most white widow plants stay mostly white... what you want to look for is the color and maturity of the trichomes. If the trichomes on the plant are mostly clear then the plant is not ready for harvest. If the trichomes are a nice mix of milky white and amber, then that is the time to harvest.

But to answer your question, if you harvest early then your high won't be as intense and your yield won't be as big. If you have other plants that are doing better and this one seems stunted...then chop it and you will then know how early is too early when harvesting your next plants.

Good luck

btw, sweet dog in your pic

I've got 2 pit mix's named Bowzer and Rosie, awesome dogs
Rosie is brown with a white chest kinda like yours, and Bowzer is mostly white with brindle spots.

Here's the same bud but given time to mature.

I would wait or it would have all been a waste of time.

420God said:

Here's the same bud but given time to mature.

I would wait or it would have all been a waste of time.

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Nice comparison there. How far apart (in time) are those 2 shots?

skolar182 said:

Nice comparison there. How far apart (in time) are those 2 shots?

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Not exactly positive but I think they were 7 weeks apart.

Nice, thanks that gives me some reference for where I'm at as well! +rep bud

skolar182 said:

btw, sweet dog in your pic

I've got 2 pit mix's named Bowzer and Rosie, awesome dogs
Rosie is brown with a white chest kinda like yours, and Bowzer is mostly white with brindle spots.

Click to expand...

Thanks! His name is Sox, he is a smaller pit because of a life long head bone disease he has. He is such a good dog. He turned a year on Halloween! People are scared of him, just because he is a pit, but he is the biggest wimp! I mean he is strong, but afraid of everything! So I always think if we got robbed Sox would just say hi to the robbers, but maybe at the same time just thinking he is a pit would scare them before they had a chance to see he is a friendly wimpy dog lol.

Anyway, I just harvested 4 auto road runners and have 5 white widows that I want to start flowering but have to wait for these northerns, I honestly wouldnt be mad if they didnt smoke well. I have the roadrunners that I know are DA BOMB! I guess ill leave it up to my husband, this way what ever happens is his fault!

Everyone is afraid of our dogs as well, such a misunderstood breed! My dogs LOVE everyone and everything, and just because they like to play hard... people think they're killers

Ignorance, if you ask me. A dog is only as mean as the owner! Good luck with your grow, and let Sox know that I'm not afraid of him and I understand

Northern Lights and crap are never in the same sentence, NL is one of the best and most stable strains ever. Give it the love it needs and take it to ripe, and you will be rewarded with some awesome smoke that will kick your ass. The NL I used to grow would ripen in around 55-60 days, and it was very rewarding, both in yield and powerful smoke.

But if you must take it early, than 45-50 days is the minimum I would take it, you would lose some yield from the early cut, but you will still get some bomb smoke.

Just curious as to why you don't think they will give you a great turnout? Are they in bad health?

Purplekrunchie said:

Northern Lights and crap are never in the same sentence, NL is one of the best and most stable strains ever. Give it the love it needs and take it to ripe, and you will be rewarded with some awesome smoke that will kick your ass. The NL I used to grow would ripen in around 55-60 days, and it was very rewarding, both in yield and powerful smoke.

But if you must take it early, than 45-50 days is the minimum I would take it, you would lose some yield from the early cut, but you will still get some bomb smoke.

Just curious as to why you don't think they will give you a great turnout? Are they in bad health?

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Well, like I said, these NL's are CRAP! Not sure what their problem is, but I have white widows and road runners that I have raised the same way, and the are absolutely stunning. My only guess is the company I purchased them from. These girls kept growing taller and taller and not out at all. There are what are like popcorn buds here and there, but barely BARELY any trichs at all anywhere. They have been in flower for over 2 months now. They look like ichabod crane! lol I have tried everything to find out what is wrong with them, even posting on here to get help and opinions, and they are just yucky. If it wasnt for the 50 or so little nugs on all 3 plants, I would have just thrown them out weeks ago. But I just keep hoping they will do something.

If a week of more light would make a difference, I will leave them, if not it is a waste all around anyway. I am thinking even a week longer would be a week of wasted light. They have absolutely no large fan leaves left on them, they are under 600 hps with a chit load of added bottom and side lights,

I have 5 more seeds from the same company, and I am truly scared to give them another try. If every one of the seeds turned out this way that I already planted from the same pack, I am thinking the rest might turn out this way. Maybe they are not NL's at all, maybe they sent me bad seeds, maybe they are maple tree seeds, I have no idea, but with 24 hours of care to these brauds a day, and cant show no love back, i wanna tear them down with a machete.

So............Maybe I should also mention the little buds have not changed in about 2 weeks, no more, no fuller, no prettier, just uglier.

reminds me of the shit WW plants i had last growl, not sayin WW is a bad strain its one of my favs but this was just a terrible pheno. they stopped doing anything around week 8 so at week 10 i said fuck it and cut it down smoke is harsh and very paranoid reminds me of mexi weed so i made it into hash oil then mixed it with some nice indica kief and made a real interesting earwax.
thats what i would do chop and use them for BHO specially if you have other plants waiting to flower

That's surprising DD, NL is a fairly easy and not real demanding strain. But that is not the plant, that is the grower, those are extremely deficient or overdosed, in one or possibly many nutrients. If the same thing happens to the next batch, you will have the same issues. So for your own sake, learn from this. And don't take this wrong, I'm not flaming you, just telling it like it is. Those are in rough shape, and if you blame the plants, history will repeat.

It is so bad, that I would wipe them out and start over, they aren't going to amount to much this late in flowering. And I would look at every aspect of your methods, growing medium, nutrients, water, air, and your schedules for everything. Sometimes when we make a mistake, we try too hard to fix and wind up with more trouble. Just take inventory of your methods, and make sure everything is done in moderation, but one thing is clear, some adjustment is needed.

How did those plants look when they were in vegetative cycle?

I had a crap version of northern lights as well. Any chance they were from Seedsman? I had northern lights from them that went 10 weeks and were still not nearly ready.
Considering that NL is supposed to be a 8 week strain max...you can see how one would question the genetics of their NL. After I chopped her? I noticed she had hermied as well.

Edit: I looked at your pictures...that plant is growing and looking like a sativa. NL is supposed to be a indica. Your plant does not look healthy. Chop it and throw it away.