I really don’t know where my sense of logic went these past few days as I had been super busy and didn’t take the time I needed to be thorough & accurate & Unfortunately I had trimmed most of the fan leaves off already when getting it ready to chop down- then took a curious last look at the trichomes- noticing then it wasn’t quite at the ratio I wanted. So even if putting the plant back under the lights is a viable option- I just removed its main source of energy - most fan leaves. So with this- I think I may have to just go ahead and chop. But will still wait on some answers before I do as long as time permits.
Yeah you can’t put it back under 12 12 if it’s been in darkness for 48 hours it is harvest time at least that’s what I’ve always been told @Majiktoker @MacGyverStoner thoughts?
Ok & secondly Is it normal to visibly notice bud growth that close to harvest or to starting the dark period?
Personally I wouldn’t risk putting them back in the lights after putting in complete darkness it will stress her out, as for seeing if they will noticibly develop trichomes Atleast should show more of an increase in amber, im the buds are visually growing still likely they are trying to develop the rest of the way before harvest time
I tend too work out when I think its time cut them then wait a week before doing it
@Majiktoker is right add back the light will make it think it missed the season and try to seed its self
You can grow more and next time wait longer its all about learning.
I hate manicuring buds so harvest to me is a love hate thing 
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It’s an autoflower so would it not just continue flowering anyway? Technically they grow and do there thing no matter the light mishaps so would it be stressing her out that bad if its an auto, particularly a robust strain like northern lights…ill post some pictures here soon maybe hopefully you will just say chill out spaz ur plant is fine! I was just worried because I couldn’t get the amber trichomes to show their color on the glare from my scope/ need to get a better one!! I still have decent amounts of Amber tho I’m almost more confused/worried by the large amount of fan leaves still on my plant along with the sudden last little surge of growth so close to harvest…
Is there a reason a plant would be showing 30% Amber trichomes but still have a large amounts of (60% or more) fan leaves left and still have some sudden last-minute swelling in the buds so close to harvest? Close as in like a couple days before chop chop?
Don’t put light back on bro you’ll need to just follow through with harvest the buds that are still mostly milky will be good day time smoke 
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FINAL UPDATE- HARVEST
So I harvested my 3rd grow ever yesterday. It was northern lights auto flower @ 82 days from seed when I cut her down. Despite my recent ‘freak out’ about whether or not she was ready I think she turned out really well and I was probably worrying a little bit too much, as somebody who smokes marijuana primarily for anxiety often does.
Because I had problems getting clear visuals of my trichomes with the microscope, I went ahead and judged her by how developed the calyxes looked. Judging mainly by the development of the calyxes, she was harvested at a perfect time. Hopefully this was an accurate way to go.
???
Does anybody know if looking at the development stage of the calyxes an accurate way to determine when to harvest???
My 1st 2 auto NLs turned out pretty decent & the buds on this most recent auto NL (#3) look twice as good so I’m pretty optimistic. I’m also optimistic about the weight but we will see. The main nug alone- weighed 2 ounces & 2 grams! (58 grams), obviously thats not the dry weight but I’ll b happy if it holds 25% of its weight.
???
I have heard that the final dry weight usually comes out to around 25% of the wet weight- does this tend to be the case most the time, or does this vary from plant to plant???
Lastly- I want to thank everybody on this forum and the ILGM online community once again for helping and guiding me, a newbie, through another awesome grow. (well I hope it smokes awesome at least!) Not only are u guys just full of useful info, u r also just as patient and willing to share it. So thanks again!!
Pictures below- let me know what you guys think. (and yes I have noticed the funny shape of the main bud- HA!)
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Last pic is my fav bud face hahahaha
Love it
Looking good to me brother enjoy the fruits of your labor
Up date us with dry wieght when it ready
yes, it can vary…the final weight can go as low as 20%
I was scrolling up and every photo was amazing!
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geez @Countryboyjvd1971 you didn’t like the dog sleeping on the pillow picture? LOL
@MedMan1878 great job and congrats on the harvest!
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Hahahaha I didn’t even see him or her back there @bob31
It looks like a decent size pup too 
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lol every primo grow has to have a guard dog! lol 
outta like for awhile !!!
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HA! That’s my big guard baby alright! 82 lbs. Pitboxer…he’s what u call a paradox, extremely cute and intimidating, & loves the smell of weed !
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Nice dog! So topping plants is not a good idea. I always thought if you manicured the plants it was good for them?
Absolutely you should top them
What is the time when you top off the plant?
Oh nooo I am in no way saying we shouldn’t top your plants or that it’s not a good idea- in fact if you do it right, traditionally it could be very beneficial. However - the way in which my lights were set up seemed to create a grow formation within my plant that mimiced the growth of a traditionally topped plant. Because of the light set up , My main stem grew at very weird angle which created enough room for another 4 or 5 side branches to receive as much light or almost as much as the main stem. Since the plant was very healthy it still maintained a perfect center of gravity. So the main point of this post originally was more a less an experiment to see if you could control the horizontal growth of the plant just as much as the vertical growth by manipulating light set up. If you can manipulate the lights to change the vertical growth, like stretching- then I wanted to see if you could control the horizontal growth as well via light manipulation. Just for the record and as a disclaimer - do not take this as me condoning traditional topping- i’m way too much of a newbie to make claims like that!!
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4th or 5th leaf node
Ok I do not want to sound retarded(do not mean to offend anyone) but what is a node? I will tell you I am a newby at all of this.