Should I flip?

Haven't grown for over 30 years (i'm 53) and things are very different now (like, *very*). Have a seven week old Northern Lights photo fem that just popped some pre-flowers on the sixth node. Had a small over watering incident early on that set the plant back a bit but all better now. Am space restricted (no grow tent - just under CFLs in the living room and outside when sunny, 18/6, much to the amusement of my very square family) and am growing mainly for entertainment rather than a big yield.

I'm on medical cannabis here in Australia but wanted to have some fun and grow a plant to maturity and maybe get ten or 20 grams out of it. Vegging nicely with seven nodes and am LST but conscious of space and the time commitment required and am wondering if flipping this now would deliver a decent result or if I should wait a bit longer? I've no idea how big this plant will get when I flip but the fan leaves are getting pretty big and it is now growing quite fast. Any advice? No experience with all these strains - 30 years ago it was growing from whatever seeds you got in the weed you bought and it was all a bit hit and miss. Appreciate any help.

I would wait untill it is atleast the size of that pot you have it in before flipping.

Thank you Two or three weeks at the current rate.

Triangle999 said:

Thank you Two or three weeks at the current rate.

Click to expand...

3 atleast

Grow it outside...

If it stays true to the Northern Lights genetics then it won't stretch a whole lot during flower. NL#5 stretches more than #2 but it's still not a whole lot. They're indica dominant strains and depending on which number Northern Lights were used to make the seeds, should flower fairly quickly. They can be succeptible to mold however so low humidity and good airflow is really important. Defoliation of the lower fan leaves to let some air up into the canopy is a good idea without stripping too many leaves off. Hope they do really great for you.

I forgot to add you will need to find somewhere to be able to put it in the dark to get your 12 hours of darkness when you choose to flip.
Australia just started the season for vegging and the days are getting longer every day.
Or just leave it outside and in 7 - 8 months or so it will be ready

Thanks all. It spends most of the day outside now that Australian Spring has arrived and some more time under lights in the evening and seems really happy with that. Growing super fast now with half nutes every week and between waterings. Three weeks it is, then. And was considering some defoliation but it feels sort of brutal. May have to get over that.

This time of year is very low humidity and a dry heat with clear skies so good timing but I was aware, from my younger days, that Sept was when we move to longer than 12hr days so knew I would have to manually force flower.

And, yes, have to figure out the 12hrs darkness for the flip. Used garbage bags in the past but i think i can do better now - will set up some sort of ventilated tent thing outside on the covered deck and just have to be disciplined for eight or however many weeks. Have enlisted my partners teenage girls who seem to enjoy tending to the plant which is helpful as we are away fairly frequently. They send me update photos and watering suggestions.

Thank you all for your advice - really helpful and very much appreciated. I'm having fun with this.