Advice on when to harvest?

[jaysta]

So I have I have done just about everything wrong with my first ever grow.

• Wrong soil (slow release fertilizer)
• Over sized pots (too long to dry out)
• No extra holes in pots
• Think over watered at some point, 3rd is still over watered currently, i think
• A little heat issue to begin with

I think the biggest problem I have, and still have is that I purchased a $20 digital Ph meter pen from Ebay. I followed the instructions to calibrate it with the 2 PH buffer solutions, however either I didn't calibrate properly or when I attempted to PH my water, perhaps I was doing that wrong?

A few, 3? days went by with me freaking out trying to work out why all of a sudden from the bottom up my plant leaves were starting to turn yellow. For the first 2 days or so I thought I had over watered and kept thinking about it only on day 3 to suddenly ping that it must be from when I started to PH the water!

I immediately stopped PH'ing from that point on as clearly that's what had caused the sudden nute lockout? to start occurring. I flushed on day 3 day and once again on day 3 night and didn't water again for a while, as they would have been pretty wet.

A few more weeks have gone past since that epidemic and the buds kept on growing thankfully, all thought I think my soil is completely wrecked in all 3 pots for sure. The yellowing has continued to spread, slowly and not as fast as those first 2-3 days.

I have a pair of zoom in goggles i purchased but one side is not focusing properly so it makes it difficult to get a clear image of what im looking at. I can see some trichomes are clear and some are milky, i cannot say what the ratio is though :/

majorityish? of pistils on plant 1 are curled in and orange, I put plant 2 and 3 in there just as reference anyways, they respectively would be ready 1 and then 2 weeks later i suppose?

• Plant 1 planted - it was either the 4/12/19 or the 10/12/19 (sorry, notebook i was recording everything down in has been misplaced)
• Plant 2 planted - about week after 1
• Plant 3 planted - not long after 2

The strain is supposedly white widow XXL but plant 2 seems to look a lot different from1 and 3. 1 was initially the alpha but then 2 took over, duno if that was related to the PH issue or not, but i also wonder if 2 is a different strain as the leaves are different in appearance as opposed to 1 and 3. I suppose even the smell of 2 seems more like a bubblegum flavor whereas 1 and 3 smell different.

Dinfaem has on there page - comprehensive life cycle 80 days.

Would anyone be able to give an indication based on the pictures of plant 1 and the novel i just vomited on this board as to wether I should pull it?

Also, REALLY appreciative of the advice i got from some people on here, as well as all the posts I have read which have helped me to understand and things I can contribute to my next SUCCESSFUL? grow.

PLANT 1

PLANT 1 COLA

PLANT 1 COLA Birds Eye

PLANT 1 COLA Trichomes

2nd Plant (smells like bubblegum kinda?)

3rd Plant (poor thing)

 

[Django_TO]

So I have I have done just about everything wrong with my first ever grow.

• Wrong soil (slow release fertilizer)
• Over sized pots (too long to dry out)
• No extra holes in pots
• Think over watered at some point, 3rd is still over watered currently, i think
• A little heat issue to begin with

I think the biggest problem I have, and still have is that I purchased a $20 digital Ph meter pen from Ebay. I followed the instructions to calibrate it with the 2 PH buffer solutions, however either I didn't calibrate properly or when I attempted to PH my water, perhaps I was doing that wrong?

A few, 3? days went by with me freaking out trying to work out why all of a sudden from the bottom up my plant leaves were starting to turn yellow. For the first 2 days or so I thought I had over watered and kept thinking about it only on day 3 to suddenly ping that it must be from when I started to PH the water!

I immediately stopped PH'ing from that point on as clearly that's what had caused the sudden nute lockout? to start occurring. I flushed on day 3 day and once again on day 3 night and didn't water again for a while, as they would have been pretty wet.

A few more weeks have gone past since that epidemic and the buds kept on growing thankfully, all thought I think my soil is completely wrecked in all 3 pots for sure. The yellowing has continued to spread, slowly and not as fast as those first 2-3 days.

I have a pair of zoom in goggles i purchased but one side is not focusing properly so it makes it difficult to get a clear image of what im looking at. I can see some trichomes are clear and some are milky, i cannot say what the ratio is though :/

majorityish? of pistils on plant 1 are curled in and orange, I put plant 2 and 3 in there just as reference anyways, they respectively would be ready 1 and then 2 weeks later i suppose?

• Plant 1 planted - it was either the 4/12/19 or the 10/12/19 (sorry, notebook i was recording everything down in has been misplaced)
• Plant 2 planted - about week after 1
• Plant 3 planted - not long after 2

The strain is supposedly white widow XXL but plant 2 seems to look a lot different from1 and 3. 1 was initially the alpha but then 2 took over, duno if that was related to the PH issue or not, but i also wonder if 2 is a different strain as the leaves are different in appearance as opposed to 1 and 3. I suppose even the smell of 2 seems more like a bubblegum flavor whereas 1 and 3 smell different.

Dinfaem has on there page - comprehensive life cycle 80 days.

Would anyone be able to give an indication based on the pictures of plant 1 and the novel i just vomited on this board as to wether I should pull it?

Also, REALLY appreciative of the advice i got from some people on here, as well as all the posts I have read which have helped me to understand and things I can contribute to my next SUCCESSFUL? grow.

PLANT 1
View attachment 1160657


PLANT 1 COLA
View attachment 1160658

PLANT 1 COLA Birds Eye
View attachment 1160659

PLANT 1 COLA Trichomes
View attachment 1160660



2nd Plant (smells like bubblegum kinda?)
View attachment 1160661

3rd Plant (poor thing)
View attachment 1160662

Hi there. I'm a first time grower, so i won´t be much help. How big were the pots? From the pics the ladies don´t seem so bad, besides the yellow leaves. Hopefully some more experience growers will chime in and help you out. Just remember to tell all you can about the growing conditions. Good luck

 

[automan2]

We all can learn more from doing it wrong but you weren't THAT far off.
Time release soil is not a problem but requires controlled watering...if you don't trust your water, buy DI water ...but the main thing is timely watering....a cheap moisture meter helps a lot....
Your plants are finishing but imho they're not in the harvest window quite yet.
When the first amber shows, I view that as the beginning of the window. According to strain, I'll harvest early for a daily kick and harvest one late to knock my ass out.

 

[jaysta]

We all can learn more from doing it wrong but you weren't THAT far off.
Time release soil is not a problem but requires controlled watering...if you don't trust your water, buy DI water ...but the main thing is timely watering....a cheap moisture meter helps a lot....
Your plants are finishing but imho they're not in the harvest window quite yet.
When the first amber shows, I view that as the beginning of the window. According to strain, I'll harvest early for a daily kick and harvest one late to knock my ass out.

Thanks for the replies! The day after posting this I was having another gander and this time i noticed some amber trichomes! Quiet obvious once you spot one for the first time, after that I could easily spot others. Happy Days