Would like to get input on my plants and harvesting ETA

[Ags98]

so this is my first successful grow with 2 auto-flowering plants (N. Lights and Blueberry Auto). both are beginning Week 12 this Tuesday (8/4/20). I ended up ruining my first grow due to a lot of personal errors haha.

I would like to get some advice on harvesting. ive been watching a lot of videos and reading through the guides and forums on this website about timing the harvest right, however I am still a bit nervous about messing up my first harvest.Â

the blueberry is much further along in flowering than the N. Lights is. currently I'm watering about every 2-3 days and using Fox Farm Tiger Bloom (2tsp/gal) & Big Bloom (2tsp/gal) and then water with seaweed kelp (5tsp/gal); switching off between those every other watering. the blueberry is starting to show a lot of amber color on the pistils/buds so I'm trying to figure out if I'm nearing harvest time or if I still have some weeks to go.

also, I've seen a lot of people doing a 48-hr dark period for the last 2 days before beginning the harvest, so I wanted some more insight on that as well. I listed my setup below if that helps!

SETUP:

32x32x63 TopoLite Grow Tent
Sun System 150w HPS Grow Light (used HPS throughout whole grow; couldn't find a 150w MH bulb that fit the housing)
iPower 6 in. Inline Fan and Carbon Filter Combo
1x Northern Lights Auto - Seedsman
1x Blueberry Auto - Seedsman
3 gal fabric pots

Soil & Nutes:
Fox Farm Ocean Forest Soil (with about 30% or so perlite added in)
Fox Farm Grow Big (only used through veg stage)
Fox Farm Tiger Bloom & Big Bloom (began at flowering stage; using half the recommended amount on the bottle)
Seaweed Kelp Extract

[SoOrbudgal]

Hello and way to get over the hump and nearing the finish. My opinion and thoughts are worth a kilo so please mail to 8 2 much st. Washington D.C. now if they were mine i would quit the ferts/nutes she's trying to survive and you want to let her know it's time to change. I would only water if the pot is light when lifted is she still drinking are you getting much drainage out the bottom? I give only plain water at this age until all the supplements are washed from her allow to finish naturally.

[FireGrowerNotAShower]

Not to alarm you but Big Bloom has seaweed extract in it already. I don't think it's anything too harmful but just in case you didn't know. I started using Recharge last run and wasn't aware it contained humic acid. Since that doubled up my potassium it threw everything off and locked some nutrients out.

[Ags98]

Thank you I didn’t catch that! They haven’t responded negatively which I’m happy about, I’ve read that you can’t really overdo it with kelp, but I’m sure at a certain point it could get to be too much. I don’t always trust the labels considering they aren’t usually directed towards cannabis plants haha

[Ags98]

Hello and way to get over the hump and nearing the finish. My opinion and thoughts are worth a kilo so please mail to 8 2 much st. Washington D.C. now if they were mine i would quit the ferts/nutes she's trying to survive and you want to let her know it's time to change. I would only water if the pot is light when lifted is she still drinking are you getting much drainage out the bottom? I give only plain water at this age until all the supplements are washed from her allow to finish naturally.

Thank you for the reply! The fabric pots have great drainage and allow for decent airflow thru the sides and such but I don’t typically have a lot of water coming out of the bottom when I water. They are very thirsty and within 2 to 3 days of watering I can stick my entire finger down into the soil and it will be dry, that’s only when I water. I also do the lift test as well. I trust your opinion, but can you elaborate a bit more on why you said to stop nutes at this stage? I’ve seen people do them all the way until harvest and I’ve seen people stop them during the last 2-3 weeks, both yielding good results.

thank you again!!

[SoOrbudgal]

I only give unsulferated molasses 1tlb per gallon with the watering not every time but every other the last 2-3wks they won't drink that much anymore is what i found. I just don't use anymore bloom i rinse the roots is what i mean. I enjoy the taste of different strains i grow, i try and mello out the smoke not chemical aftertaste burn. Your watering seems fine. These are 12wk old autos mine are nearing that also they spit out a few new hairs but they are cloudy trichomes i see with a magnifier/loupe so i know they are at the highest THC now but will likely rapidly change to lower when the amber starts this can be happening now and still they might spit out new hairs. I want to starve my plants now and they take all the juice within and use it up. That's just my way not saying you have to do it that way it's just my rogue way of doing it.

[Ags98]

do you by chance have the link to the magnifier you bought? I bought a couple cheaper ones hoping they'd be decent enough for me to at least be able to tell if the trichomes go from clear to milky, but both ended up kinda crappy