I don't login very often anymore but I do a thorough review of the forum every morning. I've watched this thread for a while now and I think I need to chime in as you've been clearly struggling with this for a long time. So...Let's start at the top, shall we?
Your use of a small starter pot and CFL lights was good. They grew and were looking good for a while.
The question remains though after this long...WHAT IS YOUR SETUP? sorry to yell but we cannot help if we don't know what we're trying to help with! What are strains? You mentioned they are purchased so you should have some info for us to work with. What is the "general potting compost" ? brand, the makeup of the compost (generally speaking). I see compost as decaying stuff like plant matter or cow poop. You may mean potting mix or potting soil to most of us so clarify please. What is the size of the pots you're using? What nutrients are you using or planning to use? What does the light manufacturer recommend for distances to the plant tops? (We can guess generically based on experience but nice to know what the mfg recommends) What is the pH of the rainwater? Keep in mind that rainwater is just plain water and only whatever dust and such it picks up. It doesn't have any calcium or magnesium or...whatever! Tap water should contain some trace minerals the plants need and of course if the water is hard it will have an abundance of calcium. If using nutes what is the pH of the solution before watering? In soil a range of 6.2 to 6.8 keeps you in the sweet spot for most minerals but an occasional small drift up or down is not something to obsess over. Different minerals need different pH for optimal uptake so a drift over the range is a good thing. What is your water and feed schedule? If you have a rigid schedule of a certain amount every certain number of days you need to let the plant tell you when it needs water or food. Lift the pot. Is it still heavy from watering two days ago? Let it go another day. Nearly fall backwards when you lifted because it was so dry? Get her some juice please.
To be clear here...it is of ABSOLUTE importance to monitor the pH. All mediums need to be monitored for pH whether it be soil, coco, any flavor of hydro or whatever you come up with. They all have different pH requirements. Mess that up and you start chasing your tail with other issues that don't (or didn't) actually exist.
Two very good growers replied that the plants look over watered and inquire of additional drainage in the pots. You dismissed them and moved on. The plastic pots for most other plants would be fine normally but these plants need a wet and dry cycle to be happy. If you drilled a bunch more holes (lower sides is fine...don't want to flip a pot and drill when it is full) the medium would drain better, leaving room for oxygen at the rootzone and allow for a dry period between watering/feeding. A bunch of perlite in the soil mix would help if you have another transplant coming. Did you look here for guidance:
https://www.growweedeasy.com/cannabis-symptoms-pictures or specifically here:
https://www.growweedeasy.com/cannabis-plant-problems/overwatering ? There's a lot more to gwe than the forum.
What should you do right now or in the next couple days? First, settle in and enjoy the ride. Then scratch up the surface of the pots to promote breathing and drying. Especially the one with the green growing across it. Let them dry out for a few days. Most important is to just relax. Changes made to the soil or water even the pH won't show real results for days. Are you keeping a journal? Even a very basic set of notes is helpful (especially since we all seem to get high). Basic info such as date/time of course but what was done each day or two...trimmed some leaves...watered to runoff or not...raised or lowered lights...I'm sure you get the drill here. Take a look at the signature lines of some of the members for an idea of what info we may need to know and didn't ask for or even inquire why or what for on some of the stuff being used.
Way more long winded than I intended but one more thing. Of course it is a pH thing. My current grow, in my tent, is in the 3rd week of flower and I've been battling spider mites. Or so I thought. I did actually have a small spot starting and I nailed it with alcohol/water spray. They're gone for now. But while doing battle with the Borg I saw more damage and recognized it as a calcium issue. (Sidenote: also battled calcium issue with my tomatoes this year...blossom end rot...a dearth of rain and lots of heat. That meant high pH tap water for weeks (7.8). Fixed my pH and problem is solved.) Anyway, I pH religiously so couldn't figure out why I got more damage and everything I did seemed to be right. I have a cheap pH pen and litmus strips to check myself occasionally. The pen was not in agreement with the paper. Turns out my calibration solution had drifted on me. New solution, calibrated, corrected water and feed pH and on my way to recovery. That pH foul up meant I was watering at 5.7 to 5.9pH when I thought I was watering/feeding at the right range in the 6's.
Well, took enough of everyone's time so I think it may be time to go check on a jar or two...
