THC Bomb Auto Plants Growing at VERY DIFFERENT Rate

Hi y'all! 1st-time grow here. Using two feminized THC Bomb Auto seeds from Original Seed Company. Setup is as follows:
... 3' x 2' x 2' Hydroponic Grow Box with in/out air circulation fans
... HIGROW 600W led grow light with separate Veg & Bloom light combinations
... 20/4 lighting schedule throughout the process
... Humidifier to control humidity
... Digital auto controller with remote sensor for maintaining desired temp and humidity settings
... Using General Hydroponics Flora Grow, Bloom, Micro Combo Fertilizer set for nutes (following the manufacturer's prescribed dosage amounts for each at the various stages of growth)
... Digital pH meter

I have very carefully followed everything I read about temps, humidity, lighting, nutes, pH, etc. etc.etc. at each stage of growth. From the very beginning, the left-hand plant grew at a much faster rate than the right-hand plant did. Finally, as you can see from the attached photo, the left-hand plant entered the flowering stage while the right-hand plant hasn't shown any signs of flowering yet (and YES, it IS a female plant). I had to change the lighting and nutes over to the flowering values (less nitrogen, etc.) to not short-change the left-hand plant's needs. All of which leads me to the following questions:

1) Why does this happen and what can I do in the future to avoid it (if anything?)
2) What might I do to salvage the right-hand plant and get something out of it?
3) Is the slight "yellowish" discoloration showing on a few leaves normal for this stage of the game?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice ... I'm anxious to learn!

Im growing 2 THC Bombs as well; as well as Starryder auto and Chemdog Auto. This happened to me with one Starryder and one Chemdog, they literally just quit growing and maturing or did so extremely slow. This is because Auto's are extremely sensitive to stress, if you stress their root system by breaking the tap root before putting it in the hydro system or any type of stress you can think of. Some plants even the same strain will respond differently to stress, and maybe not have a hiccub, while it stunts the one beside it.....the Chemdog stopped growing as a seedling and after 2 weeks of waiting, I replaced it. The other one, a Starryder, went all Super Mutant with a bunch of strange discolered leaves. When it did begin to grow again,it just wasn't that quick vigorous growth...very slow. She'll be lucky to harvest a quarter ounce...The rest of my Starryders and both THC Bombs are about to harvest and let me tell you man....sticky, sticky, snow covered, icey buds this strain produces. Don't worry about it, it very well may bounce right back, just minimize any and all stress that you can for her for the best odds of recovery. Keep temp, humidity, all in ideal paramaters and be sure not to over-do it on nutrients. Things like Hydroguard can stimulate root growth, and when the roots grow, the plant has too...well, so to speak.

Thanks a bunch, Logan! Info, explanation, and your time much appreciated. Your comments on the effects of stress may have some bearing on my situation. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that there was a open hole about the size of a quarter on the top of the hydroponic tank cover. Upon further look-see, it became apparent that light from the HIGROW 600W LED was hitting a portion of the roots of the plant that is lagging so far behind. I had heard somewhere that light hitting the roots was not good, so I plugged the hole. Now, your inputs make me wonder if that might be the cause since the plant was in that "light-compromised" situation for the 1st 6 weeks of growth.
Thanks again and oh ... your description of the buds that I hopefully will see soon is most encouraging and exciting!

No problem at all! I guess it depends on the grower, but for how good your plants look I bet you'll get the same! And that does sound like a source of stress that could stunt root growth, however, I would check out some beneficial bacteria that may have a way of "jump-starting new root growth. I've always used Hydroguard to promote root growth and prevent root rot, perhaps it or something like it such as Sub Culture B from GH may help...but even if it does not get a lot bigger, it should (emphasis on should) still go into flowering and produce buds. The one of mine got stunted early on never got nearly that big, so it got only very small buds. So it is not a total loss if it does not recover, it'll still flower. Best of luck, keep us updated, I am interested to see how this turns out! Sorry for my long replies by the way, can't help it sometimes, ha!

Logan Burke said:

but even if it does not get a lot bigger, it should (emphasis on should) still go into flowering and produce buds.

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Well, since the nutes, humidity and lighting have all been switched over to flowering values for almost a week now, maybe the slow-poke will "get the memo" because it won't have much nitrogen to keep vegging, that's for sure!

StudioMan said:

Hi y'all! 1st-time grow here. Using two feminized THC Bomb Auto seeds from Original Seed Company. Setup is as follows:

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You ordered from original seeds or they have their own THC bomb? I thought bomb seeds produced THC bomb

Yep, I ordered from Original Seeds Company. They list it on their site as follows:
Bomb Seeds THC Bomb Auto X (5 pack size) - Feminized (Auto)

StudioMan said:

Yep, I ordered from Original Seeds Company. They list it on their site as follows:
Bomb Seeds THC Bomb Auto X (5 pack size) - Feminized (Auto)

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Nice. I'm going to give big bomb a go. Have never used their gear before. THC bomb,I've heard is a skull crusher GL homie

I'll tell you this much ... the one plant of mine that's doing well and flowering is adding clusters of flowers seemingly daily. One such cluster is about 6 inches in vertical length with others in the 2 - 4 inch length range. If all of these successfully translate to buds, this is going to be one helluva single plant producer for my 1st grow. Never thought I could be excited like a little kid about this ... but I am!

So how did they turn out bud?

Hey Logan! Thanks for checking in. I haven't harvested yet. This plant seems to like the flowering stage ... it's been doing it for 41 days now! I keep looking through my jeweler's loupe every day waiting for the trichomes to turn amber (or even cloudy, for that matter) but they are still predominantly clear (I approximate about 75% of them are clear). I'm attaching a photo of the plant and of the trichomes (albeit taken with my cell phone camera). The seed germination started on February 5th, so this little lady has been cooking for over 3 months now. Again, being an absolute beginner, I don't know if all this is happening right or not ... just going on what I always read that you don't harvest until trichomes turn amber (or at least cloudy).

Since this is my 1st grow, I also don't have any idea in looking at the plant if the yield is looking like something you would expect from this plant (although, it looks pretty promising to me ... just don't know what it will translate into after trimming and drying. I would be most interested in knowing how does it look to you?

Thanks again in advance for your comments and opinions!
... Don

Personally I don't care if the Trichomes are turned or not, I wait for the pistils to recede. There's so much conflicting information regarding trichome and peek THC times, some say clear some say cloudy some say amber. I think the majority of people agree that Amber is degrading in THC.

Once the majority of pistils recede over 3/4 of the plant and new pistils stop appearing in large quantities I chop.

That said you're like 2-3 weeks out. Judging by the time you've already been flowering and the pictures shown.

It's pretty rare for even autos to finish before 55-60 days of flowering. You'll lose about 75% of your wet weight. I'll guess 1.5-2 OZ.

Thanks, Mr. Head for your helpful and informative response! ... had not heard that before about the pistils receding (since I'm new, even though I read a lot, there's a bunch of stuff I'm hearing for the first time and learning).

Regarding trichome color, the one repeatable thing I seem to see is that harvesting at "cloudy" time gives a more head-banging experience compared to "amber" giving more of a "couch lock ... put you to sleep" result. Again, no idea just how true that is. I don't want to shortchange my yield by harvesting too early, but would prefer the "head banging" to "couch lock" if I had the choice.

StudioMan said:

Thanks, Mr. Head for your helpful and informative response! ... had not heard that before about the pistils receding (since I'm new, even though I read a lot, there's a bunch of stuff I'm hearing for the first time and learning).

Regarding trichome color, the one repeatable thing I seem to see is that harvesting at "cloudy" time gives a more head-banging experience compared to "amber" giving more of a "couch lock ... put you to sleep" result. Again, no idea just how true that is. I don't want to shortchange my yield by harvesting too early, but would prefer the "head banging" to "couch lock" if I had the choice.

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This is a picture from the frostiest buds thread, but it's a really good representation of a plant that looks done for me. But this is the look I'd be going for before I even took the scope out. I'm not saying don't use your scope, I'm just saying I don't often It's a great tool until you get a feel for when plants are done. Don't let it be the only thing that determines if the plant is done.

I still use mine from time to time. Also keep in mind different spots on the plant will show different trichome types. Sugar leaves amber up before the buds, lower buds will be clear longer. etc.etc.etc. Use your scope on several different spots on the top 3/4 of the plant and try and get a good mix of Cloudy and clear with a few amber.

I think the pistils receding is more of an indicator it's done.

Thanks again, Mr. Head ... every little bit of info like that helps me more than you know!

StudioMan said:

Thanks again, Mr. Head ... every little bit of info like that helps me more than you know!

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We've all been there. Starting out is like jumping into the deep end not knowing how to swim, it's the same for everyone. Reading is one thing, seeing the plant respond is a whole different type of learning. Further than I would have got in hydro

You're doing great, keep at it

StudioMan said:

Hey Logan! Thanks for checking in. I haven't harvested yet. This plant seems to like the flowering stage ... it's been doing it for 41 days now! I keep looking through my jeweler's loupe every day waiting for the trichomes to turn amber (or even cloudy, for that matter) but they are still predominantly clear (I approximate about 75% of them are clear). I'm attaching a photo of the plant and of the trichomes (albeit taken with my cell phone camera). The seed germination started on February 5th, so this little lady has been cooking for over 3 months now. Again, being an absolute beginner, I don't know if all this is happening right or not ... just going on what I always read that you don't harvest until trichomes turn amber (or at least cloudy).

Since this is my 1st grow, I also don't have any idea in looking at the plant if the yield is looking like something you would expect from this plant (although, it looks pretty promising to me ... just don't know what it will translate into after trimming and drying. I would be most interested in knowing how does it look to you?

Thanks again in advance for your comments and opinions!
... Don

View attachment 3937390 View attachment 3937391

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My THC Bomb flowered for over two months alone, no need to be alarmed! If you're like me and go by the trichomes (most do, but not all), it should just have another couple weeks left I think she's more on the sativa side from the buzz I get from mine, so a longer flowering would make sense...that's awesome to hear though, did the other stunted one ever pull through, or is she it in the pic? Congratz though man looks like you're about to pass the finish line! Are you in flush or did your leaves start to yellowing?....Mine started yellowing more and more the closer I got to finish, before flushing anyway.
Awesome job though, the bud looks like it's gonna be as good as you were hoping for!

And yes, cloudy means it's close to maximum THC levels, full blown milky means THC levels have peaked, and Amber means that the THC has just began to slowly turn into your other cannabanoids like CBD's, which is why bud with more amber crystals will give a more sedative high. But the bud itself will always keep its distinctive indica and sativa differences. I like to harvest at 75% Milky and 25% Amber, but that's just personal preference. Hope this helps.

Logan Burke said:

did the other stunted one ever pull through, or is she it in the pic?

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The other one just kept vegging but never showed the first sign of flowering. It finally got to the point recently where it was just blocking light to some of the good plant, so I removed it. What you see in its place are two seedlings which I now recognize (from all these responses here to my post) that I started germinating too early. I had hoped to coordinate the harvest of my plant with the planting of the two new ones ... since it looks like I have 1 - 2 weeks left before harvesting, I may have a problem keeping those seedlings OK before I have the open spot to put them ... lesson learned the hard way, I guess.

Logan Burke said:

Are you in flush or did your leaves start to yellowing?

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Leaves started yellowing already several weeks ago ... "Flush?" I'm growing this in a hydroponic system ... I thought "flush" was for potted plants only? Am I missing something else?

And thanks so much for your suggestions on trichome coloration. Yes, it does help!

Could you please tell me how long you spent drying (number of days) and subsequently curing (bell jars, etc.). I'm led to believe from my readings that it's 4 days of drying and 30 days of curing. Is that close to your experience?

Ah that happened to me with my chemdog auto, it did eventually pull through, but all my plants harvested by the time it was anywhere close to being done. And unfortunetly we in hydro still gotta flush, however, we can pull it off in much less time than soil. It is debated on how long to flush in DWC, but as a rule of thumb, 3 to 7 days is usually sufficient time for the plant to burn up all of the nutrients it has stored in its root system. That's why we still have to flush....soil or water, our roots hold nutrients like a storage unit. But being in DWC, we can force our plants to begin using them much more quickly. Personally, I let mine all run about 7-10 days in PH'd RO water, and on the last 2 days, I run RO water with Florakleen (not a neccessity, just decided to try it). If you're hard on time, just change your water (and ph it) each day, and 3 days would probably be fine!
My plants, from the chop to the jar, is about a 30-50 day process. I hang mine upside down, preferably in the dark. Now as to how long it takes depends a lot on your airflow. I had mine inside a wooden shed, with air vents in the top but no circulation, just a 16" wide oscilating fan blowing air literally just below the tallest/top cola on my plant, never directly hitting the plant itself, just sort of passing underneath it and creating air movement around the plant. Doing this, even in really high humidity on some days, my bud was dry enough to go into jars in about 3-5 days. From that point, it was perfectly smokable in less than a week, but I like to let mine sit in a jar in the dark (aside from burping) for 30+ days. It seems like the bud looks and even feels more potent...placebo maybe? Anyway, yeah that's pretty accurate info as far as I know. Is your tent the only place you are able to hang your plant(s)?...If so, is setting your seedlings in a closet with a few compacts or on a porch an option until your THC Bomb has dried enough or have the seedlings already sprang roots out of their netpots/substrate?
We'll find a solution I'm sure! I apologize for my length responses! Try to bare with me LOL.