I put pans under each bucket and then use a shop-vac to suck out the extra water. If you have fungus gnats you can bottom water straight into the pans.
No, it's not worth it to leave some on for 24 hours.
If you want to "wake up" your plants during flower, I'd run your CFL for half an hour before kicking on the HPS and put them to sleep with the CFL as well for about half an hour.
During the last week or so, you can leave the HPS turned...
Don't fertilize yet. You can use 1 bulb on that size plant. The way you have 3 on it looks inefficient at this stage, but it is not over doing it unless it gets too hot.
It's nothing like growing weed. I have a friend who grows shrooms and we trade. Way different. He uses my old depleted soil for some shit, pressure cooks it and has to grow the cakes first then the shrooms grow on the cakes.
He confuses me most of the time when he tries to explain everything...
I put in 8 Vero 18s at 300ma or 350ma, I can't recall exactly, around the perimeter of a vero 29 and a pair of 3590s run at 1400 and that really made for a bright even canopy. The 18s happened to stack nicely with the drivers I had. I can send pics if you'd like me to take some.
You have similar size constraints as I do. I currently have 3 cabinets, 1 is 4.8 square feet and 2 are almost identically sized at 3 square feet. What are you trying to achieve by the additional COBs? I'd be glad to help figure outhat a good system for your cabinet.
LEDs are great for many reasons. Some might say that they're "The way of the future" and I'd say they're right.
With minimal training most DIY gurus can easily build a badass LED that will outshine a comparable HID and produce half the heat.
Your question is worded a bit funny.
THCA will grow on your plant and start to degrade immediately. By "mature" I assume you mean the change from clear to cloudy to amber.
The earliest trichomes will be over ripe and amber colored by harvest. Luckily by harvest time there will be many many...
You're asking if nearby vegetation has the potential to use the nutrients that you are giving your plant? Of course they have the potential. That being said, I wouldn't worry about it. If you dig a proper hole there shouldn't be much for other roots in your soil anyways. Just be sure to plant...