Until you mentioned it, for some reason it did not occur to me lousy lights = slow growth. I'll bet my veg time would have been faster too if I did something sooner also.
I have done the "sampling" thing before with my White Widow Autos
I think it's OK so long as you don't mind losing a little yield here or there.
So glad you are finding a nice distraction from the "times." The plants do feel like a sanctuary.
As for the hermie stuff...I get a little nervous talking about my plant's sex on here because hermies get a lot of flack in the growing community. But, I think she's programmed to do this. Thanks for the acceptance. And
my man...the weed was incredible. I don't remember the specifics about the effects. I do remember euphoria and arousal on the low doses, then a heavy stone on the high doses. The flavors were of chocolate, garlic, and lemon.