Newbie and need some advice

Ok so first grow ever. I am growing 3 outdoor plants on the coast of California. 50/50 hybrids. My Vision Supreme Lemon is 3ft 9in tall in a 30 gallon smart pot. My Royal Gorilla is 4ft 3in tall in a 30 gallon smart pot. My Mama Mia is 4ft in a 30 gallon smart pot. I used Mother Earth Groundswell potting soil and am using Cal Mag, and Fox Farm Grow Big and Big Bloom. I routinely use different pesticides/fungicides on a rotating basis just to keep bugs away. I use BT Spray, Nuke Em, Monterey Garden Insect Spray, and Dr. Earth Final Stop. I don’t want these bugs building up tolerance. I also have topped the Vision Supreme and Mama Mia twice and last week was the last topping they will get. I only topped the Royal Gorilla once early in Veg. So the last few days they started showing their sex. A few white pistils around the nodes on all plants. YAY! However, my Royal Gorilla has quite a few pistols and kinda looks like it is developing small budlets. Maybe I’m wrong idk. I’m still feeding high nitrogen so I’m just wondering if she is already in flowering stage and if I should gradually cut down on the Nitrogen and introduce more of the flowering nutrients. I would assume it’s kind of early to enter flowering stage but what do I know it’s my first grow. All the plants were germinated May 1 and went out in pots a week later. I also threw in a picture of a stem that has some purple on it so I don’t know if there’s something wrong with it or if it’s natural. Also the leaves on my Mamma Mia are canoeing a little and I don’t know if that’s natural or not. I’ve been really easy on the nutes and I water whenever I stick my finger in and the soil is dry to my first knuckle. I’m wondering if these plants are going to get bigger and if they’re in their stretch (I guess is what it’s called)? Do they look healthy enough to enter flower cause that’s where I read they get real sensitive? Any insight or help would be greatly appreciated and alleviate stress of the guessing game. Thanks fellow growers and good luck!!!

I'm in the middle of my first grow too--I think your plants look very happy so give yourself a pat on the back. You probably could slowly transition to more phosphorus and potassium in anticipation of flowering. From what I read they'll still appreciate a little nitrogen for at least the initial part of flowering when they stretch. What latitude are you? That affects hours of darkness hence timing of flowering. Here in Maine at 45 degrees I'm told flowering doesn't really get going until August.

As far as the purple stem, I don't think that necessarily indicates a nutrient problem. I have 5 different strains, all getting the same care, and I've noticed one of them has a lot of purple stems but otherwise seems healthy. Could just be the genetics causing that.

Like you I'm a little bit anxious about shepherding them safely through the critical flowering phase. But you seem to have the right approach so far so keep doing what you're doing. I follow a blog of a grower in coastal CA and they had problems with caterpillars causing bud rot their first year, which they've solved by spraying bT as a preventative. Apparently same issue here in New England. So have a plan to nip that problem in the bud, so to speak.

Good luck--keep us posted.

Thanks I appreciate your input. I’m at 35 degrees and right on the coast. I’ve heard a lot about these bud worms and have been anticipating them. I’ve tried to take a lot of preventive measures such as Bt spraying. We get a lot of marine layer and dew here too so I was actually thinking about building a greenhouse setup for flowering to really try and control any budworms, fungus, or mold. It’s also really windy here most of the time so I have to figure out a support system for my plants when they start carrying all the weight of the buds. I obsess over these plants and I don’t want to overdo it and end up hurting yield. Easy rookie mistakes I guess. Good luck on your grow

I still obsess, and I have some grows under my belt. But it much less than I used to.

Support is easy. Get some bamboo stakes and some yarn or string, and prop them up as needed. I use them all the time for all kinds of things from corn to my girls.

Remember, during flower, really observe the buds closely for anything harmful. That is really all you can do.