I have two plants same strain that have been flowering for about 10.5 weeks now. Around week 9 they started foxtailing a bit but that’s stopped now. The buds aren’t swelling anymore and they are looking ok but I stopped giving nutes around week 7 because it was only supposed to flower for 8 weeks. The plants definitely look like they need something. Should I give light nutes or just keep giving ph’d water?
We need pics
Refer to the number of weeks as a general guide, not as a grow chart. There are several things that can extend the amount of growing time. The best method is to look at the trichomes through a jeweler's loupe, or small magnifying glass. I stop feeding when I see a good amount of milky trichs.
Your plants will look like total shit, towards the end. The leaves will turn all sorts of ugly colors and die. This is absolutely normal, and you don't need to panic. Towards the end, the plant starts feeding off the nutrients it has stored up in it's leaves. What you see is the same as nutrient deficiency in the leaves, as the plant uses up all the nutes it has stored.
The buds will stop swelling a couple weeks from the end. During the remaining time, the buds get more and more potent.
Don't harvest early. Have patience. When you look at your trichs, you will see some clear, milky, and amber (at the end). These are the different stages of ripening.
Clear - Still got a ways to go
Milky - Goldilocks zone. This is when they're ripe
Amber - Trichs are over ripening, and the more you see, the more of a couch lock effect you'll have when smoking.
You want to allow a little amber in the mix. This will allow for more clear trichs to turn milky, and a small amount of ambers contributes to the overall stone.
When giving plain water, you do not need to balance the pH. The pH has to be in range in order for the plant to be able to transport nutrients to different parts of the plant. If you're not watering with nutes, it's not a concern. Save your pH up and down.