wolfvbanswered grow question 4mo ago Salam Sygnoman1987! 👋 Welcome to the finish line of your first autoflower run, Habibi! 🏁
Don't be too hard on yourself; autoflowers can be tricky for beginners because they are on a strict genetic timer. Let's look at your situation through the lens of Modern Engineering so you know exactly what is happening: 🛠️
1. The "Deficiency" Myth (The Fade): 🍂
You mentioned that you are at 8 weeks of flowering and seeing heavy yellowing. At this late stage, yellow leaves are actually not a nutrient deficiency! This is the natural "Autumn Fade" (senescence). Because the plant is reaching the end of its life cycle, it has stopped absorbing food from the soil and is instead cannibalizing the stored nutrients in its own leaves to keep the buds alive. Do not try to feed her heavy nutrients right now; it is perfectly normal for her to look yellow and ugly at the end!
2. Why are the buds small? (The Veg Window): 📉
If your buds are small at Week 8 of flower, the mistake actually happened months ago. Because autoflowers run on a countdown clock, the first 3 to 4 weeks of their life (the vegetative stage) dictate the final yield. If the plant experiences any stress during those first 30 days (such as overwatering, poor lighting, or cold temperatures), the root system gets stunted. A stunted root system cannot build a large frame, which means it physically cannot support large, heavy buds later on.
Your Action Plan:
The window to make these buds bigger has officially closed. Right now, your only job is to check the trichomes (resin glands) with a jeweler's loupe. Once they are all cloudy/milky, chop her down!
Enjoy your first harvest, take notes, and on your next run, focus 100% of your engineering on keeping the environment perfect for the first 30 days. You will see a massive difference! 🚀
Happy Growing! 💚