First grow 2nd week flowering

Hi, this is my first time growing cannabis, and I just wanted some feedback from you more experienced growers. I've been growing 3 plants under a 250w HPS bulb. I've grown them from seed; the strain is Strawberry Cough from Dutch Passion. I built a hydroponic DWC system from an18 galon storage bin. The plants are now in their 12th week of growth, 2nd week of flowering. I guess I waited too long to bud and the plants how nearly overgrown my small grow space. I added a chicken wire fence to hinder the growth, but again, the size of the plants has prevented me from keeping all the branches below it, and they continue to grow taller. Lately, it seems the thick canopy has prevented enough light from reaching the lower branches and many have wilted. I have recently added two fluorescent bulbs on the bottom to help along the lower branches and stop the wilting from spreading, so far it seems to have worked. Any sort of advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Thanks for the advice Big C. I keep reading about that 1watt 1gram, but doesnt number of plants have anything to do with yield? would one plant under my light yield as much as all 3?

 

What about the bottoms of my plants? is it normal for the bottom branches to wilt and die? Is that what happens to leaves that dont get much light? Ive been following the directions on the back of my nutes to the t, but im worried that its some deficiancy ive overlooked. Im using FloraGro, FloraBloom, Floramicro and Subculture from General Hydroponics, and I'm also using Sweet from Botanicare. Are there some micro nutrients my plants arent getting from what I'm giving them?

 

Tomorrow will be 3 weeks into flowering. Are the buds a good size for their age?
I'd really appritiate some feedback guys.

 

Thats just the thing, it isnt just old fan leaves dying. The entire branch starts wilting. And it doesnt yellow first, it just dries up and falls off, including the new growth. Like i said its only the smaller lower branches, and it seems to have stopped spreading up the plant. unless someone tells me otherwise, im assuming those branches just werent getting enough light. Also, is it normal for some of the hairs to turn brown this early into flowering (22 days)? its not many, just a few on a few of the buds Anyway heres a few more pics. Heh, i guess i shouldnt post so often, you can hardly see a change from last time, but what the hell, the more the better right?

 

Well the 5th week is up, and I've come across a potential problem. Between a few of the plants lower branches, there are a few webs. I tried taking a few pics, but its too thin and doesn't appear on the images. This is one secluded area, away from any buds or leaves. I have some grow books, and the spider mite webs look different from this web. Could it be an actual spider web? Are average household spiders threats to the plant?

On a brighter note, the buds are looking really nice. According to the seeds package from Dutch Passion, the strain flowers in 8-9 weeks. That means there's only 3-4 weeks left, is the bud going to grow much from here?? I'm worried about final yield, but i guess its a success to get any bud from a first grow...

 

Thanks for the reassurance guys.
The webs are no longer a problem, I repositioned some fans, and haven't seen any new ones since. The buds are smelling really nice now, but only up close. I was planning on buying some form of odor control when the smell got out of hand, but at this rate, it looks like i wont need to. Has anybody else grown strawberry cough? What are your experiences with the strain? The buds don't smell of strawberries at all, more of a fruitier Sour Diesel.

I'd really love to hear from anyone who's grown this strain before, or anyone who hasnt for that matter lol

Heres a few new pics:

 

Does anyone have any ideas as to how i can flush out my plants?? they're all growing in one big container, and the plants cant be moved because they're growing through a screen. I've been siphoning water out with a small hose, but it takes forever, and i can never get all the water out, so i never know what amount of nutrients is still in the bucket. I know this would be less of an issue with a ppm meter, but I can't afford one right now. Do you think the left over nutrients will have a big impact? Any ideas? thanks guys.

I also snapped a pic of inside the tank, in case anyone wanted a peek at the roots.

 

It's now week seven. There's only a few weeks (1-2) left before harvest. I've ordered a magnifying glass to check my trichomes. What steps should I take before harvest? I know I'm supposed to just feed them plain water towards the end, when should I start that? I use a product called Sweet, it's kinda like carboload from what I read, should I discontinue use of that as well?

Come on guys, a few comments would be appreciated..

 

Thanks for the tip ganjagod85, i did get a magnifying glass, didnt know I needed a microscope. It was only like 10 bucks on ebay, so its a useful tool to have around nonetheless, ill have to go out and get a microscope as well now.