Low is who guided me thru the first brick. Stuck with that since. Well, other than letting my last batch sit for a few days, then dropping seeds. He told me, thats one thing NOT to do, and STILL helped me verify that was my issue with the last new seedlings. High ph coco, from not using immediately after expanding. So @THC73 , expand with your nutrient solution, ph’ed in the 5.8 to 6 range, no need for drainage, as the coco will absorb the solution. I use the bag canna comes in, set in a plastic tub or bucket. Once its all expanded and no dry spots or chunks( i use a big kitchen spoon and stir it around, and mix it up), go ahead and plant seeds or transplant. Any extra coco, that you stashed and dried up, would need same ph’ed solution run thru it, before using it. Otherwise, the ph of coco will be high, and your plants will struggle as mine did the first 2 wks from germ. Everyone has their own way of getting to the end result, when using the bricks. Whatever you find easiest.
If you don’t have a loupe or microscope a pair of binoculars turned backwards can help tell what’s going on with the trichomes. Trying to go by factors of pistol color percentage, plump buds, etc is just to hard. I know some guys with years of experience that can but I am not there lol.