How are they looking? Northern Lights auto

Hi
First timer here
2 Northern Lights autos from ILGM. 2x4 tent. Happy Frog soil, unknown pH but have been using bottled water (pH meter arrived broken and inaccurate tonight). Unsure of soil pH. 18/6 light schedule. Temps stay between 75-79 and humidity between 50-60% while lights and humidifier are on. The taller of the two is 4 inches tall just a couple days shy of 3 weeks old from sprout. 270 watt light above. Started in a solo cup for 2 weeks then transplanted into 5 gal pot. Am I going crazy or is it in pre flower? The smaller one is about a week and a half from sprout. Considering letting the taller one grow natural and try LST & topping once the smaller one is ready. Have Pride Lands veg, fish sh!t and CalMag for when a new pH pen comes in. How long until it’s necessary to add nutes? Some say 2 weeks and some say longer.
I’ve read a bunch and get come across contradicting info. Is it ok to transplant autos? Heard it will stunt their growth. Also does anyone here water regularly with calmag? Will it last a week or two if mixed into a gallon container?
What are your guys’ preferred training method with just two plants?
TIA

My first piece of advice is to stop watering just around the plant. Give the entire pot a good heavy watering with a drop of dish soap or use yucca as a wetting agent. That soil on the outside is so dry no roots are going to grow into it. You are a little under powered light wise for a 2x4 but not badly. I'd want 300-320 watts so it's close.
Your temps are a little chilly as with LED lights I like to be in the low 80s for best growth. Try to keep the humidity as close to 60 or a little higher in veg stage with good airflow in the tent.
I've had zero problems transplanting autos as long as it's done by day 21. I start in Solo cups and go to 3 gallon or 5 gallon fabric pots. I don't like topping them after 14 days usually. If I can get 4 nodes by then, I'll top them. Some strains have done better with topping than others but good breeders will tell you how they respond to training. I love Magic Strains for autos and they're available at DC Seed Exchange for really reasonable prices. His bubba trouble is the best yielding, potent auto I've ever grown but it's hard to find in stock as lots of people like it. If you're using tap water, which you should do, calcium should be fine. I do have magnesium deficiencies sometimes but all you need for that is Epsom salt. I start feeding at 1/2 strength as soon as the cotyledon leaves yellow and go easy on the nutes.
I know there's a lot of conflicting information on growing but find some grow journals of auto flower plants and see what they're doing that works. All the book knowledge in the world doesn't mean crap if there plants look like shit lol.

FirstCavApache64 said:

My first piece of advice is to stop watering just around the plant. Give the entire pot a good heavy watering with a drop of dish soap or use yucca as a wetting agent. That soil on the outside is so dry no roots are going to grow into it. You are a little under powered light wise for a 2x4 but not badly. I'd want 300-320 watts so it's close.
Your temps are a little chilly as with LED lights I like to be in the low 80s for best growth. Try to keep the humidity as close to 60 or a little higher in veg stage with good airflow in the tent.
I've had zero problems transplanting autos as long as it's done by day 21. I start in Solo cups and go to 3 gallon or 5 gallon fabric pots. I don't like topping them after 14 days usually. If I can get 4 nodes by then, I'll top them. Some strains have done better with topping than others but good breeders will tell you how they respond to training. I love Magic Strains for autos and they're available at DC Seed Exchange for really reasonable prices. His bubba trouble is the best yielding, potent auto I've ever grown but it's hard to find in stock as lots of people like it. If you're using tap water, which you should do, calcium should be fine. I do have magnesium deficiencies sometimes but all you need for that is Epsom salt. I start feeding at 1/2 strength as soon as the cotyledon leaves yellow and go easy on the nutes.
I know there's a lot of conflicting information on growing but find some grow journals of auto flower plants and see what they're doing that works. All the book knowledge in the world doesn't mean crap if there plants look like shit lol.

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Been reluctant using tap water. Not sure of the quality and have yet to get it tested. 4 nodes in 14 days?? Day 22 and there’s only 3 on this one. I feel like compared to other photos and threads out there this lady is undersized.

If you're on city water you can usually look up a water report online for free. Most well water if it's safe to drink is fine for plants. You are going to need a good ph pen once you start using nutes and some ph up maybe as well. I like citric acid for ph down as it's cheap and I can use it for pest management as well. Look at getting a cheap lux meter so you can dial in the light height for the right ppfd at the canopy, there not too pricey and it's a really great tool to have. Another great way to get help is start a grow journal so folks can follow the grow and offer tips. It's nice to have a record of what you did as well.

FirstCavApache64 said:

If you're on city water you can usually look up a water report online for free. Most well water if it's safe to drink is fine for plants. You are going to need a good ph pen once you start using nutes and some ph up maybe as well. I like citric acid for ph down as it's cheap and I can use it for pest management as well. Look at getting a cheap lux meter so you can dial in the light height for the right ppfd at the canopy, there not too pricey and it's a really great tool to have. Another great way to get help is start a grow journal so folks can follow the grow and offer tips. It's nice to have a record of what you did as well.

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I’ve been looking into finding a good pen, so many mixed reviews on the affordable meters out there. Is a soil pH meter necessary, or could I get away with pHing the run off water after watering? Bought some Bloom City pH up & down. I have a notebook going but unfortunately haven’t tracked every single little detail.

lbw1075 said:

I’ve been looking into finding a good pen

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It does it all and great price.

If u feed and water correctly its no need to test soil or even run off. Folks have issues then start chasing their tails checking everything. Ph to 6.5 after adding whatever.

Dont do calmag unless plant shows signs it needs it. It can cause other issues. Imo your light is more then enough. In fact I think u should dim it. During seedling and veg u only need 25-50% and at a gd distance. U can start cranking it up in bloom. They don't need much early on. Yours kinda looks beat up. Leaves should be praying most of the day. Unless its from overwatering. Pots should be allowed to dry before next watering. Do the weight test and learn how heavy they are wet and dry.
Yes u are in preflower. Stress can cause autos to flower early. It doesn't look happy rt now. Newbies should start with photos til they know plants cus there is no recover time if or when an issue occurs. U can treat autos just like photos once u know more. The transplant alone could've started the preflowering. Photone app is free for android. IPhone cost cus its more accurate. Put your par at 250-300 for seedling/veg. Happy growing!

How are your plants looking now? I'm new here but not a first time grower. I'm growing Northern Lights Auto along with Critical +2.0 and Critical Orange Punch.

I top all my autos in week 3-4 at 4-5 nodes though the plant in the middle with red straps was chopped in half inadvertently when the light fell on top of her.

I planted all of them in 7 fabric pots and I'm currently entering week 7 tomorrow though this picture is from last Thursday.

The baby plant is also Northern Lights though I planted her in a tall 3 gallon fabric pot and will top next week or two as she'll be two weeks tomorrow. I'm doing this to see how comparable in size and yield they will be in regards to pot size difference.

The biggest plant with the blue straps and the baby are both Northern Lights, biggie will enter week 7 tomorrow.

Middle plant with red straps is Critical Orange Punch Auto entering week 7 tomorrow. She'll be LST real soon.

Plant with the yellow straps is Critical + 2.0 and will be entering week 7 this Saturday.

I started all of my autos in solo cups and transfer with no issues, when to feed them depends on the size of the pot. Your pants are really good at yelling you what's up wether it's light/heat stress, under/over watering and wether they are lacking nutrients wether mobile or immobile so feed accordingly.

In my case I started feeding week 5 when they showed a nitrogen deficiency and fish fertilizer, kelp, silica, along with root stimulant, molasses and worm castings in no particular order.

The baby in the three gallon pot I've only watered correct pH and root stimulant with the proper seedling dosage of kelp fertilizer with silica foliar spraying. In a week or two I'll start fish fertilizer and castings and needed bacteria to keep the soil active.

Like balls, man. Stay away from autos, and ILGM, more advice.

Antidote Man said:

Like balls, man. Stay away from autos, and ILGM, more advice.

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I've grown autos without issues barring the one plant I didn't top and now I always top my autos so they don't stretch beyond my tent.

I grew three White Widow Autos last grow and topped two they grey about 4 feet while the one I didn't top grew like his and was taller then my tent and I had to cut her main cola earlier then desired.

I also bought that batch from ilgm however the seeds in currently using I bought from a different site I can't remember off the top of my head.