Please help. Im about ready to give up on this whole thing

So these are Gorilla Glue and Bruce banner Autos from ILGM at 5 weeks. I have them under 18 hours of light, early morning and late night they are on the heated seedling mat under an HLG100 quantum board with samsung LEDS and during the day I bring them into the back yard to soak up some real sunshine. They are being fed lightly. 5ml per gallon Botanicare Grow formula for soil, 2.5 ml per gallon of Botanicare Cal mag and Hi-Brix molasses. I keep the water PH at 6.2, They are in miracle grow potting soil with 25% perlite added and a tbs of mykos per gallon of soil. I feed/water them every3 days or so, when they dry out and feed till water runs from the bottoms of the cups. They germinated in jiffy peat pods and were transferred to the cups once I saw roots poking out of the cloth.

What Im starting to wonder is, if this is even worth it anymore. I know autos are supposed to be smaller, But I didnā€™t think they were gonna be this small. What could the problem be? Im not a rookie at growing, been doing this for 15 years or so and have had dozens of killer harvests. Im by no means an expert but im definitely not a rookie. part of me is starting to think its the genetics. I already have 6 more seeds that have not sprouted after a week in germination, both water in a cup and paper towel techniques, even scuffed them up lightly with sandpaper before their soak.

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Miracle grow!!! No!!! Try something cannabis friendly like fox farm

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You should know after 16 years that miracle grow is not for MJ , that should had been transplanted a long time ago to a bigger container, personally they all look like the learning curve ā€¦things that can be change easily ā€¦ just transplant sooner ā€¦ dump miracle grow on your plants outside not on your MJ, besides that you look good to go and see improvement once you apply the change ā€¦ good luck there is a lot of expert growers that will help you get where you want to be

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Your cups look really saturated which could be stunting the plants. They donā€™t look too bad. How old?

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Those appear to be clear solo cups, 1 quart/liter containers.

Several problems. The miracle grow, the small cups, and clear cups which kills off strong root development because light reaches the roots.

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I think I am gonna switch soils, I have been using MG for a long time and never really had issues, but Im seeing Autos are a different animal. I am still learning about them.

They look saturated because I feed them yesterday, about 8oz total to each baby.

The clear cup thing is something new that I was unaware of. I never used any cups before because they were always from clone but that makes sense.

So for now, transplanting them into a bigger container with FF soil and just tossing out the clear cups. Are there any other changes I can add to my setup that would help me better ensure a good grow?

Thank you for all the help so far.

Yeah I was gonna mention that too, I learned that BEFORE, I ever even started growing, not saying thatā€™s the problem, buy it may be a huge contributing factor though!!

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You can just place those clear cups inside of opaque cups. Iā€™ve never been a fan of autos. I donā€™t like the plants dictating what theyā€™re going to do.

In solo cups youā€™re better off watering daily rather than watering to runoff. I bottom feed plants when theyā€™re in solo cups. I pour about 1/3 of a solo cup worth of water into a separate solo cup and then place the plant inside of that cup. The drainage holes from the cup the plants are in will allow for the soil to soak up the water. This will keep a zone for the roots for oxygen but also a zone for feeding (the bottom of the cup).

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[quote=ā€œBobbyDigital, post:9, topic:64514ā€]
I bottom feed plants when theyā€™re in solo cups. I pour about 1/3 of a solo cup worth of water into a separate solo cup and then place the plant inside of that cup
[/quote] @BobbyDigital I really like your ideas bro, Iā€™m gonna do that with my clones starting tomorrow

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Thats a great idea with the watering from the bottom. Once I get everything dialed in on these girls, I think I will try that out. Thank you!

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would have been better to use at least 3 gallon container.

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I to used MG and had no issues. I used the moisture control type and only added Cal-mag for the 1st 2 1/2 months. At that size I would have already transferred to their 5 gal container. Read up on the other soils. Even ask questions in this site. I moved on to FoxFarm Coco Loco. Like it. But found out that you should soak it in Cal-mag prior to use. Live and learn. Still didnā€™t really hurt the plants by not doing it either. FF ocean forest is good. Probably good for autos. Iā€™ve never grown autoā€™s so really donā€™t know. My Bruce Banner grew in MG. I donā€™t think it hurt it or caused any issues in the end.




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Welcome to the community ! I think you pretty much got a easy fix transplant to 5 gallon fabric pots. Use cannabis friendly soil an they should take off like you hit them with steroids. Happy growing !

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As stated MG is a no-go for cannabis. Autoflowering strains use less nutrients than photoperiod plants. Adding nutes along with MG is just begging for trouble.

Hereā€™s the deal: you put plants in soil so they can grow in that medium. Why would you want to add more salts to an already saturated media? Buy some FF soil like Happy Frog, ditch those plants because they are going to maybe double in size (severely stunted).

MG does not buffer soil at correct PH range, concentrated ā€˜timed releaseā€™ salts are added so will never get rid of them, moisture control and cannabis is a recipe for root rot.

You have multiple places locally to pick up FF soil: worst case is to run to Lompoc and go to Valley Rock: they usually have a pallet or two available.

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I would go with a 5 gallon cloth pot. Excess water filters out the sides.
Iā€™m trying FF OF with extra perlite and FF nutrients and having better luck than bad luck. Those are going to look nice in 8 weeks.
Have fun and patience.

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Bobby is correct the first picture is a Telltale sign they are overwatered the yellowing towards the bottom droopy kind of leaves soaked looking soil and small overall size to the plant in fan leaves is a tell tale that the plants are stunted from overwatering itā€™s a common mistake and new Growers a pot to a bigger pot with dry dirt and allow the moisture to diffuse to the dry soil and do not water again till the soil is almost bone dry and definitely get out of Miracle Grow as soon as possible up pot to a much larger pot with Fox Farm or promix donā€™t go with Organic Home Depot or Big Box store stuff before you purchase anything run it by us because there are a lot of things that sound good with the name organic which simply are just not cannabis-friendly

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Thank you. Iā€™m truly appreciative of all the input. My cup is empty when it comes to this stuff. Always willing to learn.

Whats your take on this soil?

FoxFarm Ocean Forest Potting Soil Organic Mix Indoor Outdoor For Garden And Plants - Organic Plant Fertilizer - 38.5 Quart (1.5 cu ft). - (Bundled with Pearsons Protective Gloves) (1 Pack) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07VLPKXCT/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_fabc_63EA40DXJXTM17BMP5RA

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Get fox farm happy frog itā€™s good for all round seed to weedā€¦ ocean forest is a veg specific dirt and they recommend going to strawberry feilds for flower but not nessecarry happy frog start to finish is good and all you needā€¦ that dirt will carry you about 2 to 3 weeks in a 2 to 3 gallon pot with 0 nutrients just add water nor slowly start adding nutes I dont like to deplete soil of all itā€™s goodies then feed I like the organic matter in the soil to he a buffer for water only days
Butnsome ppl will adamantly tell you DONT FEED FOR WEEKSS OTR A SIGN OF DEFICENTCY ā€¦do not wair that longā€¦ because they will be running on fumes and not knowing what a light feed is you will easily burn your plantsā€¦ Iā€™d start feeding them 1/4 strength of suggested veg stage feed by the second watering and make sure to get a calmag supplementā€¦
food, cal mag water , light water, repeat
Always ph nutes and water after mixing nutes to 6.5 for soil and 5.8 in hydro rules

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Reason we donā€™t recommend Miracle Grow for cannabis is because a lot of times it has extended release 6-month nine-month feed and you cannot control when youā€™re in flower to cut back on nitrogen nitrogen in flower is a no no well not a no no itā€™s supposed to be reduced and you canā€™t do that with time release nutrients in soil also a lot of those oils are not set PH2 6.5 and can cause serious issues such as Black Gold organic and Kelloggā€™s organic both have pH of 7.5 to 8.0 which is a nightmare and I found that out the hard way then I found Fox Farm and itā€™s been lovey ever since

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I use ff ocean forest through out. And so far havent had any issues in veg or flower But happy frog is great also.

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