Season 1.3 - Northern Lights Auto

I would try not to defoliate unless the leaf is getting burred into the medium when your watering. even then I'd try and bend it up so it stays dry. The plants are a bit to young to strip them of anything yet. They are prime for some early LST. I used to wind the plant aorund like a spiral and pin the new growth down. it worked well for me as my first attempt at LST. Now I top them and do a makeshift mainline with some LST. If this is your first auto run, Don't top just use some LST. This method has worked out well for me in the past. I like to use metal U shaped brackets for LST or some soft string. Both items can be purchased at a dollar store. Can see the brackets in my current grows. Best of Luck and Happy Growing!

Your plants are looking good and starting to flower. Since you are half Happy Frog soil you could start adding low dose nutrients. If you switch to flower nutrients make sure you continue to give them some nitrogen for at least several weeks (2-4 weeks) into flower or about until the stretch is complete. Many flower nutrients don't contain nitrogen but it is still needed for the first part of flower. If you start having the lower leaves turn yellow it might be nitrogen defficiency. I love the Fox Farms soils, especially Ocean Forest which I use in my grows. I am not a fan of their nutrients. Too many products with only slight variations and minimal if any micro nutrients. Also, their low nutrient value means you'll need more (good for them, more money for you). I'm not saying FF nutrients are bad, I just like others better because they are simpler and contain micros so you aren't having to buy 5 or 10 products. As an alternative you can consider General Hydroponics nutrients. I have had great luck with their Bio Thrive Bloom and Grow formulas. I have recently finished my first grow with their Maxi Bloom and Maxi Grow dry fertilizers. With each type one bottle of veg and one bottle of flower nutes usually does the trick though I recommend keeping a bottle of Cal/Mag on hand (brand doesn't matter) especially if you are using bottled, RO or municipal water.

This is looking like a PH or lockout/underfeed issue to me. Potassium and something else. maybe boron by how the one leaf looks. Do you know the PH of your medium? Can test it with a slury, grab a 1/4 cup of soil. mix it with 1cup of distilled water. Switch it aorund let it sit and then measure ph of that solution. Want to grab a good sample that's lower in the pot vs top soil. Other idea is to use a TDS pen when using liquid nutrients and confirm your EC is in check and your not feeding to little or to much nutrients. Looking at your feedings, they seem like they maybe to low. but its a wild guess with out doing some math or knowing its EC. I am not overly familiar with FF nutrients. It looks like grow big hydro has your boron in it. may want some more of it. Best Of Luck!

About now buddy if you are going to at all. Really you should have done in pre flower for autos and taken leafs that would have covered potential bud sites, giving the auto enough time to recover. Ppl say don't defol auto. But I've had great success with it. And haven't really done any heavy defol since wk 6-7. Best of luck. Have a look at my diaries I done defol to promote growth on a very sickly tangerine dream. It's good to light to bud sites, drop humidity and increase air flow. But once you have a constant air flow I wouldn't worry to much about air moving through them if that's why you want to defol but do it now, you'll need them leafs for energy for the mid to late flowering stage so don't take too much off one node. If you get away with leaf tucking and happy with light pen I wouldn't defol now just for air flow, just increase y9ur air if u that's why u wanna defol. Happy growing buddy. Good luck.