1st timer. BlackBerry auto for a start

Don't randomly remove leaves. Always have a reason to remove one... should never have to remove a bunch of them. Leaves are incredibly important anatomy. They do more than just absorb light. Even well-shielded leaves are value-added to the plant. 'too mnay mouths to feed' is a real concern as trutratri said. More bud sites doesn't always equate to more yield. After a certain point all it does is over-crowd the canopy and you get smaller buds of similar total mass. The size of your canopy, light and environmental variables will dictate the total mass per sq ft the plant will produce. Side effect of not over-crowding - never a need to defoliate. I'd also suggest easing up on the training of an autoflower. You probably don't have much vege growth left at this point, so spending 5 weeks trainining it mostly horizontal doesn't leave much time to grow vertically. That will definitely hurt yield or cause crowding of buds. definitely grow photoperiods. they are simply better plants on average. Whatever an autoflower can do, a photo can mimic if you absolutely want to... You can send a photoperiod into flower within 2-3 weeks or just 12/12 from sprout and it'll match the same timeframe of an autoflower. The only advantage i see from autoflowers is that you can grow out of season outside. definitely need more perlite or similar in soil. that's a sphagnum peat moss base from what i read, so 1:1 is the proper ratio for a medium that holds a high volume of water. I didn't see a percentage included, but a little algebra and solve for x to figure out how much to add to their terra professional product. For future reference, coco coir holds less water, which is why you see "70/30" coco+perlite options out there... 2:1 coco:perlite or similar drainage amendment is a better target for coco. This stuff doesn't have to be exact but good to have the right target, nonetheless. Both add up to the same gas:water mixture per volume, which is the key. These plants are quite robust... you'll have decent results even when you don't do things in optimal ways. Keep it health and happy and that;s most of it... the rest you can refine as you grow more.