FastBuds No.2

These girls had a slow start😑 I have a few ideas to what happened. They all seem to struggle for oxygen, even before I turned the drip on. Last time around I had the drip running 24/7 with no issues whatsoever as I am in 100% perlite. This time, i noticed signs of over water early at only a few ml of water a day. I believe I made a pretty big mistake by not rinsing my perlite before use. I did for the last grow but didnt notice any dust in the runoff so I risked it. I think the micro particles are actually clogging the roots. I gave them all a big flush and have them on drip now. They seem to be recovering but I'm sure it's too late as they are autos.. I now realize my setup is less than ideal for autos, even without the mistake.