First time grow. I think they're still small for how long they've been in the veg, what could be the problem?

5l pots...too small. Topping and defoliation. 85w LED...... All these things will limit/slow growth Feeding every time in soil, especially in small pots, will lead to issues later on. Combined with bad watering habits, you will no doubt run into trouble sooner or later. I find in soil and pots, a schedule of plain water, plain water, fertilizer works well.....others do plain water, fertilizer, plain water,fertilizer....but I believe that is over doing it. Remember too, it is very easy to solve a slightly underfed plant, but very, very hard to rescue a damaged overfed plant. As others have said, watering thoroughly and deeply is the correct technique, not X amount every Y days. Your plants look healthy enough, but are bordering on nutrient overdose IMO.

Hi there, I can notice a few things. They look healthy and happy regardless of the size. First you started the seedlings in small pots, the size you transplanted out of the small pots was still underdeveloped for those pots. Usually growers will let the seedling completely root out the first pot before transplanting. Second, judging only by briefly reading your journal your watering practices is not sufficient. I read that you’re watering small amounts frequently. Rather than watering heavily infrequently which is the desired method. You would be much better off soaking the pots then letting them dry back till the pots are light weight to pick up. This could take the time between waterings up to as long as 2 weeks. I’ve done it, it works perfectly. Providing your soil already contains nutrients you shouldn’t need to add any till they start looking “hungry” (light green leaves) So my process would be to completely soak the pots when you expect to next have to give some water and leave them for at least 1 week. The roots should start to fill out the pots. Feel free to comment with any more questions. Good luck 👍

Listent to hashy on watering habits... these are standard plant-in-a-pot practices that also apply to marijuana. Esoteric watering procedures cause problems. Don't over think it. If you water at same loss of weight, it'll require the same volume of water -- learn that retroactively as opposed to a volume you choose to give. In a super soil so do your best to minimize runoff as you repeat the process... unless trying to change concentration of medium. For 42 days probably a little small. There's a lot of genetic diversity out there. Node spacing looks a bit tight at the top...raise the lights an inch or two or reduce power slightly. Looks like ~3 nodes tightly packed together (vertically). I think that's why it's a bit less perky than it should be (this could be related to watering habits, too) and along with watering habits, probably why they are a bit on small side. Hopefully nothing built up to high concentrations where the ebb and flow of moisture was occurring within the medium. Becareful of over-fertilizing in 'super soil' -- if it is a super soil shouldn't require a ton of supplementation. just react to leaf symptoms and you'll be fine on that.

Hey buddy! Don't stress too much. If they feel small for their age, it usually comes down to these 3 common bottlenecks: 1. Overwatering (The #1 Killer): If the medium is constantly wet, roots starve of oxygen, stop growing, and the plant stalls. Let the pot dry out before watering again. Roots need to "stretch" to find water! 🌊❌ 2. Root System Focus: Plants grow underground before they grow above ground. If you transplanted recently, they are just building roots right now. Once they hit the pot edges, top growth will explode. ? 3. Environment (VPD & Light): Low humidity (

Hi, 1st thing is the pots are small so that won't help. 2nd is your watering habits. Here is my watering habit for 12L pots, I water until I get runoff out of the bottom, to do this I water small amounts with a small break in between to let the water soak through the soil or coco. It usually takes between 3L-5L before the soil is fully wet. Then it can take from 3-6 days before the next watering. I wait for a good few CM of top soil to dry before next watering and when the pot is getting lighter. For you next step I'd transplant them into bigger pots and give them a proper watering. Wait for more responses before acting because other growers may see different problems.