New auto grower. Going into flower before growing big
Hey everyone! I have a question pertaining to my autoflowers. I have been growing for the past 3-4 summers, but this is my first time attempting autos so I am not familiar with their behavior beyond what I’ve read.
A little background… I have 4 autos overall, but 3 strains. The 3 auto strains I’m growing are purple lemonade (x2), northern lights, and purple punch (all from fast buds). They began to sprout the first/second week of April, and I put them outside into their 7 gallon fabric pots on April 24. I know we had a weirdly cold/rainy spring season, so I’m not sure if that would affect it.
Fast forward about 3 weeks to today, and it appears that 3 out of the 4 autos (purple lemonade x2 & purple punch) have already transitioned to flower (pictures included - in order: purple lemonade, purple lemonade, purple punch, northern lights). Super cool and all, but they have barely grown. I’m worried that I will get an inconsequential amount of bud from them, and this was a wasted effort/learning experience lol.
I just want to confirm with the pictures that is what is happening, and seek some general advice regarding autos. I know they’re more finicky. I feed them about half of what I feed my photoperiods, and I put the autos in their finish pots straight from sprout. That’s about the extent of my knowledge lol. I also know they’re operate on a time schedule not a light schedule.
Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems really early to be transitioning to flower. Assuming I am wrong, and they’re operating normally, what can I do to encourage bigger growth before flower? They’ve been in 7 gallon pots for 3 weeks, with nutrients and consistent watering. Not sure if I did something wrong or not lol, but any help is greatly appreciated!