Autoflower root issues

And as for the side argument.....!!!.... I'm deffo of belief transplanting dont harm shit if done careful & right.

And especially so for seedlings - in my experience they can take quite a battering & still be fine - pretty much unless roots badly tear or main stem snaps then they're back to thriving within a day. I've had 4 seedlings at 12 days old fall off top of a 7ft wardrobe & all barely seemed to even notice it! About a days disruption Max! And regular transplanting I find no real delay tbh.

Adult plants, and basically anything over 2 months old is a bit of a different story and for sure they don't seem to take abuse as well. But if ur very careful & gentle then 3 or 4 days non growth is about worse I've ever found.

in our humble opinion soaking seeds in papertowels is very old school. back then you couldn't get fresh seeds. now a days most seeds you order are very fresh. Good soil/medium, moist not soaking wet and in the seed goes. within 3-4 days we have a spout poking through. we track our germination rate close to 98%. yes, we had some duds. A greenhouse lemon and a giga-bud were the only two that didn't go for us out of 6 grows. we do three plants, twice a year.

transplanting autos can cause them to stress and possibly hermie, so transplanting is best done before they start to show flowers/bloom.