HELP! EXTREMELY slow growth since germination resulting in the smallest flowering plant

[hnk]

I have been growing an autoflowering AK47 strain as one of my first grows. As a lack of experience all i can do is research and compare to others, it has been almost 5 weeks since germination and the plants look like they have only started the veg stage and have really small and thin leaves. I have used sandy soil found in my garden which has around 7 ph. I have also tried my best to stay away from adding nutrients till they look like they need it or are bigger, however with one of the plants i did use a little nutrients to see what would happen and almost instantly the leave tips were burnt.

The pictures outline the plant size and leaf color/size + showing that these small but old-ish plants are beginning to flower. I couldnt care less about whether the yield is gonna be shit or none at all. I really need help with understanding the lack of growth (with no obvious visual problems) of the plants and tiny size the leaves have grown to. I have grown another feminized GDP strain along with the AK's and due to photoperiod strain it hasnt started to flower but it still has sloooooooow growth.

As a new grower i also understand that i do not really know how much the plants should be growing but after 5 weeks it seems that it has only hit the size that you would expect in a 2-3 week old plant. I would appreciate any suggestions and help.

Also:
- lower leaves are yellow/pale
- I am very considerate with watering, I wait till top inch or two is fully dry before watering
- none of the plants have leaves wider than my finger (not sure if important)
- i have started transplanting the other plants into 10 gallon fabric pots with a purchased potting mix, a bit of compost and mycorrhizal. No noticeable increase in growth yet.Also the reason i have not already transplanted into a bigger pot is because i was planning to when the plants got to a reasonable size which i feel is still really small.
- temp has been between 17-28 celcius, humidity around 50% but changes
- grown outdoors

[Rwise]

Where to start, I dont recommend autos for a first time grow, because they have an internal clock that tells them when to do what, and if you miss it, well its stunted.
Water, lift the pots and water to 10% runoff when the pots get light. Always PH the water correct for the type of grow. In soil in flower 6.5 - 6.8. (no tool, get one)
PH, whats the PH of the soil, the water in/out?
I would also suggest having the soil tested at your local ag center (runs $10-20), tell them you grow hemp or tomatoes. They can tell you what to add to make it better, mine tested at 8.4 and they said add sulfur.
Wide leaves vs narrow leaves, or Indica vs Sativa, there the dif.
Lower leaves yellowing, they are eating them to overcome lockout from bad PH.

[hnk]

what PH test kit or tester can test water runoff? I have a soil test kit so i assume i should use a hydroponic test kit to test the runoff?

[RetiredGuy]

Too small a pot!

[Gingerbeard]

Chicken dinner for you, sir!