no rocks in the bottom. It's not good for the roots.

plain potting soil, no added perlite needed. Quality soil is lots better, Fox Farms Ocean Forest.

Espoma is a great organic line of products found at Ace Hardware and many others. Plant-Tone, Flower-Tone or Rose-Tone are good general purpose nutrients.

Screw Superthrive, you don't need that.

I like short plants but I also like a long veg so I start topping at the third node ( sometimes just a couple of inches tall) and often top at least twice. Early topping lets the plant branch out nicely and keeps it relatively short.

Supercropping can be done to any and every branch, If you'd like. I just use that method to bend over the top branches if they start to stretch too much.