My first grow doesn't appear to be going so well

This is my first auto flower grow. I just posted in the sick plant section and found out my plant is suffering from a bit of PH issue. The PH issue combined with the heat issues early on in it's life and the fact that my exhaust fan has fallen onto the plant twice and kind of crushed it seems to have stunted its growth. I am just wondering if it looks okay for its age.

About:
Strain: It's an autoflower Fem. Advanced Biodiesel Mass.
Indoor grow.
Under 5 23 watt cfls.
Soil (FFOF) No nutrients added so far.
3 1/2 week old plant.
Watered with Distilled water only (Not PH tested).
The temps occasionally go into the mid 80's now, but used to go much higher when it was younger.

My biggest concern is that it hasn't shown sex yet and it's 23 days old

Also I forgot to mention I keep the lighting on 24/0 because it gets way too cold when they turn off... is this why the plant hasn't shown sex yet?

Never grown an auto... Wouldn't be worrying about it not showing sex yet, although would be expecting it very soon... Does sound like you had a lot of set backs in the beginning though! I think you should def be giving some dark hours... Think most people seem to agree that 18/6 is best for autos but have heard others claiming 20/4, as I have no experience with autos myself I can't really say, but would def be giving some hours of darkness! Also I would start on some light nutes. Get yourself a little heater for dark hours if you have problems with low temps.

Auto looks very healthy. She is still small and young, keep in mind they can take 12 weeks+ to finish. be patient and keep her green. good luck

O okay thanks for the replies.. I will look into a heater so I can give the plant some dark hours. I just hope it yields at least 15 grams... then it's not a total failure haha

It will show its sex soon and you should definitely give in some dark hours.. either 18/6 or 20/4. I'm new to autos as well but I've been doing a lot of reading. Also, keep in mind that the breeder always states the earliest possible flowering times and always under perfect conditions. I'll be growing HeavyWeight Fast and Vast this summer and the breed states 8 weeks from germination but from others grow journals they have been taking closer to 12-14 weeks. Sometimes longer. Just be patient, its looking pretty good.

Okay I am going to turn the lights off for the next four hours and see what the temps end up like... hopefully it doesn't drop below 65

halfnatural2 said:

Okay I am going to turn the lights off for the next four hours and see what the temps end up like... hopefully it doesn't drop below 65

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Keeping it 24 hours will outweigh any kind of cold stunting/stress. Going from 85 to 65 or below is deff. not good. Keep the lights on for now. Run a small space heater at 750w for 4 hours of darkness. It should only kick on a few times a hour to keep the temp around a 10-15 difference (85-70) day/night. not sure what your dimensions are...those heaters are found locally for 20$ made by utilitech and various brands. Keep the lights on for now, get the ph adjusted, worry about darkness later. Keep it green, good luck.

You caught me right before I flipped the lights haha I was kind of thinking the same thing but figured because no one else agreed with me I should just listen to the people who know better. I am thinking I should just fix the issues one at a time.

halfnatural2 said:

You caught me right before I flipped the lights haha I was kind of thinking the same thing but figured because no one else agreed with me I should just listen to the people who know better. I am thinking I should just fix the issues one at a time.

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yeah. one at a time - the less stress on the girls the better - just so you know fox farm is very acidic, it is peat moss based and it can run as low as 5.0 ph runoff out of the bag. The distilled water usually runs around 7.5 range so in a way the first watering were very beneficial in elevating the ph. get some viagrow ph liquid solution for 9.99 and a 9.99 ph meter off amazon. all I use is ph down, i have a bottle of ph up, but my nutes bring my water down to 6.5-6.8 which is where you want to be. Fox farm also lacks calcium and magnesium. pick up some unsulphured molasses for 5$ and add a tsp to a gallon of water every other watering(starting at week 5). Also adds good microbial activity. FFOF is great soil, just treat it right and it will do the same for you. Good luck

I actually ordered blackstrap molasses and Tiger Bloom off amazon yesterday should come tomorrow to put into my watering on friday. I'll definitely get a PH meter and PH up and down tomorrow. I am going to flush the plant and get the PH of the runoff and then feed it tiger bloom and molasses for the first time. I was thinking about ordering general Hydroponics ph up and down as well as the tester thing that comes with it... it's only 16.99 is it a worthwhile product?
http://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-GH1514-Control-Kit/dp/B000BNKWZY/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395881253&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=viagrow+ph

http://www.amazon.com/Etekcity®-PH-009-Quality-Digital-Pocket/dp/B00CH3QZSE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1395987116&sr=8-3&keywords=ph+meter

http://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-pH-Down-Oz/dp/B000FG0FA4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1395987263&sr=8-5&keywords=ph+down

I love that Ph Meter, it really works great. That link you posted will be just fine. Seems like you are on the right track. That Ph Pen will give you exact readings other than matching up colors. good luck.

85-65 would have no strain on your plant. Think about the genetics it takes to make an auto and where they come from. Low light a cold.

https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/333645-day-night-temperatures.html

You can have some drops in night/day time, but OP wasn't sure if it was going to get under 65 - under 60*F and you can stunt the plant easy. Also, out doors when the temp drops the ground is warm compared to soil getting cold in a 60*F room in a pot...etc...

Cannabis ruderalis*is a species of*Cannabis*originating in central*Russia. It flowers earlier than*C. indica*or*C. sativa, does not grow as tall, and can withstand much harsher climates than either of them. Wiki...
So being able to withstand "harsher" climate. Talking 40's and 50's. That's pretty much the soil temp of all mid/northeastern growers who start 4/20 outdoors.... So no, I don't think an auto that's had "Rud" crossed in the line would stunt in a room with a 60F temps.