Autoflowers won't grow!

[Jsick098]

I've had these 3 gorrilah glue autoflowering fast buds going in my grow tent for about 3-4 weeks now. I am sort of new to growing and I was just wondering if there's something I'm doing wrong .
Im using Pro-mix soil
Been using a constant ph level of around 6.1-6.4 each time I water.
I have not used ANY nutrients thus far
My grow tent stays at a temperature of around 74-88 degrees high end when lights on, low end when light is off.
I use a 600 watt MH bulb, i also have a 600 watt hps bulb they supplied but I read MH is better for veg.
Humidity stays between 40-50% for most of the time.
I have a fan blowing, fresh air coming into the tent, carbon filter all that good stuff.
So my next question is how come these ladies won't get taller? I keep the light a little over 2 feet above plant to try and stretch them a little bit but not even that's working.
These seeds are supposed to be a few weeks from flowering and they are clearly too small to get any yield what so ever.
Had great reviews for the seeds I ordered so I'm convinced its something I'm doing.

 

[TorturedSoul]

ProMix "soil" - as in their vegetable & herb product that has (some) fertilizer already added to it? Or one of their other products that cannabis growers usually choose when using that brand?

Because at least most of their products aren't soil, they're soilless. If I remember correctly, the last bale of ProMix HP I looked at stated right on the bag that it was essential to begin fertilization within seven days of planting. I'd go real easy on the nutrients with seedlings, of course. But even babies need to eat, lol.

 

[Jsick098]

ProMix "soil" - as in their vegetable & herb product that has (some) fertilizer already added to it? Or one of their other products that cannabis growers usually choose when using that brand?

Because at least most of their products aren't soil, they're soilless. If I remember correctly, the last bale of ProMix HP I looked at stated right on the bag that it was essential to begin fertilization within seven days of planting. I'd go real easy on the nutrients with seedlings, of course. But even babies need to eat, lol.

PRO-MIX Soil 4910381 BX Mycorrhizae General Purpose Growing Medium

 

[Blew Hiller]

PRO-MIX Soil 4910381 BX Mycorrhizae General Purpose Growing Medium

Oops... Chalk this one up to experience. That is peat moss with essentially NO nutrients...you have effectively starved your plants. You could try to transplant them into a pot of decent soil (like Fox Farm or similar), but since they are autos you have already started their internal clock and, like you said, they won't yield much.

 

[TorturedSoul]

I'm not really a fan of peat-based media in general, so my experience with them is limited (and in the past). But lots of people use that brand, with decent results.

I had a glance at the website. It appears to have some unknown quantity and ratio of a "starter nutrient" that can last up to a one to two weeks. But I read that it should be used within eight to nine months of the date of packaging (which should be on the bag) in the warmer months because, among other things, "Microbes in the growing media can potentially consume the fertilizer charge, especially nitrogen and iron. This may explain why crops planted in aged growing media get off to a slower start. These processes occur more rapidly with hot storage temperatures than with cold." And something about the microbes also consuming the wetting agent.

This kind of stuff was originally intended primarily for commercial nursery/greenhouse businesses, places that have thousands of plants for sale to home gardeners and such. Those people tend to have bulk nutrient tanks, mixing valves, and irrigation systems. Therefore, any nutrients present are likely to be at such a low level that they won't combine with whatever the nursery uses and burn the plants (IMHO).

I'm thinking that a dose of mild nutrients would help a LOT. I wouldn't worry about the fact that they're auto-flowers; their age has essentially been "frozen" (for practical purposes). Again, mild nutrients. Maybe 1/8th strength when the soil is dry enough to water.

The above is my opinion, of course. I suppose there could be some other cause for your issue. I just couldn't begin to guess what it might be.

 

[Blew Hiller]

I wouldn't worry about the fact that they're auto-flowers; their age has essentially been "frozen" (for practical purposes).

For once TS...I must disagree. The clock for autos begins ticking when they pop....

Can never hurt to try, but keep expectations real....

 

[Jsick098]

So using this pro mix do you suggest adding nutrients right off the bat after they pop through for next time?

 

[Jsick098]

Weird thing is I started a gelato.g regular feminized seed in the same pro mix and it grew very quickly. Within 3-4 weeks was a foot tall

 

[Blew Hiller]

So using this pro mix do you suggest adding nutrients right off the bat after they pop through for next time?

Pro-Mix is used many ways...some use it as a coir-like medium and they control the nutrient input. I use organic soil and use Pro-Mix as one of many inputs...it is useful because it retains moisture and lightens nutrient dense inputs like vermicompost. So, to answer your question, you will need to add something to the next grow using this product....whether it is nutrient rich soil or nutrients in a bottle.

 

[Dwight Monk]

Weird thing is I started a gelato.g regular feminized seed in the same pro mix and it grew very quickly. Within 3-4 weeks was a foot tall

May be the seeds then and/or weak genetics if a different strain/type worked that much different in the same medium.

 

[Blew Hiller]

Weird thing is I started a gelato.g regular feminized seed in the same pro mix and it grew very quickly. Within 3-4 weeks was a foot tall

Chalk that up to good genetics...that same plant in decent soil would have been 2ft+...

 

[TorturedSoul]

For once TS...I must disagree. The clock for autos begins ticking when they pop....

Can never hurt to try, but keep expectations real....

Well, you've probably grown more than I have. That's an assumption on my part, of course - but I haven't grown all that many.

On the other hand, last year about this time, I had one that had already begun flowering in earnest... that I dropped and broke off immediately above the first set of leaves. So I pitched it. Then I dug it out of the trash a day or two later, brushed the coffee grounds off of it ( ), and stuck it back under lights. It grew back. I cannot say whether or not this affected its... theoretical maximum, because I was doing a bit of a low-light pop bottle SOG experiment and it only produced something like ten or eleven grams - but that was about average for the other plants (and they hadn't had a guillotine experience ) .

So... You may well be correct. Probably are correct, lol. But if those are the only plants that the OP has, and it was me, I wouldn't throw them away. I might start some others to go along with them, though, just in case.

I just remembered that someone has (or at least had) a thread going in which they successfully revegged an auto-flowering plant; they "reset the clock," so to speak. And I saw where somebody had planted the bits that he'd trimmed off of a couple autos. They didn't get as large as their "mother," but they looked all right (was a SOG type grow, so they were basically filler around the perimeter).

BtW, I don't mind when people disagree with me. At least if they do so because of their experiences (or even just because they've thought about it and it turns out that they have a differing opinion) . I like a debate - and there's a good chance that I'll get schooled and, therefore, learn something.

Weird thing is I started a gelato.g regular feminized seed in the same pro mix and it grew very quickly. Within 3-4 weeks was a foot tall

That is a weird thing. It's... One of those "things that make you go, 'huh,' " as they say. Did you thoroughly mix the bag of ProMix when you opened it?

 

[Jsick098]

Really appreciate your guys help. Everything makes sense you are saying. Salute

 

[Blew Hiller]

But if those are the only plants that the OP has, and it was me, I wouldn't throw them away.

100% agree...not advocating aborting, just noting that 3-4 weeks in and still on first node....not gonna be a banner crop.

I have successfully topped and transplanted autos...they continue to grow on same flowering schedule as mother...by the time they root you end up with a 5-8 gram single bud plant!

 

[Blew Hiller]

Really appreciate your guys help. Everything makes sense you are saying. Salute

I always learn the most from my failures!

 

[TorturedSoul]

I always learn the most from my failures!

I once heard someone reply (when I said something of the sort to him) that he preferred to learn from others' failures.

Really appreciate your guys help. Everything makes sense you are saying. Salute

That's what folks do around here, mostly. Or try, at least. If we cannot help others, what's the point of existing being here? It's just kind of problematic when a person has an issue that is probably something simple and obvious (see: Occam's razor) - but is not guaranteed to be. Still and all, I hope you figure it out and things improve.

 

[Blew Hiller]

I once heard someone reply (when I said something of the sort to him) that he preferred to learn from others' failures.

The more it hurts the better you remember it...

 

[TorturedSoul]

Ah. What doesn't kill you...

...sure enough hurts.

.