Cam's first grow Mess-up HELP!! URGENT!

Hey everyone... So I fucked up my grow. It was going *SO* well too... I had some perfect plants! But then... Well the other day I was held up somewhere and had a few problems and was unable to water my babies. So when I went to check on them, practly all my plants had brown withered-dried leaves (except on the bottom). AH! I saw this a freaked out completely! I didn't know what to do! My brother told me to prune... so I did. I cut off all the dead leaves... leaving only around 7 living leaves on each plant! ... the rest is stem and branches... they're still growing new leaves and stuff so the plants are still alive and growing, but I don't know what todo? I'm keeping them in veg, just to give them some time to settle and stuff, ya know? What do you suggest I do for my plants? Is it a loss? I don't think I need pictures for this post, just picture a cannabis plant without leaves and lots of stems and what is what I have (remember there are a few tward the bottom that are still green). Should I continue to feed my plants ferts? Do you think I should do a week of 24/0 light to g et my plants growing? Or what? WHAT DO I DOOO AHH!

One more question... could I possibly (maybe not now but in the future...) trick my plants into showing me their sex by switching the lights to 12/12, but then switch them back into 18/6 once you find out the sex? Would the results of this be?

i heard our plants need at least 50% of leaves to stay alive ...

Wish i could help ya more ... :( ... WHY ... WHY!?!?!?!

lack of water wouldn't do that unless you were gone for a long long time...what would do that I would think is either lite too hot or too close...death by too much ferts...imho
take your choice...if you have nothing to lose let'em veg...later

At this point all you can do is water and hope for the best.

I would stay at 18/6.

Only time will tell.

No ferts.

Just water and light.

As for you sexing question, yes, you can do that....but many people say it turns plants hermie....though I have never seen or done this myself.

Another way is to brush some pollen on one stem...light it for 12/12 and when her 12 of lights is up, cover the stem with a thick black paper bag. WITH A FAN ON IT.

Or, clip a clone, root it and sex it. :)

Sorry to hear about your disaster....

Never met a great grower who didnt ahve a few of them :)

Disasters teach us good lessons.

Because......success leaves clues :)

I just cover 1 lower branch and flower it and leave the rest of the plant alone.
A long time ago I fried my plants w/ pesticide because the soil I was useing was from my yard and didn't drain well at all.It lived and pretty much all that was left was the new secondary growth,it lived but then I killed it(Too much strees)