Random Thoughts: Plants & Genetics

[Jackalope]

It is still early on for any major claims. This last harvest has got to end up my best yet. No plant has yet to come in under a ounce and a half. The largest so far is T2 and 2.5 oz. It looks like I am where I thought I should be. Looks like temps were holding me back. Something I will remember. I sat at 1 to 1.5 oz per plant for a long time.

You would think this would make me really happy. Nope. That just means I should have caught what was wrong long before this. Plus now that what I am doing is working. I am creating a place where more problems could arise. I was close to having to much going on in the 60 x 60 tent.

I also need to look into better support systems for some plants. The SSH might create problems when they are in full flower. The tall Liberty Haze plant is falling over because my supports are not tall enough.

Veg tent is filling up nicely. Looks like they will be ready to move to the big tent when it is empty. I am a couple of weeks off on my timing. No more than 3 which is a surprise. I thought I was off by more LOL. The SSH will be up potted and put into flower a couple of weeks before everything else. The longer flower time is only part of the reason. Mostly I want the males to be putting out pollen when I need them too. Growth rate, stretch, and a few other things make this work for this strain. I may loose a little production but at least I know they will not out grow my space.

 

[Jackalope]

I may not have been paying as much attention to my plants as I say I do. Something got by me! Out of the Choccrit hybrid I made. I had not found any that really showed the Critical side of the genetics. The growth structure seemed to be from the Critical but that was all. No massive amounts of trichomes like Critical. (My Critical looks like a white strain.) Well low and behold look what showed up in the Timber LED tent. (I didn't post a pic so you can't look LMAO Just a saying.) The small Choccrit not only has more trichomes than the similar plant grown under the 1000 watt light. It looks like it is going to produce more too. Smell has changed with just a hint of fruit left. I had to clean my scissors 3 times for one plant. That's a lot. It was rather leafy which tends to gum up the scissors faster as you trim them all to length. The smells and the look have me chomping at the bit to try this one.

The first Choccrit is dried and I have been smoking it. Good weed but not great. Lots of head and less of the hybrid type high I was looking for. It has a mix of pine and fruit in the flavor. The last 2 pheno's are going to be nothing like it. One is a whole lot frostier the other is the real intense head high one I tried a couple weeks ago. I don't know what it turned into with all cloudy trichomes.

So far the smallest plant was 1.5 oz. I don't see that changing to much with the plants that are left. That would make the smallest plant twice as big as the smallest from last grow. I had a couple plants come in between 3/4 and 1 oz last run. As you can guess this makes me very happy..... While there are a couple plants left. Mostly this whole grow went off in 4 months. I am pretty happy with what I got for time spent.

Not sure if I have mentioned this before but I hate Ghost Train Haze. They are growing like a Bag seed sativa. I can only hope the buds well and fill in some of this space. Just because they grow ugly doesn't mean they will end up that way. I will also be putting them into flower first chance I get. Pretty damn happy with everything else.

 

[Dankman_420]

Sucks to hear that about the GTH. Everyone raves about how strong it is. I almost got a pack of those recently. I really like Rare Dankness. I am waiting for a pack of there dark shadow haze, grape ape x Neville's

 

[Jackalope]

We still have to wait and see about it once it is in flower. I have been wrong lots of times with plants before. While there seems to be a few basic plants structures. There are a few that just do their own thing and end up doing pretty good. Hell even if it grows weird. The Chance insane THC % is still there.

I have 2 other Rare Dankness strains. Cookie Ox and Karma Bitch. The Karma Bitch really interest me. I am not a huge fan of Train Wreck's high. I did like the mix with the Ghost Og. Considering the fact I bought D.J. Shorts Flo to just to breed to it means the Ghost Train Haze still isn't right LOL. With Karma Bitch he used Neville's Wreck and a different Og.

 

[Jackalope]

Trimming is coming right along. It sucked having to do 2 critical hybrids back to back. I have a third to do today LMAO. These hybrids have tons of curled up frosty leaf tips that need to be trimmed down. I mentioned one of the Choccrit was this way. Early on these 2 strains looked similar. I thought that had changed, at least till it came till trimming them lol. I was right, they were both a pain in the ass to trim.

I have played with putting plants in the dark for a couple days before trimming. It seemed to work but what it showed was it didn't hurt. Since the first time, I have found more opportunities to do it. 2 of the plants I did this year seemed really gooey when trimming. Because of this I have been trying to pull plants from the lights 2 days early this run. At least with a few. I am down to only 5 plants left. I shut the lights down last night to let the last few bask in the darkness. Trichomes are all cloudy and these plants are ready to go. I don't think doing this will make a strain stronger than it should be. It might give the plants a little more time to push out the last bit of resin into the trichomes. Like I mentioned I am pretty sure this doesn't hurt Not that it works LMAO.

All else is going good here. Looking to add some mobility to my ice fishing. A used machine is what my budget says I should buy. Of course I don't think I am going to do the smart thing. Side by side ATV are F**king expensive these days. I did manage to find a couple with small motors that no one wants these days. It is the smallest side by side they make lol. The fact that all these are is just toys . I find it hard to buy used and then depend on it to get me home in the middle of the winter. People abuse the hell out of these things because they were made to be used that way. So new is the smart bet with a ATV. Still looking and deciding. The 2 top contenders are the Honda pioneer 500 and the Polaris ranger 500.

 

[Jackalope]

Today I want to spend a little time talking about the highs from this years harvest. It is easier for me to tell the difference in the highs themselves than I am about how strong they are. They get em high so they can't suck LOL.

T2 is the hardest one so far. It reacts well to other strains. What you smoke before or after it kind of changes T2 effects. My biggest wonder is what it does to your vision. I have heard of visual strains before. I always though this meant visual like with hallucinogenics. That would be some strong ass shit there lol. Now I am wonder if this is what they mean by visual. T2 really messes with your vision. How is hard to explain. It is a combination of this and the really spacey high that take this strain from morning weed to something else. I found a new kid that is friends with my stepdaughter to test my weed for me. I need to get some of this to him. He smokes lots of different weeds from dispensaries so he has a good base to judge them. It is all going to be third person info but my daughter will know the right questions to ask.

Choccrit is a success. It is stronger than the Chocoloco that is for sure. The highs so far range from daytime sativa to a more rounded hybrid high. Still nothing had the strength or type of high that the Critical had. It is fun to smoke and that was what I was shooting for. Terpene profiles are better as each of these has a nice pronounced smell and flavor. I don't know if I got the answer's I was looking for but this hybrid taught me a lot. The one thing I do know. The combination of Choccrit and T2 is incredible. It doesn't matter which one comes first. I have tried it both ways so far. I smoke multiple strains all day long. Looks like even if I don't had 1 certain strain that gives me this effect. I can still get my brain to there LMAO.

Bubblicious is a indica for sure. It has done a fare job as night time weed. I say fare because while it does shut down the body and make you tired. It does not shut off the brain. this weed is a nap killer lol. You just lay there and your mind goes where it wants LMAO. No big deal as my daytime naps are more to rest the muscles and nerves in my back more than sleep itself. Night time it does a little better. The bigger later flowering plant may be totally different.

Peyote Critical has not impressed me yet. One plant is still left to try. It is not that it is not strong. Plants are covered in frost. The high itself is what is lacking. Pretty basic stone/high to it. I was also hoping for more flavor. It is still way early to talk flavor as nothing has had time to cure. Still if it was going to be something impressive I would have a hint of that by now. Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with this strain. It just does not impress my spoiled palate. I can be pretty picky when it comes to highs I like.

Lots of stuff still to try. The strongest Choccrit and Liberty Haze have not even been trimmed yet. Those 2 and the large Bubblicious should end up being the strongest.

Blueberry Headband pretty much went unnoticed this whole grow. I hate the plant structure of this strain. This pheno does not have the huge trichomes you see in lots of hybrids these days. That doesn't mean anything. Lots of old school strains had this type of trichome coverage. It is not how big the trichomes are it is what is in them. There are tons of trichomes they are just shorter than normal. It was gooey as hell to trim that is for sure. No idea how this one will come out. While growing this plant it smelled mostly of black licorice. While trimming the fuel smell of the Headband started coming out. This one is going to have flavor as it should, how strong the high is? We will have to wait and see.

 

[Jackalope]

I forgot to mention. I lost the CBD effect the Chocoloco had in the Choccrit hybrid. I don't know if it is gone or if the THC has just over powered it. Not really a big deal. I wasn't breeding for it anyway. I just liked the added tingle the CBD had in Chocoloco. I really need to watch this strain as go on. There may be a high CBD pheno in here somewhere. I normally try a bud early on with lots of plants. I am going to have to test each of these before harvest so I have a chance to regenerate anything that is really impressive. To bad I can do it this time I really like the look of the last Choccrit plant.

Regeneration is going to be a major player starting next week. I don't have the means to save a bunch of clones and still breed and grow. I will be able to clone certain projects which is another reason I can't save unknown clones. I want to always have a place for special somethings along the way. I really can't wait to take my breeding to the next level. I am really happy with what I have done so far. There is just so many more places I will be able to go once I am set up the way I want to be.

I do have some really great looking plants this grow. One more run at random breeding. The Super Silver Haze is everything I had hoped it would was going to be. If I get more than one male I am pretty positive the outcome will be at least as good and mostly likely better than previous projects. I have impressive plants showing up in all strains. Strawberry Lemonade, Bag of Oranges, Banana Sorbet all have great looking pheno's. I will probably hit the Clown Royal to try for a upgraded Blue Dream. If I go that far I might as well just hit Cataract Kush too LMAO. Everything is only going to get a branch pollinated. Even as careful as I plan to be there are still going to be some volunteers. These are going to end up as freebies. My choices of plants is still going to be random. I may hit every Banana Sorbet just because of the possibilities. That will be the only strain I do multiple plants. There will be enough random seeds that I will probably find a seed or 2 in the best plants. Even if they were not the ones pollinated. That is how I ended up with T2. I decided not to make the hybrid when I did everything else. Stupid me LOL. The plants knew better than I did and covered for me LOL.

 

[Jackalope]

Bumping up the wattage today. The plan to flower everything under 600 watts has changed. The 1000 worked so well last time I am going to continue using it in the 60 x 60 tent. I still want to see what the 600 watt light will do so it will be used in the back up tent. Mostly this is because of warmth. Not much heat makes it to the plant room in the winter. The 1000 watt light helps keep the tent in the high 70'and low 80's during daytime.

Temps seem to be the only thing the HID lights have to offer anymore LOL. I don't need them for production from what I found from my experiment. The Timber grow tent had 2 plants in it that averaged the same weight as the HID tent. That's with a 10th of the power to do it. Phenotype might be all that was different. As of now out of the 2 bushy Choccrit they both produced around 2 oz. The one from the LED tent seems stronger but I am sure that part is a phenotype thing.

I won't really know how the Bubblicious did for a couple more days. The plant in the Timber tent finished at 1.5 oz. The plant in the HID tent was a monster. It might double the amount of production. It also has a sweeter smell the Timber plant didn't have. I know for sure these are different pheno's so there is no use comparing. All in all the Cob LED test went really well.

The really good part of the LED tent was the fact that I had a single light to test. What this 1 100 watt light did was nothing less than amazing. If I had been able to use the bigger light I wouldn't have been able to see just how powerful they are. Now I need to see about how to best utilize them along with all my other lights. Head space is a bit more of a issue with these lights. There is going to be a learning curve of when to put plants into flower.

The lack of head space seems to be made up for in the fact that plants stretched so much less than the HID plants did. Problem for me. Shorter plants need a wider footprint to grow than the taller plants I normally grow. I can fit 3 HID plants in the same space as 2 LED plants. I don't know that I can make up for a whole plant. Places were plant counts are in play the Timber lights would be a better option it looks like.

 

[Dankman_420]

Good morning Jack. LED lights are taking over it seems. I've just got another set of R spec QB's for my short flower tent. My 1k hps is back in storage. The R spec seems to shorten flower time by a week also. I'm sold on the LEDs unless it's heat I need at the moment

 

[Jackalope]

That is how I am see it. I don't know that my HID light will make it to storage quite yet. In time I will for sure. Pretty sure the HID lights will come in handy when I am old and broke and the LED's have finally crapped out. Price is still a major issue with them. I am sure I can get them built cheaper so that is a option.

I kind of agree on the time it takes them to mature. I think mine were faster but there is no way to be sure if they are not clones.

When you talk about the R spec. Does that mean they just have more red for flower? I thought of ordering one of my light set ups to be for just flower. Ended up going with the 3500k for all my lights. I would rather have the versatility of them. If my 1000 HPS can do everything then so can the LED's LOL.

 

[Dankman_420]

The R spec has some far red spectrum LEDs in the mix. Stop by and get a peak. I posted some pics. I've ran my 24k under both hps and LEDs. That's how I know about the faster finish times. I read it before and didn't believe it till I saw it myself. That's partially why I bought a second R spec fixture. Saves lots of dough on monthly electric bill. I think it's going to pay for itself over time

 

[Dankman_420]

I've also ran the 24k under 4k LEDs. Under the 4k's the plants were a lot more leafy. But had good frost and slightly better sweetness. Seemed to pull out the tangie side a little bit better. I really didn't like the extra trimming from the excess leafs. I'm always experimenting with stuff. I'm just not the best at documenting it. Lol

 

[Jackalope]

Both things I noticed about the LED tent. I figured that the shorter stature was the reason for all the extra leaves. I used the 3500K. I am not sure if there are more leaves or that they are just closer together. Either way trimming is harder with a LED plant. I did feel that the LED tent matured a little faster also.

In the end I would rather have lights that can do everything. I think companies like Timber could make a better flower light if they mixed in the 4K lights with others on the same rack. Alternate 3500k and 4000k. I know they are mixing the colors in each light to make the K factor. I just feel a whole lamp doing its own thing along side another lamp doing its own thing might create a better working combination.

 

[Jackalope]

Plants are all trimmed. Time for the fun part . I also got the tent cleaned and all plants moved to the big tent. They will get to adjust a few days then re-potting starts again.

With the way things are growing. It looks like I am going to have both single stalked plants and bushy ones. All plants were super cropped and bent or topped. So nothing will be a single stalk. The topped plants are not going to be very bushy. Most will just have 4 tops rather than 1.

The stretch indica seems to be showing its head in the Clown Royal. Still trying to figure out what that really means LMAO. I think it means these are going to be tall ass plants LOL. They keep shooting up. Looks like I am going to have a lot of back row plants. I hope I have enough back row LMAO. The outer edge in the 48" x 48" tent can still get pretty close to the lights. The 60 x 60 is going to have to handle most of the really tall plants.

The sick Bag of Oranges has finally come around. That was a long recovery from who knows what. I treated with Cal/Mag but there is lots of other stuff in it that helps plants. That is the main reason I use the Lilly Miller B-1 plant starter. I actually had to treat that plant twice. This plant had the same thing I have run across before. I always saw them as problem plants and normally gave up on them after the first treatment failed. That is the reason to start with more plants then you plan to finish. You can weed out anything that is not doing well. This is the first time I have treated a plant twice. I guess I may need to spend a little more time with some of these sick plants. I only had 3 BOO plants so I really wanted to save this one. To start I had 1 great plant. 1 that had problems that got better with the first treatment and the final sick plant. I have had bad luck with orange strains and wanted to keep as many as I could. All 3 plants are doing good now. In fact everything seems to be doing ok.

 

[Dankman_420]

Jack please post some pics of the clown royal. I'm sitting on a pack of those. How's your day going so far

 

[Jackalope]

I'm great! No trimming today LMAO. I am getting ready to start pictures going again soon. I can't see this being a bad strain. At the minimum, you should get at least some good Blueberry plants. The Glueberry I grew from Sensi seeds or Dutch Passion. Was really nice smoke. I know they didn't use a F-5 Blueberry to make it so this one should be better just on that fact.

That brings up something that bums me out. The Flo I got to breed to Ghost Train Haze is not Flo. It said Flo F-5 I knew they had brought Blueberry to the F-5 level. I thought they meant that they had did the same thing with Flo. I should have read more LOL. Now I can't get Flo from James Bean Company. Damn it!!!!! Still Flo x Blueberry F-5 sounds like a good strain

 

[Dankman_420]

Flo is a classic. Smoked some years ago. It crossed with BB would be a solid strain. I'm surprised JD short hasn't done it yet. DJ's son with second generation genetics. I think I saw Flo listed under that breeder recently

 

[Jackalope]

I will probably find some. I am going to put JBC on the job soon. I can search else where but I am pretty sure he can get me some in time. He carries both father and sons genetics. If for some reason he can't get it I may have to search else where. I am trying to keep my money in the states these days for genetics.

 

[Jackalope]

I am soon to have lots of Flo Pretty sure too much Flo could be a problem LMAO. I said f**k it and went on a search and found some Flo seeds. Then I got a message from JBC that D.J. Short was working on his F-5 strain & hybrids of it and not going to be recreating the older genetics. Said he did find a old pack laying around that he would include as a freebie for my next order. I REALLY wasn't planning on having a new order LOL.

The only reason I wanted Flo was for a hybrid with Ghost Train Haze. I still plan to do that with Flo as the male. I needed to find something to order and Rare Dankness Flo Og caught my eye. They crossed Flo with RD #1 which is Ghost Train Haze I do believe. It is the opposite of what I would make. I might as well look at their work first. I need to find something to order so it filled the bill. I also found some new Dynasty genetics that might be different. I am at the stage. If I wanted it I have it so there wasn't much I wanted. Still the order got me a second full package of Flo.

The most interesting idea I have is a hybrid of C-99 x Flo. I have never heard of it and kind of wonder why. Both strains are really fast flowering for sativas. Both can be harvested in 6 to 7 weeks. They are also totally different sativa's. I like the growth structure of Cinderella 99 a lot more than anything made by D.J.Short. His genetics have to many leaves lol. So the plan should be to pollinate it with the Flo. It would probably be easier to pick a good male from C-99 so I will need to think it out some. We will see.

 

[Jackalope]

I figured out my problem with the soil and I was right. It was all me. First I mixed to much perlite/vermiculite in the soil. Plus while I was making sure they were fully watered I created the second problem. I was close to repot and so I did it early and took a look. Everything has been up-potted to 2 and 3 gallon pots.

What I figured out. While I was letting plants dry out completely. I was still over watering. Always before when plant was dry to the wilting point. I would flush plenty of water through it to be sure it was all wet. This soil holds moisture so much better than the bark based stuff I have been using. What was happening was after the plants had been watered I topped them off and let that drain through. Before doing this would still pull air down into the soil as it drained. That was with bark based soil. Now that last watering is pushing out all the air and replacing it with water. It seems I am not getting enough air down to the roots. Basically smothering them.

I re-potted everything. And watered everything in. The ones that needed water got fully watered. The others still got watered in but only around the edges. I wanted them to have some water. Now I am going to let everything be for a few days. Fishing derby this weekend so it works perfectly. I am going to need to water differently from now on. I mixed new soil into the mix I made. I hope I fixed it enough. I do think watering slower now will help a lot too.