2yrs ago, I used STS on 2 White Widow Autos, and it was very successful. I probably collected 700-800 seeds. Many of those have been sent to some fellow OGers.
This year, I grew a few plants that I wanted to get some seeds from, so I purchased some STS from Amazon, because I was unsure if the components I had were still viable.
The STS from Amazon worked perfectly. I sprayed selective branches on each plant, and tagged those branches with ribbon to keep track. I sprayed a total of 3 times, 1wk apart, just as the plants were going into flower.
The approach was very successful, with each of those branches producing nice pods of pollen sacks.
HOWEVER…(here comes the butt-monkey),
The problem is that the growing season up here is so short on the flowering side, the plants don’t produce pollen in time to self-pollenate. We’re fast approaching Oct 1st, and the pods haven’t quite opened yet. So the chances of self-pollenation with enough time left for the seed production/maturation are pretty slim.
For an outdoor grow, it doesn’t really matter how soon you start them indoors, it’s all about when they go into flower, and how much time is left.
So 4 or 5 successful reversals, and all I can do is hope to save some pollen for next year.
Meanwhile, I continue to be amazed at how many Hemp Borers I’m finding. With major stands of “bamboo” surrounding me, I will definitely have to resort to spraying BT several times next year.
Thank you kindly @Lobstah ! I should preface that I am a friend of the owner whom works offshore for differing time periods in the marine service industry, and his woman who is the “saleswoman”. I live an hour twenty minutes north and my main function is to do the grunt work when he is away, the "trouble shooting"when things go wrong as they always do, make bubble hash for hand rolled balls and rosin for “market” for a “share”, These folks are Alaskan transplants and my buddy has been growing cannabis 40 years religiously starting as a wayward teen. This year we got a late start however made up for it in volume, with lots of left over clones going in the dirt and most the cultivars are clones from Alaska and Colorado and they both are mid 50’S and I am in my 60’s.
This is my 5th year working for them strictly part time and I am, and always will be the “student”. I am actually a “seed” guy, limited small scale outdoor experienced and bought my first tent ever this year so I can play at home with an interest in the older cultivars and those new that are “fire”. I am not into the “retail” they do all that. I just like the “effects” and next year they are going to run some of the cultivars I have sourced and much love going out to @Cannabiscrusader and @JohnnyPotseed and the family on OG that supply some of JP’S seeds!
Fond memories of being stationed in Alaska in the 70’s…and the ever popular Matanuska Red.
The Matanuska River Valley had the most fertile soil in North America at the time.
Getting plenty cool at night now…calling for upper 30s next week. Between those temps and the bud rot that’s started to show up, along with the borers, I’m calling it quits for this season. I plan to cut everything this weekend.
All in all not too bad of a year, in spite of the pests. Fun growing new strains…now it’s time to the sticky work
How do you folks go about your trimming duties? I like to wet-trim as much as possible. I stand with a branch resting on my deck rail and just turn it, starting at the bottom I cut all the fan/sugar leaves, and anything else that’s sort of standing out from the buds, all the way up the branch. Leaves almost no trimming at all once it’s dried. I think it helps with the drying, because you’re not dealing with all of the moisture given off by the rest of the foliage, and it seems easier to trim this way vs. waiting until after the dry.
I’ve been running a loop in a neighboring town while one of my kids has an activity and I keep smelling herb when I run by this one particular spot. Always brings me a bit of a laugh as I pass by. I don’t know why it took me so long to notice but the last time I went by I realized there are huge plants growing up above a tall fence.
If I’m there in the next few days I’ll take a picture, but I imagine they probably took them down over the weekend what with the rain we had coming.
Was low 30s here overnight. Lows will be a bit warmer for the next week, but still upper 30s/lower 40s. I’m thinking everyone’s plants are pretty much done at this point.
My cousin, next door, 78, says early snow this year. Not sure where he’s getting that from, brown bands on caterpillers?..puffins left early? No clue, but he says snow here in October. That’d be a change, for sure. Earlyest I’ve seen in the 7 years we’ve been here was Nov 4th, 8inches.
Nothing to do now buy keep trimming, watch for the first snow, get the snowblower moved and ready, and keep counting down to Seed Popping Day.
All my stuff came down last week. Rot on everything except the black triangle and cloaked aurora. I lost a lot of plants this season, but also narrowed my list considerably.
Hard frost here overnight. It’s up to 35deg now, and foggy,
Sorry to hear about your rot @Cannabiscrusader, I had more than usual, but still salvaged a fair amount. It’s not until you trim that you become aware of the scope of the damage. That was also true of the Hemp Borer damage. Plants that I thought had 3-4 of them had more like 30.
As my buddy Cowboy Chuck says: “Every day’s a school day.”
My friends farm is abiut an hour and half from me and I go down a couple times a week. We had 44 plants at one time and left over clones 2-3 ft tall got added as time flew by, not sure what the total headcount was. I make rosin and bubble hash from popcorn and overflow. My other function is hole digger, fertilizer man, leaf puller, harvester, troubleshooter when the owner is away and other wise all around anything needing care Im on it. It was a great year for us, only two plants in the hoop house are still in the works, these princes vortex (sativa) clones from Alaska.
Blessings to all~!
