I scrap a bit the stem, add aloe vera, keep only some small leaves so it has not to waste much energy to sustain them and in my case an air stone in the res. Great work so far … 
10 Likes
Ohh myyyy!!! Those are beautiful!
4 Likes
Well thanks MoBilly!
Glad to see ya ‘bud’ 
I guess I have been somewhat remiss in explaining what exactly I’m doing and why…
As you can see, they have been ‘manifolded’ to produce 8 main colas. It’s a bit more work (and a couple extra weeks) than just topping a couple times but the final structure lends itself well to selective pollination.
For selective pollination, I like bagging the plant and leaving one branch exposed at a time. I also like to leave a couple colas ‘Sensimilla’ for sampling… That also gives me a crosscheck for accidental transference. (Quality Control… ).
Cheers
G
15 Likes
One another front, the ‘undeclared’ plants all seem to be looking like ladies… too close to call right now… but soon…
Once I have a ‘handle’ on that I’ll open up the signup sheet… 
So folks… how many beans should I go for?? 
I’m listening 
Cheers
G
16 Likes
I’m always around lurking. lol
I just don’t post as much anymore. I quit my meds about six months ago and rely on my smoke to keep down the shaking hands. Typing is hard sometimes and using the phone is no bueno at all. I’ll find the right smoke though. That’s the search. 
Seed count:
Nothing less than four digits. lol
10 Likes
1 hundred millions beans 
12 Likes
I’m thinking ‘I’ll get run out of town’ if I show up with anything less than 3K. 
Lets see how the stretch goes… if the stars align and the cosmic energy flows…
maybe I’ll give Doug’s high score a trouncing 
Cheers
G
14 Likes
Better say “Sinsemilla” 
(without seed), I like that “sampling” 
excuse, sounds very professional … 
8 Likes
I’m with @Swe-can on this one 
Sky’s the limit, in all fairness I do like the idea of leaving a couple of tops seedless, for “sampling”
6 Likes
I have a theory that there is probably an optimal maximum quantity of seed that the plant can produce. Once past that point the seed quality will decline even though you have more quantity.
By hitting once with the pollen and leaving some seedless colas I hope to stay below that threshold.
On the other hand, if I have pollen stored and clones of the females I could really go nutz!
Cheers
G
14 Likes
Yeah, without stirring up the pot, I agree with a one time hit with the pollen. I never understood the wait a week and reapply technique.
Once you see the pistols receded it should be enough evidence that it was successful.
12 Likes
What to feed the seed plants seems like a “known unknown”. 
It strikes me that it would probably be different than a seedless flower run.
Maybe more like a modified veg?
Anybody have suggestions on that?
Cheers
G
9 Likes
I’ve read before that you should feed a well rounded supply of all elements of the NPK in equal amounts.
I use Maxibloom til the chop. And get nice sized beans everytime
14 Likes
The cull list
I’m getting some interesting variations in these plants. Although the basic leaf shape and plant structure is very similar, several are showing what appear to be deficiencies. Almost all of these are males (I think they want to grow tall and ‘do their thing’)
I plan on following BOGs protocol and go with 2 males and 3 females for my breeding pool.
Some early volunteers for culling:
MB1, male – poor branching
MB7, probably female – poor structure, poor branching
MB9, probably female – OK structure, poor branching, weakest
It looks like (I’m counting chickens before they hatch here) I have 3 females (MB4, BF1, BF2) and 5 males (MB2, MB3, MB5, MB6 & MB8).
MB2 is standing out as the best looking male.
MB6 Is a short boy (1 inch node separation) with great branching, I like the structure
MB1, MB5, MB8 are the ‘scruffiest’ of the remaining males and have now joined the ranks of “The dearly Departed”.
I’ll hang onto MB3 for the moment as a backup male.
MB7, MB9 are surplus females I will flower out.
This is preliminary.
Cheers
G
35 Likes
I have definitely ‘hit the wall’ with the new soil. They are hungry!
So for this batch, time to up-pot all of the alleged girls to the 5 gallon pots and flip to flower.
The jumbo 5.5s (the square pots) hold 100 cubic inches (almost 1/2 G)
Lessons learned (so far)
The soil for the first up-pot should have some blood meal added to the mix.
and/or
Plant a little micro clover cover crop as well.
Clover is interesting as a cover crop. They tell you that clover ‘fixes nitrogen’.
It does this in root nodules where symbiotic bacteria converts the atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into ammonia (NH3). Each one of those nodules is a little ammonia fertilizer factory. They also tell you that when the plant dies the fixed nitrogen is released into the soil.
That’s all true… but it isn’t the whole picture…
Ammonia is a tough molecule to hang on to. It is polar and has a boiling point of about -30C.
So guess what? …Those root nodules leak… and all those little leaks add up… Enough to send your plant into nitrogen toxicity if you have a solid and mature cover crop, so less is more…
I’m annoyed with myself that I didn’t do this 2 weeks ago, but I see little green bits poking through the soil. They won’t be doing anything useful for a couple weeks yet so they will need some supplements.
Time to stop typing, get off my lazy ass and start up-potting. 
Then you’ll get some pictures…
Cheers
G
29 Likes
Very interesting indeed! I’ve done it both ways where I planted my cover crop too early and had a small forrest to contend with and then too late where I definitely wasn’t getting the benefits I thought I was. I’ve read that a seeded plant likes more veg style nutes as assposed to bloom nutes. Still learning myself… Switching over to soil has been a bit of a learning curve and I decided to add seed making to the list so I have a log of notes going. Thanks for the clover lesson.
Looking forward to pics!
11 Likes
OK, well that made short work of 25 gallons of soil!
Root balls are looking ‘solid’ …
Critical plus wins. These explain why they are hungry.
32 Likes
and finally the group shot
Well, that filled up the tent… 
I did get 3 successful clones from the tops, two males and the Critical plus. I’ll flower out the males if there’s any interest in the pollen.
Cheers
G
37 Likes
The first time I did clover, I planted it too early, I planted too much and I was fighting nitrogen toxicity… It was a fine mess. 
I stayed away from it on the next grow and I was fighting deficiencies, nitrogen being one of them…
The problem I find with soil is you need a larger container size to pull off a great grow.
3 gallon pots don’t cut it unless the plants are fast. They really like 7 gallons but you run through a lot of soil.
My problem is recycling, I think I have a solution but I haven’t proven it yet.
I think a nitrogen fixing cover crop is a powerful tool for organic soil growers, but as with any tool, you need finesse and timing… I’m still working on that.
Cheers
G
20 Likes
So, for someone who is preparing to start cover cropping, what are some ideas regarding timing and quantity to avoid that N tox and reap the most benefits?
9 Likes