The Backstory: Creating Frankie S1 Seeds
Johnnypotseed’s comment above regarding the provenance of my Feminized Frankenstein S1 seeds, is completely correct. He has only confirmed the identity or provenance of the Frankenstein clones I received and worked to produce these seeds, NOT the seeds themselves.
That was sloppy language on my part but it helpfully reminded me that it is my responsibility to document the piece of “Provenance” that created these seeds from the tiny cuts he provided.
Below you’ll find a quick overview of the steps I took to make these seeds in the first place. I’d like to be clear that none of these steps are difficult, anyone can do what I describe below. This is just how it unfolded for me.
This story begins last March, 2022 with a visit to Frankenstein’s creator. Here are some snippets of the correspondence and the F2F meeting that left me in possession of original Frankenstein cuts.
Greetings JP,
My wife, and I have been on the road since Christmas and we are ending our journey in the Hill Country of Tejas. We will be heading home after a little sampling of their wine country produce.
Our route home brings within shouting distance of your address in Oklahoma and I’m wondering if you’d mind us stopping by for a short visit? We will be coming through Tulsa on the afternoon of Sunday, 6 March…
We could also conclude some business. I believe you are still holding onto the StopLight seeds I bought at your Christmas Sale. I could pick those up and I’d also love to purchase Two Frankie cuts if available. I’m itching to grow your creation…
We discussed the options for transporting unrooted cuts from Oklahoma to my home in Cape Cod, MA. JP pointed out that it might be difficult to keep the cuts happy for the rest of our trip home, but I thought it was worth a shot
Afternoon JP,
We’re camped in Wichita Falls, enjoying this beautiful afternoon.
We’ll try to show up at 1:00pm tomorrow for a visit. I’d like to buy those two cuts and contribute another $20 on a selection of seeds you think I should try. I trust your judgement on strains…
We had an great visit with JP & and his lovely wife and transacted the business at hand. We parted with a handshake and a “Bro Hug.”
Once we were back on the road I thanked them for their hospitality.
You folks have lived an extraordinary life and we enjoyed hearing some of it first hand. I only wish I’d taken a picture you two looking so beautiful together. Honestly, after 40 years together it’s hard to imagine it otherwise isn’t it?
Frankenstein Cuts March 2022: As received from their creator’s hands
I’m going to skip ahead a bit because the headaches and setbacks and learning curve of turning those tiny cuts into viable plants was chaotic and annoying. This stage also involved another OG friend, who prefers not to be mentioned publicly. He received cuts from my cuts and we both struggled to keep them alive. Nuff said on that.
The outcome however was positive, resulting in my grow room hosting three healthy Frankenstein clones reporting for breeding duty. One of these was dedicated to be grown for bud, another for our S1 seeds, and the third to be reversed for feminized pollen.
The Three Sisters
The “Sisters.” The Non-Frankie plant in the pic is Orange Grove x GG4RIL courtesy of @Floyd, a Fantastic plant to grow and smoke!
Reversed Frankie before & after an application of STS
There’s a trick or two involved in reversing Frankenstein. As JP has stated elsewhere, she is pretty determined to be Female! I’m not confident enough yet in my technique to post it here.
Suffice it to say that I used commercial STS spray and it took a little experimenting to get it right.
Pistils AND Balls! A successful reversal
About three weeks after the final STS application we had solid results and quantities of feminized Frankenstein pollen.
Hot Date in the “Love Shack”
Apologies for the crappy pic. Inexplicably, this is the only one I have! I don’t even know HOW to take an out of focus pic with an iPhone! They lived together in a 2’x2’ cabinet for a week.
The small, pollen laden male was hoisted up and shaken over the Frankie female daily. First thing every morning, then a quick shower afterwards to deactivate the pollen on my face and arms!
Frankenstein for Seed
Here’s the “Seed Mom” right after pollination and when she was bulking up with juicy buds AND ripening seeds.
Same plant a few weeks later, fat with near-harvest THC grease and ripening seeds.
Closeup of a fat seed pod.
From One Come Many
This is the very first seed I plucked from the Seed Mother. Since the Love Shack session lasted a week it wasn’t clear when to start counting the weeks for full seed maturity. I sampled one seed a day until I was sure.
Pop Quiz: First one to guess the exact tally of Feminized Frankenstein S1 seeds in my harvest is eligible for a bean.
I started picking seeds on 10 November and finished a few weeks later. It gets easier as the plant dries out. Turns out that seeds Frankie bud is loaded with trichomes. The trim smokes fine and made a QWET tincture that was too strong for comfort!
Frankie’s First Daughter Sees Daylight
The germination test was spooky. What if they didn’t sprout and the whole thing was a waste of time??? Happily the very first seed literally jumped out of her shell.
Mother and Child Reunion
My first Frankie Seedling poking her head up while one of the Mother clones looks down on her fondly.
Postscript, Frankie for Bud
Meanwhile, that third frankenstein, plant, the one grown for bud, was thriving in a micro octpot and stacking up some tasty bud. Six jars worth dried and cured!
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