Happy Holidays Overgrow!!!
Welcome to the Freaker’s Ball Seed Collective 2022.
Our first year was successful, but chaotic. In no small part because I set it up when there were only 20 some odd Snowhigh strains, but The Great Landrace Rush of 2020 upended that, and what I came up with was unnecessarily convoluted, and confusing. However, we were paying attention, and we did learn some things over this last year, so in the spirit of keeping what works and dumping the rest, here’s the 2022 version of the, “How To Be A Freaker Handbook.” 
FBSC Membership Requirements
The original membership requirements were a cluster so, the affiliates, the probation runs, how long you’ve been a member, all that is gone. Starting in 2022, you only need one thing to be eligible for the Freaker’s Ball. You must have the “Overgrower” badge before you can be a Freak.
You get the Overgrower badge by completing at least one (1) Co-Op seed run according to the guidelines they’ve developed for strain selection, number of seeds, and so on. Once that run is finished, you’re eligible to become a Freak.
PLEASE NOTE: The 20 members who contributed funds to the original group purchase are exempt from any growing requirements for those strains only. After that, they’re subject to the same requirements as everyone else.
It was decided that requiring the Overgrower badge was a good way to help address concerns raised by some members. It also let’s us know you’re serious about being an OGer, and it lets us get a look at your grow and check out your skills.
I think it was a great idea, and I wish I could say I thought of it, but I can’t, so how about a big round of applause for @Upstate!!
The other big change is the number of runs required. Starting next year, you’re only required to do one run to be eligible to get seeds from all the Freaker’s runs. However, we wanted to encourage people to more than one run, and to run the pure landrace strains. We decided to do that by seed count.
There are 4 possibilities, and the seed count is listed for each.
PLEASE NOTE: This applies to all Freaker’s runs completed in 2022.
- Members who participated in a buy, but are NOT doing any runs: One (1) 10 pack
- Freaker’s who do one (1) run: One (1) 25 pack
- Freaker’s who do multiple runs: One (1) 50 pack
- Freaker’s who do multiple runs, one being a pure landrace/heirloom: One (1) 100 pack
We had 41 Freaks this year, and it looks like we’ll only have 14 runs for the entire year, two Freaks accounted for 4 of those runs, and all 4 were 16-24 week strains. Now, The Landrace Whisperer and The Notorious YBD are NOT your everyday Freaks, so nobody will be expected to go that hard. Except for them, of course.
To discourage that in 2022, there’s this. If you sign up, and complete your one (1) run, you’re automatically in for the following year. If you sign up, and don’t complete at your one (1) run, you can’t sign up the next year. If you sign up again, and don’t finish the run, you’re 86’d for good.
If God throws a tree at your house and smashes your grow, we’re gonna blame Her, not you. But, “I just didn’t get around to it because I had other shit going on”, isn’t gonna cut it.
FBSC 2022 Grower Protocols
I think this part probably hacked everybody off the worst, and I wanted to try and lay out the reasons for these protocols being here.
My goal has always been the preservation of these strains. IMO, it takes 3 things to make a successful preservation.
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Maximizing the genetic potential in the next generation. Seed are like snowflakes. If you can bring me two seeds that are genetically identical, I’ll eat your hat. So, if you have a 10 pack, and you only drop 7 seeds, you’ve reduced the genetic potential in the offspring by 30%. Same thing with culling runts. Every one you cull represents a reduction in the genetic potential of the next generation. That’s the reason for Protocol #1
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Ensuring a “clean” reproduction with no cross-contamination. Unless you’ve got a separate area for pollination, if you’ve got pollen flying from multiple males, you are going to get some cross-pollination. Simply put, we owe a clean reproduction to the people we send seeds to. That’s why Protocol #2 is in place.
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Maximizing seed production. Last year there was accommodation made to allow for a limited open pollination. That was where the affiliate program came from. You could be an affiliate, and do one limited OP run. The affiliate program is gone, so the limited OP option is gone too. That’s the trade-off to only having to do one run per year, and the reason for Protocol #3.
2022 FBSC SEED RUN PROTOCOLS
ALL FBSC Preservation Projects must be conducted according to FBSC protocols, as listed below.
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For 10 packs or fewer, the entire pack must be planted prior to any pollination activities. They do not have to be planted all together, in fact a staggered germination is a good idea, but before they’re put into flower, all viable plants need to be mature enough to flower properly.
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Growers agree to halt all non-preservation pollination activities once the preservation run is placed into flower. Pollen chucks are encouraged, but please, no non-preservation males flowering during the run.
EXCEPTION: If you have a separate breeding area, that’s completely isolated from your flowering area, this doesn’t apply to you.
PLEASE NOTE: We take “completely isolated” to mean no shared air flow of any kind between those environments. If you have such a setup, you’re aware of the precautions needed when moving between rooms.
- The FBSC utilizes a full open pollination, (OP), methodology, utilizing all viable plants obtained from the available seeds. All male pollen is collected, mixed, and fully applied to all branches on all females. No selections should be made solely for phenotypical expression.
EXCEPTION: Unless it’s reasonably certain the situation was caused by stress, any plant(s) that show intersex traits should be chopped, or moved to an isolated area ASAP.
A Word About Fems
Generally speaking, only verified authentic strains of regular M/F seeds are eligible for FBSC preservation runs, and the FBSC only distributes regular M/F seeds. Selfed, or feminized seeds are not eligible for FBSC runs, and no selfed seeds should be made during the initial preservation run.
EXCEPTION: If no viable males are produced from the seeds we have, and we are unable to locate more seeds or pollen, then a reversal would be needed in order to preserve the female side of the genome until more seeds, or a suitable pollen donor become available.
Donations
The FBSC accepts donations of pure landrace/heirloom strains from verifiable sources. While our focus is on landrace preservation, we do love a good hybrid, 
so we also accept donations of rare landrace/heirloom hybrids from verifiable sources. All donors will receive a Freaker’s pack of their strain(s) when the runs are completed.
The FBSC Philosophy
Weed is fun!! It’s fun to grow, and it’s really fun to consume, especially with a bunch of freaks.
Our goal is to keep the fun alive for future heads, so we’re very serious about preserving the diversity of the cannabis genome. By reproducing and distributing these unique genetics to the OG community, we believe we’re working towards those goals, and, at the same time, doing our bit to…
OVERGROW THE WORLD!!!
Click here to get the Freaker’s Ball vibe.
We’re not doing the poll this year, We’re gonna do a signup sheet, but it’s not a wiki. I only put 30 spots down, but the list will be open until 12/31, and if I need to add more spots, I will. The people already on it are current Freaks who have done/are doing a run, and are automatically in.
If you want to join the FBSC in 2022, just post to this thread, and I’ll add your name to the list.
Just don’t forget to bring your whips.
Fun song though, I’ve never heard that one before.
