Freakin' With The Freaker's Ball Seed Collective

Happy New Year Overgrow!!!

Welcome to the Freaker’s Ball Seed Collective, (FBSC).

Misson

The mission of the FBSC is the preservation of verified, authentic rare landrace/heirloom/hybrid cannabis genetics by mass replication and distribution to the OG community.

History

The FBSC was founded in August 2020 from a group of OG seed Freaks who pooled funds to purchase some Vietnamese Dalat, and Vietnamese Black seeds from Snowhigh Seeds. Due to the cost involved, those seeds came with numerous free packs, so it was decided to preserve those strains, and the FBSC was born to facilitate those preservations. John with Snowhigh has given us his permission to preserve any of his strains we have now, or come into possession of in the future. Thanks John. :slight_smile:

As the FBSC idea developed, several Freaks came forward who had amassed significant collections of Landrace genetics. Those collections include many threatened, and endangered strains that need to be preserved. These exceptionally freaky individuals have very generously donated them to the FBSC catalog. Currently the FBSC vault holds almost 180 strains. (See below for the current list)

FBSC Membership

This influx of genetics required a rethinking of FBSC membership requirements, and this was the solution arrived at. The original 20 people who purchased the Dalat/VB seeds will still receive a share of the seeds when the free Snowhigh packs are grown out.

Full membership in the FBSC will be by invitation only. A standing invitation is extended to all of the original 20 OGers who started this, provided they meet the requirements, and agree to the guidelines. In addition to the general guidelines, Freaks must also agree to the following:

Full open pollination utilizing all viable plants with no selections for phenotypical expression.

Agree to do at least 2 seed runs per year.

Exception Anyone who agrees to grow out a long-flowering strain, (16+ weeks), is exempted from this requirement for that year.

That being said, Full members get benefits. Freaks in good standing will receive a pack from every FBSC seed run, and priority choice from the vault. Full members can nominate new members, and have full voting rights.

PLEASE NOTE: These requirements only apply to those who want to be full members in the FBSC. You do NOT have to be a Freak to grow an FBSC strain.

Any member with either the Regular, or Regular Emeritus badges, OR any TL2 member who has been active on the site for at least 6 months, can apply to become an affiliated grower, and be allowed access to the FBSC vault.

Affiliated members are not held to the full OP requirement, nor are they on the hook to do 2 runs a year. The down side is that you will only get seeds from the run(s) you grow.

PLEASE NOTE: All holders of the Overgrower badge are automatically approved as affiliate growers should they wish to participate, provided they agree to the guidelines.

For TL2 members without the badges, and with less than six months on the site, you can still apply to be an affiliate grower, but there’s a 120 day probationary period. Probi growers are not allowed to choose strains from the Master list. You’ll be assigned a strain from a probi pool. The strains available in that pool will be whatever we have the most of.

The clock starts when the seeds arrive. The run must be completed during that 120 day time period, and you’ll need to be prepared to post a log of the grow.

When the member receives the Overgrower badge for a completed seed run, the probi period is over, and they are automatically promoted to a full affiliate with access to the strain list.

Given the number of strains we have to preserve, we need growers, so we don’t want to exclude anyone, or cause any hurt feelings. But the truth of it is some of the strains in the FBSC vault are extremely rare, and we have very limited stock.

The Freaks feel it’s a great honor to be entrusted with the responsibility of preserving these strains. We take that responsibility VERY seriously, and we feel it would be very poor stewardship indeed to send the only 10 seeds of a rare, or endangered strain to a grower who has only been a member for 1 month.

PLEASE NOTE: We had discussions with Team OG regarding the FBSC. They told us that, as long as we don’t violate any of OG’s rules, they neither have, nor want anything to do with internal groups formed by members. As a result, the FBSC is completely autonomous, and all of its decisions are final. We reserve the right to change these rules as needed, and to grant exceptions to them on a case-by-case basis, for any reason whatsoever.

ALL FBSC preservation runs must be conducted according to FBSC guidelines as listed below.

PLEASE NOTE: The FBSC reserves the right to modify these guidelines as needed.

FBSC Guidelines

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 seeds need to be up and growing.

Growers agree to halt all non-preservation pollination activities once the preservation run is placed into flower. Pollen chucks are encouraged, just no non-preservation males in flower 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.

If you are one of these individuals, please speak up. You’re just the kind of Freak we’re looking for. :grinning:

The FBSC utilizes an open pollination, (OP), methodology, utilizing all viable plants obtained from the available seeds, with no selections made for phenotypical expression. The preferred method is a full OP with the goal of producing as many seeds as possible. All male pollen is collected and fully applied to all females.

In some situations the preferred method isn’t a viable option. In those cases a limited OP is acceptable, (for affiliated growers only), with the goal of making between 1000-1500 seeds per run. As with the full OP, pollen is collected from all viable males and selectively applied to specific branches on all females.

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 will 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. In that event a reversal would be needed in order to preserve the female side of the genome until more seeds, or a suitable pollen donor became available.

Donations

The FBSC accepts donations of verifiable authentic pure landrace/heirloom strains. While our focus is on landrace preservation, we do love a good hybrid, :slight_smile: so we also accept donations of rare landrace/heirloom hybrids from verifiable sources. All donors will receive a breeders pack of their strain(s) when the runs are completed.

The FBSC Philosophy

The FBSC is rooted in the idea that weed is fun!! It’s fun to grow, it’s fun to share, and it’s really fun to consume, especially with a bunch of freaks. :grinning:

We want to share that fun, but we also want to be a positive force for the preservation/liberation of the cannabis genome for ourselves, and especially for future generations.

We believe that by reproducing and distributing these unique genetics to the community, the FBSC is achieving that goal, giving Weed Inc. a nice shot in the sack, and doing our bit to further OG’s mission to…

OVERGROW THE WORLD!!!

Click here for a musical summation of the FBSC philosophy. :grinning:

So, smear your body up with butter, and start freakin’ with the Freaker’s Ball Seed Collective!!

Current FBSC Preservation Runs

Snowhigh - Vietnamese Black
Snowhigh - Vietnamese Dalat
Snowhigh - Jamaican Blood Klot
Snowhigh - Tahoe Snow OG
World of Seeds - Afghan Kush
Snowhigh - Valkyrie

Edit: 01/05/2021 Updated Master Strain List (added new strains)
Edit: 01/07/2021 Updated Membership Section
Edit: 01/08/2021 Updated Master Strain List (added new strains)
Edit: 01/08/2021 Updated Master Strain List (built links to strain descriptions where available.)
Edit 03/05/2021 Moved the Strain List to Google Sheets.

130 Likes

Making it official :raised_hands:. Lessss goooooo! This will be a truly epic undertaking!

15 Likes

Excellent idea and plan. I’m interested. Now I need to post a full grow log. :beers:

13 Likes

All RIGHT!!!

This what OG is all about!!

:heart_eyes: :partying_face: :sunglasses: :smirk: :vulcan_salute:

You folks are kicking 2021 off in Grand Style!
…{and You had me with Dr. Hook!}…
I can’t hit 2x per year (not for a year or so) but I’m sure as hell with you!
Count on me for support and I’ll run some for ya! :+1:

Cheers
G

33 Likes

Read that post again. You don’t have to do 2 a year.

20 Likes

The strain list is beyond amazing :clap: :heart_eyes:

13 Likes

This is perfect a cannabis seed vault for preservation. Later down the line i would be honored to do a seed run for the freaks out there

14 Likes

@Guitarzan and all of you involved :clap: :clap: !!

Can’t wait until I can travel again and hunt down some more places to find some local seeds to send you guys!

I do have some Jamaican (10) left that’s my personal stash and some Cambodian (10) that’s also personal stash I could send.

21 Likes

Fantastic, I’m totally down to participate or just watch. Would love an invite, grow journals on reddit under substantial_manner69

12 Likes

I admire you guys for doing this - Have fun and overgrow the world!

11 Likes

I would love to be part of this. This is the greatest.i would be forever grateful for an invite

11 Likes

@Guitarzan this is an absolutely amazing idea…! im currently not growing till march/april time… where hopefully at that point i should have a few breeding rooms to play with… im more than happy to become a member and donate to this great cause…!

11 Likes

Sounds like a great idea and a hell of a list. So does a member then just look at the list amd claim a strain to run, and once it’s all ran, the seeds are distributed to the members? I guess this is similar to the OG co-op runs, the difference being the sign up lists are limited to members and there’s a big focus on heirlooms/landrace strains?

11 Likes

I’m pretty sure we have over a hundred and fifty strains to reproduce at the moment. And @TheCrueltyDesk will probably be adding his list too, which is pretty damn epic on its own. We are actively looking for people that are willing to reproduce these landraces and heirlooms before they are wiped off the face of the Earth forever, losing precious breeding material and cannabinoid profiles that may never be seen again. Time is of the essence. Hybridization is happening fast around the world. Places like Mexico, Jamaica, Thailand and Columbia have already seen massive hybridization efforts by the local Growers. So much hybridization in fact, that the local landrace varieties, particularly in Mexico and Jamaica, are nowhere to be found. Contamination happened so long ago that the young people from these countries think that what they are growing now is landrace material, when in fact, Western genetics crept in long ago, often as early as the 60’s. We are in a true race with time. And time is not on our side. Some of these landraces I have found took me 3 years or more to find. 3 years of looking nearly every day. When I say they are rare, I mean extremely.
Heirlooms are just as important, and are the Legacy of breeders from days gone by. Today’s heirlooms are tomorrow’s landraces…if we can save them.
Another Phenomenon with tropical varieties, is that their flowering times are being changed due to pressure from police and the need to produce more weed for an ever growing population on earth. The evolution of the Kerala landrace is a great example. It has gone from up to 26 weeks flowering( idukki gold) down to 14 weeks in some instances in the present.( sheelawhati).
With these reduced flowering times, comes a different effect. The new Kerala strains have much more body effect, with a more hybrid type High , where as the older ones like Idukki Gold and Kerala Chellakutti were purely an energetic head high with no body high at all. While it’s possible that this work has been done without the introduction of new genetics, the end result is the same.

39 Likes

What sort of protocols (for lack of a better word) should be followed for popping seed, vegging and flowering? I imagine these would be cultivar specific. Basically we are talking about open pollination.
Sorry, I’m looking at details and you are working the big picture.

Cheers
G

12 Likes

Read the FBSC Guidelines section in the main post. All the general pollination stuff is in there.

As far as germination goes, I don’t have an answer. I pop mine in paper towels, and have for years with very few issues. Others sow them in soil with the same results. John @ Snowhigh sent me his germination procedure. He sterilizes his seeds, then pasteurizes his soil to kill off any pathogens that might be in there.

The first time I read it I thought WTF? But after thinking it through, if you only have one shot to preserve a strain you want to create the best chance for the seeds to pop, so there may not be such a thing as overkill in that situation. I think it’s gonna depend on the strain, and the age of the seeds more than anything.

Here’s the doc John sent me. Germination Advice.pdf (92.9 KB)
:guitar:

29 Likes

Makes sense, thats standard hort practices for a lot of (non cannabis) production facilities. Only makes sense for high $$ seeds you want to give the best chance of survival

11 Likes

Hey great idea btw. My father wanted to know where you got the name “freakers ball” from. The first one in Omaha was in 72’.

11 Likes

Dr.Hook song

13 Likes

That is great!
I found something else but related:


This approach made lots of sense, especially after looking at the duds from my current project.
They were being coy about some ‘secret sauce’ so further digging turned up:
https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/m6899?lang=en&region=CA
There are some loose ends to work out but I think I can measurably ‘up’ the success rate on difficult seeds.

Cheers
G

15 Likes