Yes, I think it’s time. These seeds aren’t getting any younger and neither am I. Always good to know there is a backup too.
13 Likes
I’m still shucking seeds from my Mazandaran run, 3 plants to go. Maybe I’ll have them plucked and counted by next week? We’ll see…
7 Likes
Thank You Buds , @ShivamGrover , @Upstate , Many thanks , my grow off , offers, off to you Two for straightening out , indica for Pakistan ,India and Sativas tropical …
And here I was looking for Sativas all over , like 70s ,seventies ,Mexican Acapulco columbian , alot of troops weed thcv heavy duty high , …
I Have all collection mostly Sativa , No OGers let me know you are seed savers to grow the world ,thanks for Sharing , …
I’m In Tropical Florida , high fives Buds…
5 Likes
Hello everybody. 
Since there’s been some questions about the current guidelines for the Freaker’s Ball, I’m posting this update. Significant changes have taken place since we started The Ball, and I haven’t kept this current.
So here you go!! 
Welcome to the 2023 edition of The Freaker’s Handbook!
This is the third year for the Freaker’s Ball, and we’re still going!! My hope is that this year will be the best one so far. The 2023 version of “The Freaker’s Handbook", has some rather significant structural tweaks. We also (finally), have a defined process for shipping and distribution.
As most of you know, I’ve been hesitant to be the “leader” of the Freaker’s Ball. In fact, about one month in, I was gonna bail. Some other Freaks talked me off the ledge, and we were able to get it going. I have reasons for that hesitancy, but every group needs a leader, so I’ve decided to embrace the madness. If there are problems/issues, I’ll handle them. If decisions need to be made, I’ll make them. I’m not gonna make a big change without running it by everyone, but, going forward, the duck stops here.
I won’t lie, this is the “structural tweak” that most concerns me. My free-wheeling attitude has just a teeny little bit of Stalin mixed in with it, and he just looooves authoritah. The problem is, if he gets any, he has to be watched, other wise he’ll start rounding up dissidents. So, if things start feeling too dictatorial, keep it to yourself, or it’s off to the Gulag!!! 
Seriously, please mention it to me if too much of an “off with his head” vibe starts happening. If you can find a picture of a dick with the red circle and the slash, you can probably just DM me that. I’m fairly sharp, I’ll get it.
There has always been a ban on sales, but it never made it to the handbook, so we had a couple of violations that I take responsibility for. To prevent that happening again, this is Rule #1.
RULE #1
There are to be NO sales of the pure preservation seeds. Taking Freaker’s seeds, doing another OP, and selling the results, violates this rule. If you want to take your seeds, make some selections, and work the line, the results belong to you, to do with as you please. Same with any crosses you make.
Breaking this rule results in the immediate expulsion of the offender. Any seeds that person has coming to them are forfeit, and there is no appeal.
Violations
There is a problem with the sales ban though. Several Freaks have told me they’ve found Freaker’s seeds for sale on other sites, but didn’t want to be a “snitch”, by telling anyone who they were. That’s gonna have to change. The sales ban only works if there’s enforcement. Right now, if you sell seeds, even if another Freak finds out about it, you’re still good. That’s not how you discourage someone from selling seeds.
I’ve spent time in jail because of rats, so this is no small thing for me, but the reality is that cops aren’t gonna kick anyone’s door in, and shoot their dog over this. The only thing that’ll happen is you’re just out of the Freaker’s Ball.
So, here’s how we’re gonna handle it. If anyone finds, what they believe to be Freaker’s seeds for sale somewhere, they’ll bring their evidence to me, and I’ll follow up on it. No one but me will know who provided the information.There will be no public mention of it unless it results in a ban. Then I’ll inform everyone about it. I don’t like that we have to do this, but, if we don’t, there’s absolutely no point to Rule #1.
FBSC Membership Requirements:
In the past, we’ve had a singup sheet. Now new members have to “sponsored” by a current Freak. Any Freak can nominate someone for membership. My goal is for every Freak to also have the “Overgrower” badge. You get the Overgrower badge by doing a run, and distributing the seeds on OG, either by doing your own giveaway, or by posting a signup sheet, and sending seeds to the Co-Op. In either case, once you’ve sent out seeds, you just send me a link to the giveaway/signup thread, and I’ll see that you get your badge. In the past, you had to have the badge to join. I’m pulling the plug on that one, but my goal is for every Freak to have that badge. I like what it says about us as a group.
PLEASE NOTE: All Freaker’s runs are automatically approved by the Co-Op action group for inclusion in the Co-Op boxes, so we don’t have to go through the approval process.
If you’ve already done a run, and sent seeds out on OG, and you DON’T have the badge, send me the link to your thread.
Strain Selection
We basically use the same criteria as the Co-Op, however, there are a couple of distinctions. A lot of what we run comes from private collectors, and there’s no “chain of custody” for those. As a result, we may not know what Fgen they are, or who the riginal breeder is, so we don’t get too bent over those kinds of things.
We’ll also run strains that are still in production, BUT those seeds can only be sent to the Freaker’s Ball. None of those seeds can go to the Co-Op.
Seed Allocation:
We initially tried allocating seeds based on variables like, how many runs you did that year, what strains you ran, etc. It turns out that’s a nightmare, so we’re not doing that anymore. You only have to do one run to be eligible to get seeds.
That being said, this is NOT the Co-Op!! If you don’t do a run, you do not get seeds. Now, if God decides to cut off your power during an ice storm, and all the plants die, we’re gonna blame Her for that, not you. But, “I just didn’t get around to it because I had other shit going on, I’ll do 2 next year”, isn’t gonna cut it. We all make sacrifices to grow this plant, this is just one more.
EXCEPTIONS: I reserve the right to waive this rule if circumstances warrant.
PLEASE NOTE: Any Freaks who contribute funds to group purchases are exempt from any growing requirements for the strains that were part of that group buy ONLY. After that, they’re subject to the same requirements as everyone else.
Shipping
We’ve never really had an organized shipping protocol. @YoBigDaddy, has been herding those cats since 2021, and it’s far more difficult than it has to be.
Starting this year, we’ll be sending out 2 mailings per year, one in March, one in October. (Those dates are up for debate, but one box every 6 months is the plan.) There are 2 requirements that every Freak is gonna have to meet.
- No one receives any seeds until the seeds from their run are in YBD’s possession.
In the past, if you had a run in progress, we’ve been going ahead and treating it like a completed run, and sending out seeds. Unfortunately, that hasn’t worked out too well. We’ve had multiple instances of people starting a run, getting seeds from completed runs, and never coming through with seeds. This is meant to end that problem.
We’ve been counting runs in the year they started, now runs will be counted in the year they complete. You can start your 2024 run today if you want to, but starting a run in Nov. in the hopes of getting seeds that same year isn’t gonna fly anymore.
- No seeds will be sent to anyone until their shipping fees are in YBD’s hand, or they have made arrangements with him in advance.* There are no exceptions to this one. A handful of people have been funding the bulk of the shipping for everyone, and that’s no longer acceptable. I’m estimating $10 per mailing, or $20 a year.
We’re exploring the possibility of auctioning off some Freaker’s Boxes, and diverting our share of the loot to YDB to cover shipping. If that happens, then this is a moot point. Time will tell.
Grow Logs
I’d put a log requirement into the first Freaker’s Handbook. Then I remembered how much I hate doing grow logs, so it just sort of disappeared. But, I’ve had a few Freaks ask me why we aren’t doing them, so it’s back. A couple or three posts during veg, and maybe a once a week update during flower should suffice. If you’re uneasy about posting your grow in a public thread, you can post it in the private Freaker’s thread.
The Seed Split
This is an ongoing issue for me. I’ve changed this every year, and I’m still not satisfied with it. Mainly because I don’t like rules, and have little experience with them. The issue is what to do with the excess seeds from the runs.
Last year the idea was that the grower would keep all the excess seeds. That didn’t fly too well with me. If I buy a $300 pack of seeds, and you run them, I get 100 seeds, and you get thousands? Mot gonna do it, wouldn’t be prudent. I came up with a solution, and, after going back and looking, I actually like it better than anything else I’ve come up with.
So, here’s the deal: if you’re doing a Freaker’s run, you’re on the hook for a Freaker’s pack for each eligible Freak. Freaker’s pack are 100 seeds, so 100 x the number of eligible Freaks, will tell you how many seeds you’re required to make if you want your run to count. I also encourage everyone to set aside between 1000-1500 seeds to send out in the Co-Op boxes, but that is NOT mandatory.
Excess Seeds
We define excess as all seeds left over after all the Freaker’s packs are covered, and the Co-Op seeds, if applicable.
The way this will work is the person who bought the seeds will decide, before they send out the seeds, how the excess will be handled. For myself, it’s a 50/50 split with the grower.
PLEASE NOTE If you’re running a strain that you bought yourself, this doesn’t apply.
FBSC Grower Protocols:
I can’t see these ever changing.
The goal is the preservation of these strains. IMO, it takes 4 things to make a successful preservation.
- Maximizing the genetic potential in the next generation. The plants gene pool is what we’re trying to preserve. Seeds are like snowflakes. If you can bring me two seeds from a regular M/F pairing, 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 seeds by 30%. Same thing with culling plants. Every one you cull represents a reduction in the genetic potential of the next generation. Basically, if it starts flowering, it stays.
EXCEPTION: Any plant(s) that show intersex traits should be chopped, or moved to an isolated area ASAP.
- Ensuring a “clean” reproduction with no cross-contamination. If you’ve got pollen flying from multiple males, you are going to have cross-pollination. We owe a clean reproduction to every person we send seeds to.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have a separate breeding area, by which we mean areas that have no “shared air flow” between them, this doesn’t apply to you.
- Maximizing seed production. The FBSC utilizes a full open pollination, (OP), methodology, utilizing all viable plants obtained from the available seeds. Male pollen is fully applied to all branches on all females.
- Distributing the seeds to as many people as possible. If we’re just making seeds for ourselves, and sticking them in the seed fridge, we aren’t preserving anything. That’s why I encourage Co-Op participation. It’s easier/cheaper for us to send seeds that way.
To ensure that those goals are met, we have these:
FBSC Run Protocols:
ALL FBSC Preservation Projects must be conducted according to FBSC protocols as listed below.
- 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 all viable plants need to be mature before they’re put into flower.
- 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.
- No plants should be culled based solely on phenotypical expression. That means if the runt flowers, it’s part of the run.
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.
PLEASE NOTE: 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.
We don’t want to discourage people from joining, so if you see something, and your first thought is, “why that motherfucker!”, don’t just walk away, post your concerns in this thread, or shoot me a DM, and we’ll see if we can find a compromise.
Vive Le Freak!! 
44 Likes
I’m of the understanding that the Overgrower badge is given only for CO-OP runs. At least that’s what I read a couple weeks back. @Northern_Loki , @DougDawson , would you guys elaborate on this please?
3 Likes
I know at one point, any OG seed run would qualify you, but it may have changed.
4 Likes
So would these be freebies in Co-op boxes or are they meant to be paid for like a normal run?
4 Likes
The Overgrower badge is gained for a successful CO-OP run. A successful run is considered the point at which the co-op team has received seeds. That’s the general guideline. Individuals completing such a run should ping the moderators.
11 Likes
I’m a long ways out from ballin’ with the Freaks, but following you with admiration and interest. At the risk of getting waaaay ahead of myself… how many eligible Freaks are there, typically? (Apologies if this info is somewhere else in the thread—I searched and couldn’t find it.)
5 Likes
Worked for me! Made request after Jalisco was distributed and boom!! I’m an “overgrower”. 
Thanks for all your hard work, guidance and general all round awesomeness @Guitarzan !
13 Likes
How’d they do? Any pictures?
4 Likes
Any regular member of OG qualifies. We capped it at 50 members I think, but we’ve typically had 15 or so each year. Take the plunge! Join the Freakers😁
8 Likes
I appreciate the invitation! Will definitely circle back once I’ve been around for six months and meet the first eligibility requirement
3 Likes
If you want to pass out extra seeds to the coop, have a sign up and send the seeds in.
6 Likes
I think once I finish my first long flower run depending on success I believe I’ll be dropping my application in the group.lol. I haven’t even finished yet but I feel a bit of addiction of landrace/heirloom setting in. Thanks @Guitarzan for manning the ship on this important undertaking. You have been more than generous imo. Swazipulco running now!
8 Likes
Yup, in my general grow log thread
5 Likes
I’ll be doing the same after my next co-op run with the Yogi F2 to F3 project 
6 Likes
They aren’t freebies. They’re the same as any other Co-Op seeds. I think it’s $2 per strain plus the shipping. A great deal if you ask me. 
12 Likes
Same for me. I got my badge once my co-op seeds were confirmed to be in Sebrings hands. Can’t say how it worked prior to that but that’s how it was for me.
I must admit the whole freakers concept intrigues me. I am heading into another BOG co-op run but still have a great appreciation for what the freakers do. I may have to do a run down the road if I am welcome.
11 Likes
If? What do you mean “if”? You’re absolutely welcome Doug. You’re already pretty freaky man.
12 Likes