I haven’t updated this thread since 11/18/18. I’m trying very hard to eliminate my awful state of mind. If anyone is curious as to what has kept me away, take a look at this post:
A lot has happened, grow related, during this time. I took photos of everything I worked on, but didn’t bother to give them appropriate names, so it is taking me quite a bit of time to catch up on my threads.
I completed my XJ Medley grow. I’m not sure how, but I managed to focus enough to finish it up. Not everything I did during this time worked out so well.
When I last posted about @99PerCent XJ Medley seeds I received from @Jellypowered , I had just taken the 2 females, P120 and P124, I had mistaken as males, and put them in main Flowering room with P119 and P127.
I destroyed male P126 after a week had passed since the other 4 males (P121, P122, P123, P125) had started dropping pollen. It was the runt of the XJM seeds and its flowers matured very slowly.
I kept and used male plants P121, P122, P123, P125.
Since I had 4 males to harvest pollen from, I collected pollen sacks and buds that were swollen with pollen only. That and pollen as it fell from its flower. Each plant’s pollen was collected on a separate black paper plate, then transferred to a seal-able 5ml amber glass jar and marked with the plant’s designation.
The following image is typical of what the plates looked like after collection:
This pic shows all the collection plates when completed.
As one might expect, P120 and P124 never got very big, hard for that to happen when I had removed all the veg growth leaves by 11-15.
I pollinated each plant with the pollen from each of the 4 males. This was more of a practice exercise than a necessity.
Notice that I isolated each branch I pollinated. I also used a string tag to mark hich plant the pollen came from. The plants that I pollinated the lowest branches on needed only to isolate from the branches above. The branches that were not all the way at the bottom, I used a plate above and one under to keep the pollen on the branch I was working with.
119 and 127, the 2 tall plants, I pollinated branches near the top of the plant. I could use plates to isolate 2 branches directly across the plant from each other. The branches between them left no room for plates, so I drilled a 3/8 hole in the center of plastic cups and cut them down the side so I could “open” the cup and surround the branch with it. I really liked this manner of pollinating because it isolated the branches better. I will continue to use this method in the future. I bought some 28oz plastic cups to use the next time.
Here is a group of photos that show what the plants looked like approximately 3/4 way through flowering:
I harvested partials of P119 and P127 because they had been pollinated closer to the finish date than P120 and P124. I harvested the seedless portions first to give the seeds more time to mature. P120 and P124 got harvested all at once. My before trim image of P124 turned out poorly, so I only have after trim images of that plant.
To harvest the seeds, I covered each seeded branch with a storage bag and cut it off. Some seeds fell outside of the bags and were put in a bottle of mixed seeds. I have 4 bottles of seeds from each female. Each bottle is marked with the mother plant and father plant identifiers as well as a date.
Look of the flowers at harvest was similar, although the fragrance is different between each plant:
P119 smells of pine as well as a hint of concentrate, P127 a fragrance of pepper and floral.
P120 has an aroma of pine and citrus in equal amounts, P124 reminds me of pencil shavings.
Despite the physical differences, I can discern no difference at all in the high. One friend thinks the high of P119 is more sativa than the others, but no one else concurs.
I like the high from these plants for a daytime smoke. They produce a nice body buzz and clear head, allowing me to get things done while smoking it. When I am ready to relax for the day, I can smoke a heavy hitting indica and mellow right out.
I have jars of weed from every grow in my cannabis bar. These XJ medley hybrids make a nice addition to it.
I have a lot more to post, but I need to sort and name those pics yet.
Have a good day OverGrow!
C50