Don’t be afraid, I was for years (way back) but unless looking to retain all characteristics etc. for an OP or whatever trying to stay true to originals I’m a plant killing machine (in more ways then one actually) over time you get a sense what you want/like/look for in a plant and even start identifying males etc. SUPER early on and you’ll be doing the same I’m sure.
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i know but i see this as kiling a child because others outperform him/her who know what it can become full bloom
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Culling can be heartwrenching at first, but is an important step in any breeding program. You just have to know when to do it. Luckily, following a few simple rules can make it much easier.
Whenever I grow a line that I know has the ability to show very good plants, either because I grew it before or because reviews are stellar, I start with an open pollination. This first round is a no cull, I keep them all, hermies, runt, problem children etc
This first step is 2 fold
- you have to familiarize yourself with the line, what are the phenos, the ups and downs etc so that in the following rounds you have a better idea of what to keep.
- since we never know who gives what gene to who, i include them all so that I have backup seeds with all genes in play.
In the event there is intersex plants, who often drop pollen early, I trim them back so that they don’t get the lions share of the females.
Second round, now that i have backup seeds and know more about the line, I will furiously cull every plant I think is not worth the time and space and grow the rest to finish. No regrets, no mistakes, all learning. There is backup if something goes wrong.
This is basically how I start every project. It is scalable, from the 100w tent to a full greenhouse, rules remain the same.
I think it was neville who said he judged a line by the size of his compost pile. The bigger the pile, the more work a line needs. The lesser the compost pile, the closer to your goals you are.
Cull away my friends
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Sounds solid. I’m guessing you’re not for the selfing? Even when trying to investigate the gene pool for a clone only (incl the special phenos)?
The thought of adding herms and finding out after potentially years of work is freaky. Some people I admire swear by using it simply to study.
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I have nothing against selfing, in fact it is a very useful tool. Why limit ourselves 
Once you start seeing intersex as any other trait, it becomes just another thing to select for or against, and not the terrible monster people made it out to be.
You breed something, prefer the peppery one, find a grape one and cull it.
You breed something, prefer non intersex ones, find an hermie and cull it.
Same thing.
Another thing about intersex… have you ever noticed that most of the elite lines are on shaky grounds sexually? Coincidence?
Intersex plants are easier to fix traits onto. Strange but hey
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The will to live, maybe? It’s a brave new world
Simply a different, more archaic system. Which I admit, when looking at white papers on plant sexuality, it’s a bit above my pay grade.
But, when you look at those old clone onlys, 2 things most have in common is they self well/are homogeneous for most traits and come from bagseeds/intersex heritage. Which should be a bad thing right?
My #1 most favorite grow thread on all forums isn’t a popular one, far from it. It’s a thread about a uni student growing seeds from the first plant he ever grew, which hermied badly. It’s been going on for 8 years or so. One plant at a time, guy grows it, and shows how intersex it is, then keeps tabs.
It’s not a lot of plants all things considered, but what he found is that 50% of plants would grow normally. Fascinating.
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5 days have passed since chop. Things have stabilized lol
For a couple days I was overwhelmed… had to break buds into smaller pieces and pick every leave out to regain control on humidity.
Some plants tried to mold on me, bastards.
Alls good 
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You got this brother, like a boss 
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I do got this 
Not sure about like a boss though.
A boss would have been ready to welcome these plants weeks ahead to the point of boredom, writing his memoirs by the fireplace and planning 2028 outdoor season.
*it’s chop time!
Boss: oh? Is it already?
I’m last minute gang for life 
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Yeah, and a boss would have an army of workers to break their backs in the plots, while you’re a gang of one, your only boss, which is way more difficult. 
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Going to live by this now
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I was wrong, you’re not a gang of one, you’re part of the OG gang
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Haha true that. Somehow my mentor always had dozens of guys ready to work for him, with rarely if ever any problems with the crews. I had a few good years working with my own but there was always dudes playing boss or they’d get the “mine mine mine” syndrome. After a few close calls, some raids, mucho $ lost etc I made it a point to work solo, no matter how much harder I’d have to work
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I get that, trust is a very difficult thing in this business. Better have all the security measures in place, as much as possible and as carefull as possible. Too many snitches. You never know. And yet, somehow the online meetings this kind of place allows gives another realm to the gang feeling. Happy to meet and follow your journey! 
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After drying loose buds for 2 weeks, I expected the buds to crumble to dust when pressed… they don’t.
They’re still spongy, so nvm machine sorting the seeds as it relies on material being dust. Gotta hand sort them. A bitch.
Ridiculous fucking project… why am I like this.
Edit typo
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For my numbers people I’m at 155g of seeds after 4 plants.
127 to go…
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Geez that’s barely enough for your project
Night will be long hand sorting all that seeds.
Courage!
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Congratulations on your seed expansion! Sorry for the seed sorting/cleaning your starting. All the plants about the same size?
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