Madagascan Sativa test while isolated

[livingthedream]

Hi Folks
So I am getting a little cabin fever over here ,and as I slowly work my way towards sorting all the seeds I have scored . I thought I might as will chuck a few around the place and check the germ rates . I will also be able to get a better idea of the structure of this strain going forward .
I cant give you a name for it as here its just Jamala ( local language for weed ) - @upstate mentioned Madagascan Spirit as a possibility, so I did a little digging .
The boys in Amsterdam used a landrace sativa that they got from Madagascar to breed a plant that they eventually called Madagascan spirit - Looking at Leafy’s Lineage for this plant it appears that through selecting the Pheno they liked best and subsequent crossing back on its self , The spirit was born …
I actually got a little bit excited after reading that , could this be the descendant of the those very same beans !!!, I have since reined my exuberance in .
I cant say for sure , but nothing here ever moves quickly here,so it may be that the seeds still carry some of that parentage …
The summers season is fast drawing to an end - so it wont be ideal , I don’t have access to much in the way of amendments
I did manage to get hold of some nitrogen fertilizer and Bat Guano from the local villagers
I plan to use any resource available , I am collecting egg shells and Banana peels already .
I have access to a massive supply of composted wood chips That has thoughtfully been turned over with a back hoe ( some of the biggest bloody worms I have ever seen ). I will also keep my eye out for any thing else I can use
Ok
I have found a couple of places that collect run off from the hills and look to me to be supplemented by springs… The ground is very poor with very little usable soil , mostly cap rock in fact - there is a good layer of Humus that was left behind when it was cleared - so that’s gone into the holes of course … The native plants are tough and seem to thrive on the hard ground conditions
So I went out to day and dug ( mostly chicken scratched ) a couple of holes
each hole had 13 seeds planted into it , I was surprised to come across a seedling growing in my tomato plants , it must of popped up when I discarded some un-matured seeds a week or so back … its looking bloody good I think …
anyway I will keep updating this thread with progress as it happens - I have made piece with the fact that these plants will most likely be taken by locals at some stage … I had a blue dream that got to 3 feet and began to show pistils- then poof overnight it was gone …
photos below

[beacher]

Should be a fun experiment! The bush looks alot less ‘tropical’ there than I would have expected…where’s all the trees?

[livingthedream]

the spots I chose have been cleared , its the boundary line of the lease , well it was until old Rona showed up … we have plenty of Forrest around the edges of the lease - you couldn’t grow in there mate its far to thick . Madagascar is a crazy mix of ecosystems and environments for such a small land mass , due mostly to the mountain range that runs up the guts , on the Indian Ocean side weather fronts have made it lush and green … in other areas its a succulent ( like Cactus ) forest , that has very little rain fall recorded , there are Savannah styled plains
I sit outside in the mornings and listen to the Indra lemurs calling to each other
I took a photo of the trees of in the distance for you lol

this is an Indra Lemur

[beacher]

Wow what a cool looking place! I don’t know why but for some reason I expected all palm trees and stuff haha. Cute lemur too!

[livingthedream]

my daughter keeps asking me if I have run into the Penguins and king Julianne lol
plenty of palms down on the coast mate , bananas and Guava and passion fruit grow everywhere up here
oh and that bloody Lantana is everywhere !!

[Northern_Loki]

Beautiful, I’m a bit jealous and feel a sense of peace while looking at your photos.

Dreams and aspirations. I’m going to enjoy watching your grow!

[cannabissequoia]

@beacher

where’s all the trees?

In @#^$%&^*( furniture & cheap musical instruments.

[Upstate]

Very interesting country. It’s a shame more of it isn’t protected. Lots of unique species. Let’s hope weed is one of them! That Little Seedling has nice narrow leaves! I can’t wait to see how your experiment comes along. I’ll bet the plants are able to take care of themselves for the most part. Probably tough as nails. When you finally do go home, maybe you’d want to snag some of that local dirt, to make sure any microbes that help germination come along home with you and the seeds… or maybe Customs wouldn’t like that too much LOL. At any rate I’m happy that you have something to keep you busy while you’re there. Besides your extendable metal baton of course!!!

[livingthedream]

lets both sit back and watch the show , … probably not the safest place to be atm , miles away from anyone all alone wandering around in the scrub - btw that Baton comes with me everywhere . Yesterday afternoon while I was off playing gardener , 2 random guys attacked a security guard on site , stole his weapon and broke his jaw with it … I think there is more to the incident - than what was put into the guards statement …
other than that its yet another lovely day over here … I find my self assessing locations I see in my travels all the time now . I can already see me planting seeds all over the place while Isolation is play

[saxo]

great place to life,i asume. enjoy the jamal

[Upstate]

Jamal? What is that? Local weed? Edit…never mind. Saw in the other thread jamala is local term for weed. Which really perks my interest…the name is so close to zamal… there must be some relation there somewhere in the past.

[livingthedream]

Yup JAMALA is local dialect for weed , so that’s what it’s all called everywhere here , I will google Zamal as I haven’t heard it before
Was interesting to check out that Madagascan spirit you mentioned before , maybe this is related to those original seeds ,probably possible all things considered hey … the weather has turned crappy since I put the seeds down , I have noticed the seeds I soaked and put out on towel are showing a mould growth … anybody got a substitute for peroxide?? A mouth wash or watered down rum ? As I don’t have any on hand here and no way to obtain any

I expected some mould issues because of how they dried and stored the finished bud - no proper curing is considered lol

[TheShowMeHomie]

Are they pressed into bricks ?

[livingthedream]

I believe so mate , I asked a guy for a few more seeds , he dropped this to me - well it’s what asked for a few more seeds , like 300 or so lol
I’m still separating it , this time round it had a distinct smell to it , you know like when you bag it before it’s fully dry , kinda mouldy but not … difficult to describe actually

[saxo]

ja,Zamal they call it on LaReunion Island,afaik

[Upstate]

yep that’s the one. Reunions Islands east of Madagascar. I believe there’s three or four landraces there. (They are sold by French touch seeds nearly unworked. )Kalite tizane, mango pepper, mafaute and maybe one more… I read that GN collection had the rarest one mafaute, and that it was very very good. Going by memory here. Probably spelled some of them wrong sorry. It’s possible that there is some relation with Madagascar Landraces. Indians used to trade with both Islands ( India ). Now it is French territory.

[Upstate]

2% bleach solution is supposed to work. I have used it. I wasn’t very scientific with my measuring but it didn’t kill them. I frequently swap out paper towels if mold is an issue on the shells. Once they get that slippery feel to them they’re no good. You’ve gone too long actually. Better to swap it out every two days. Rub the shells down good too. I wish I knew some other substitute for you. What about a manure tea to replace the bad microbes with the good microbes. Grab some of those dry Cow Patties that must be in that dried terrain there. Bust them up in your hands (fun stuff)or wack vigorously with an extendable metal baton and stir them vigorously four or five times a day in a bucket for a couple days. Should be loaded with good microbes. Maybe even soak the seeds in this for 24 hours . Anyway I’m just guessing here. Aside from the bleach I don’t know of anything besides peroxide that definitely works . However the one that definitely germinated was just tossed into the local dirt… perhaps that’s the treatment they’re used to. I’m curious on the flowering times of these. Are they more closely related to South African herb and a 10 to 14 week( or more ) flowering time like Durban? Or will it be some crazy sativa that flowers for more than 20 weeks like Zamal? Exciting to ponder. Durban is very energetic, the zamal very psychedelic. Maybe madagascar is both… that Madagascar Spirit sounded good. I like lemon smells and flavors. But Madagascar is a very large island. There must be many more landraces than just the one previously used. India must have 50. South Africa must have close to 10. You are staying in a genetic gold mine right now. I would scoop up all the shity weed you can LOL! Take three or four of those local landraces and cross them together, and you have some kickass weed! Or get lucky and find something strong in pure form. I’ll be rooting for you. Sending out Good Vibes to the genetic universe. I think you will find something special. Definitely something unique! Malagasy 19!

[livingthedream]

Thanks mate . I think the cow patties will be an easy find - lots of Zebu here ( cross between cows and Buffalo …I think ) . I am trying to recreate the conditions of the miracle seedling now in the pots behind my villa - obviously it’ll be a snatch and grab if they do pop up as best if no ones else sees them , I’m sure I am not the only person here who knows what they look like lol

[livingthedream]

A quick update on whats what out there . only 6 days since I put the seeds down
I have begun to notice a large variation in germination times .
what I am seeing is this … seeds breaking surface between a range of 6 days to nearly 2 and half weeks
I haven’t had happen before , what would cause this ? …genetics, age ?? . Temps here have dropped a little over night so I would expect this to impact them , but seeds showing up after 2 plus weeks ,wow , I had actually forgotten I put seeds in lol
the happy accident plant is doing really well in its new home and has a little friend come to play , this seed would have been thrown in at the same time and yet has just joined us
happy accident

and the late comer just off to the side

1 of the little patches I had put seeds into has been dug up by something …so they are a right off - but never mind as the saying goes "We aren’t playing for sheep stations "
the picture below is another group of seeds - it looks like 7 came up and have been munched ,I did spy 2 survivors atm so a total of 9 germinated , looking at the range of germination its a little early to call the % just yet ,I will check again in another week

3rd spot has 2 above ground after 6 days - I couldn’t find any sign of insect dining at this local

I had soaked 16 seeds about a week and half ago to trial the paper towel method to gauge the germ rates - 13 sank , of the 13 - 5 grew a fungus in the towel . I took those remaining and wiped them down as they had not yet cracked in an attempt to remove whatever had effected the others . these 8 went into a planter behind my block to see what eventuated ,I left them alone because security is always watching lol
so today I took this shot. 6 of 8 showing so far . 1 in the upper right looks a little weird , some look to be a couple of days above ground while 2 are maybe 24 hours old

anyway that’s where we are at for today , the days are getting colder and wetter since I put these out , Winter is coming to the mountain - nature will decide how far we can go , its in her hands now

happy growing guys
I envy those embarking on a new outdoor season and will enjoy seeing what happens

edit : I think I will try and relocate those seedlings in the planter out into the field today before they gain any attention

[DiggySoze]

@livingthedream

I have begun to notice a large variation in germination times .
what I am seeing is this … seeds breaking surface between a range of 6 days to nearly 2 and half weeks
I haven’t had happen before , what would cause this ? …genetics, age ??

Wild seeds hold that trait to hedge their bets against the weather. If all of them germinated at the same time a week before an ill storm swept through the entire generation would be wiped out, so by staggering germination times wild seeds increase the chance of reaching sexual maturity.

Indoors we select away from that trait, so it’s less common in heavily cultivated varietals. We also select away from hardy seeds too, and cannabis seedlings are wimps compared to some other plants. Lol.