Preserving a watermelon with wodka, *burp*, I mean, preserving the Drunken Watermelon!

Breeder's Lab
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#1

Hi OGers!

I received an awesome pack of seeds through free seeds Thursdays, namely Drunken Watermelon(Watermelon Gushers X Tiki Rum Cake X Nerdz) from @NugLifeFarms420. IDK if it’s a strain or a cross but the first 2 out of 3 seeds failed and the third was friggin beautiful and very fragrant, a pleasure to grow. Now that the grow is complete and only a few popcorn buds are still finishing up, I’ve come to the conclusion I’d really like to keep this strain, and the only other plants aside from another finisher-offer still under the QB are auto’s so I decided to switch the lights back to 18/6 (or did I set 20/4? idk, and doesn’t matter much) and see where she goes.

Now, I know revegging a plant at the end of it’s flower period is not a really good model for success, and I would still like to harvest a few of the popcorn buds as well if possible.

So my questions are, how many buds does a plant best keep to reveg at the end of flower, and how much chance would you bet there still is for a finished popcorn stick to still take root and go into reveg?

On the one hand I would say less budsites is better due to the plant having a massive root system to support this budsite into reveg, and less budsites is also equal to less flowering hormones in the total plant so easier to flip.

On the other hand I would say more leaf area and more plant is better to keep it’s life going.

I think I may end up trying both revegging the plant and a flower cutting and maybe a third option where I cull the bud leaving the bottom leaves of the bud for new tips to emerge…

Let’s hope she wants to keep on giving, because if she does I’ll probably include her into a breeding program :crossed_fingers:

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16 Likes
#2

Yeah that looks good roll with that.

3 Likes
#3

Pretty curious if this works out, I’d think it doesn’t have enough leaves left to pull it off but I have no idea.

I’ve never revegged, so watching this will be interesting.

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#4

It’s a gamble but if it works the buds will do this freak mutation into oddball leaves and then it’ll be all good.

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#5

Yeah I’ve done this before but not this far into flowering… Nor with this little left but by the time I decided she was a keeper she had been heavily defoliated several times :man_shrugging:

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#6

Looks good, best to keep at least 2-5 bud sites if you can (any healthy leaves are an added bonus) allow the plant to dry out a little more than you would normally before watering. Don’t overwater. It can be a slow process (2 weeks to a month). Some strains take longer than others. 20+ hrs of light helps trigger re-veg quicker.

For your plants, I would just say to clip those branch stubs protruding past the bud sites (as well as any branch that does not have a bud site)

8 Likes
#7

The multiple approaches is smart.

In all likelihood the plant will reveg without a problem, just give really gentle veg nutes and be careful to not overwater (it can’t transpire like it used too when it had more foliage), and kelp meal tea with a good microbial colony is really a great “tonic” for a stressed out plant.

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#8

This is good advice.

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#9

I’ve revegged quite often from plants like this. If there’s a bud left, it should be fine. It really doesn’t take much. I have noticed that bigger plants with better established root masses tend to recover quicker.

I generally see some weird ailments happen on the buds before they start to reveg. It’s common to see deficiency symptoms.

Revegging like this is perfect for pheno hunts where you don’t want to keep clones of everything. I just make sure to keep the ones I want labeled and bring them back to life at the end.

For what it’s worth, I did an open grow in a large container with multiple plants. I’d cut some off at the base without any growth tips or buds left at all. They’d just stayed in the soil looking dead for a few weeks as the other plants matured. Once I switched back to a veg light cycle, the stumps started to grow again. I’d never seen one come back like that, but it’s definitely possible.

3 Likes
#10

Ive tried about a dozen revegs, with mixed results. the successful ones were the ones i left with most plant material specially on the bottom, fan leaves, and some branches, something like the one you got in the middle (but i would leave fan leaves and at least one or two more branches and some bottom budsites).

Usually reveg started on the bottom, on less developed flowers than on anything on top. i would always leave the lowest budsites on the plant when lollipopping (for reveg). And the starting phase of reveg would look somethin like this on the bottom nugs (within a month of reveg):

Ill be honest tho, after losing some plants I reallllly wanted to keep (even after they had successfully reveged), i have stopped revegging, and started taking clones (i just leave them in trays for months, until i can smoke the mother and check whos worth it)

3 Likes
#11

Hey @Wizzlez i got a 3 pack of drunken watermelon from nuglifefarms I’d be willing to send them to you to have another chance at more just incase you don’t have success with reveg🤙

4 Likes
#12

I’ll keep that in mind in case this goes south, but in case it works I’ll probably be crossing it out to something else since I don’t have a male from the same line. It’s a worthy strain to outcross with though so I’m fine with that.

Thanks!

2 Likes
#13

Just lmk if you want them they got your name on it :call_me_hand:

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#14

I have done it with finished plants, also lost a few. My successes were with the most foliage, I wouldn’t take anymore off those if they were mine.

I also cut about 25%, or so, off the rootball, and repot in fresh medium. Light on the water, nutes, and lights. The plants are totally different looking, like alienish, when they do reveg, but clones of them are just like the originals.

I’ve rooted a few flowering buds. It’s been a crap shoot, and takes a while, sometimes months, but it can be done, too.

Best of luck :slight_smile:

I like my watermelons vodka’d too!

2 Likes
#15

It will take a good 6 weeks, but it will( never 100% true) revert if there are still fresh pistils coming out. I think i see some. Go easy on N but give it some to help. Of course 18- 24 hr on cycle. I like 24.
I’ve revegged for years with similar plants, long before OG, always intending on re growing my keepers and then never doing it once they began revegging. I’ve even pollinated a stick like that and made late seed, though there were lots of duds with a few good ones. If you can leave some fan leaves, that’s always a good idea. If not, it works anyway. Terminal buds regrow quickest, but then all buds burst forth with little shoots
Blue light works best to root. Fluorescents work well.
Edit…I’m a soil grower

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#16

Thanks for all the input guys.

I ended up leaving 2 branches with 2 popcorn buds on each arm and I decided to carefullly take away the bud portion of one of the buds each arm.

I took 4 cuttings of which 2 were with bud and 2 with the bud taken away and only the bottom leaves of the bud remaining. One cutting does not have a node under the ground so I expect that one to either fail or take longer. I gave all the cuttings some rooting hormone powder for cuttings and placed them in freshly prepared seedlings and cutting soilmix containers.

Gave each container a baggy with some holes in the baggies so they have a slightly higher moisture content in the air, but can still breathe, and I also decided my cough sizzurp F1 (home breeding project) was worth monstercropping after all so I gave her the same basic look as the Drunken Watermelon. Not sure where I want to go with the cough sizzurp as I have some sister seeds germinating of her as well but that’s alright. More options to work with!

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#17

The more the better/ quicker. I think if you take too much, some plants give up. The little one on the left will take a while if it makes it. Any Sativa in the lineage?

Leave the bud, if leaving the plant

#18

I’ve cloned sticks too. I’ve cloned a long branch chopped into 6 inch sticks. All sticks took root. As long as there is a node, it will root.
Taking off the bud when cloning is a good call. The little buds, if left on, eventually turn to brown mush. I’ve rooted sticks both ways, but the brown mush killed some of the sticks, causing stem rot. At the time I cloned in a cardboard box and didn’t know that I should swap out the air and moisture once or twice a day, so maybe it wouldn’thave mattered. I sprayed water too often as well. Good luck. Something will make it.

#19

The little one on the left is Samsquanch, autoflower, that pollinated itself late and accidentally and is only there because it has a couple seeds on the way that honestly look totally bunk for now. Maybe there’ll be one that’s good when it’s done but not counting on it.

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#20

Lol. I like the name. I never tried to reveg an auto. I thought you had to put them in the fridge to get them to reveg? Hopefully you get a few seeds.
Sometimes, and this depends how far along the seeds are, you have better luck getting late seed to ripen by pulling the plant, roots, dirt and all, and hanging it in a dark, cool place. At that point the plant will put all of its energy into those seeds, Whereas if you leave it, It will use up some of its energy trying to stay alive and it will slowly peter out. You could still get seed but in this particular case, I think the best shot is to pull the plant.