this thread is the best💚
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Haha thanks @elaitchelef that’s very kind. I’m glad there are others enjoying this adventure with me.
The BIG OOPS. (Not that bad)
Males have been light depping far off from the swamp in a shed on the other side of the property. I counted 35 males of various varieties.
This evening I went through each male to determine if they should be culled or kept. I’ve cut down at least ten plants. I also did an aggressive trim to reduce the extent of the enevidable pollen storm. Removing all the small lower branches and leaving one main leader in most cases. (most of these plants were topped in veg) I have left all the Corpse Flower plants as they are for now and will give them better attention soon, and get some good photos of what were working with.
The oops was a mis-sexed Pine Tar Dooligah… Working quickly this eve I didn’t realize until after I chopped off most of the bud sites that it was a girl - there will be less seed sites and less bud to smoke when I do hit it with some pollen. The plant was a beautiful specimen and now it’s only got 2 main bud sites 
I took a picture of most of interesting specimens before the chop - so here she is…
To those unfamiliar with my process - it allows me to cleanly pollinate a selected branch and consistently have 0% seeded bud on the remaining untouched colas. Generally I hit a couple bottom branches and leave the top of the plant untouched. Here is a post from last year’s swamp hunt explaining the process - it involves patience - sometimes showers - and a steady hand. The process can take a week or two. I’m ambitiously pairing several varieties with a bit more plants on this go - I imagine from the first to the last plant pollinated it could take the full 2 weeks (pollinating a few ladies a day with one type of male/males). I will only bring one jar of pollen to the swamp per day but sometimes the jar can contain pollen from more than one male of the same variety.
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I love selective pollination. 
Yup, it’s extra work up front but it’s like having a map to the buried treasure for the f2’s!
Invariably I find some surprises. You would think crossing the best looking male with the best female would yield the best results…
Nuh-uh… sometimes but not always…
…It’s like they have preferred partners or something… 
Cheers
G
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I’ve been smashing plants together for beans for a good while now… I can’t honestly say I’ve ever done an ‘open pollination’. I have mixed pollen from as many as 7 dudes of the same lineage for keeping lines open. but other than accidental rogue males outdoors 20 years ago… I’ve been stuck on hand pollinating and also love this method. In many cases a cola of a male cluster chopped in a glass of water in the house is all I’ve needed for more than enough pollen.
Touching on selective pollination : bugs have been doing it since the beginning of time.
There are flies hanging out here - you can see them in these photos.
These shots are of the Corpse Flower - it’s becoming more and more frequently that I see flies hanging out on these plants almost exclusively. Too many times to be any sort of coincidence. They are attracted to something coming off these gals.
I’ve said it before on here. That there is a reason that regions of locale can have some general themes in smells. Rotten and gamey terps proliferative in areas which are aided by insects like flies and beetles, such as dry arid dessert areas like Afghanistan for example. Where as insects like butterflies and bees are attracted to fruit and sweet smells - so regions with tropical fruits and sweet flowers such as parts of Asia have been known for their mango or other fruit driven terps.
Now I’ve heard - but cannabis doesn’t rely on bugs for pollination. This is true - but the more insects perpetuating a selection of pollen. Reaching areas outside of wind and natural open pollinations - perpetuated a selected terpene profile relative to the native insects preferences. An interesting theory that the photos above give me more confidence in.
Pretty cool that I’m seeing an example of this play out in the swamp. There is def some sort of rot emanating from these Corpse Flowers which are getting me more excited about the results on this run.
Also a good handful of these ladies have some nice colorful pistils - a known trait in this line when running outdoors.
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Man, I definitely want to try my hand at some of that rotten/gamey smelling bud eventually. I see pink in some of those pistils on the photo with the fly in it, looking great brother.
Your reasoning on locales having particular aromas that proliferate in them is an awesome thought, I hadn’t thought about it before, but it makes a lot of sense. And you being in the swamp with the Corpse Flower, it’s almost poetic 
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OP should change profile pic to Shrek
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Dude! Just amazing!! Love to hear that the flies love it
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Haha great idea - except I’m rather attached to my current one. It’s a photo from 1872 of a ‘Night Soil Man’. Before plumbing was a thing they would scour the cities at night collecting human waste in buckets to re use as fertilizers. You can find more information online about this interesting job.
How’s this tho?
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I don’t normally like seeing flies on my plants but you might be on to something I might need to pay more attention to. Pretty interesting theory. @Soiltech
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Males are about to start dumping - here are a few shots of the Corpse Flower males as promised - I’ve widdled down the selection from 12 to 7. Two of them
are standing out with some pretty rank stem rubs - a wild gamey rot.
@Budderton Affie Hash plant has been releasing for a bit now - it’s being kept inside the shed and I give it a shower every morning and evening with the hose to keep the pollen tamed. I will jar some up tomorrow and dust my first selection of ladies in the swamp. I’ve decided to increase these with the female I’ve got as well as hitting a Gypsy Skunk, a Unkle Festers Skunk and a Corpse Flower. I also have some TMK x Pure Michigan which were made in the swamp last year that I had intended to f2 but all 5 were ladies so I may hit at least one with this pollen also.
Outside of the Corpse Flower I am running at least a dozen varieties with over 60 plants - many of which will support some new crosses as well as f2’s. I will likely walk through each dusting as a post here to keep you all updated.
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Awesomeness @Soiltech ! That’s a couple handsome males with nice structure. Looking forward to what you come up with, best of luck with your pollinations this year!
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Thanks a bunch! Looking forward to seeing what comes out of the swamp this season - happy to have your work join the swamp crew. 
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Pollination Station
Alright it’s been a week. Working through dozens of males here at the pollination station.
At the moment the second hoop house is empty so I’ve been closing it off and using it as the pollination room. Been able to leave the selected females there for a day with their top bags and then drench em in water before returning back to their places with the other ladies.
I only need a dab of pollen which I shake direct from the selected male/males. The amount in the photo below is enough pollen for a couple hundred seeds when applied right.
Ive had a chance to make some real fun crosses - mutants, also continuing some of my personal projects as well as a few other random pairings. With a couple additions just because I thought the strain name would be fun ( example : Uncle Truffle - Uncle Festers Skunk x Truffles by @santero )
I have yet to touch any of the Corpse Flower Males as I am saving those for last.
I do one jar of pollen a day - with showers and changes of clothes in between the time I harvest the pollen and its application. The sequence of selecting and labeling the plants is important to ensure no stray pollen getting anywhere it shouldn’t.
Here is some shots of the male shed to wrap up today’s post.
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Looking good man, so with that bag on top is that part not getting pollinated and used for smoking purposes or other way around?
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Those bags are extra protection from the pollen. I used to only do hand pollination indoors and it wasn’t necessary to bag the tops. Dabbing only a few lower buds without worrying about seeds at the top. But as this is outside, as an extra precaution I use these bags - with the wind / or in the time I let them sit ‘taking the pollen’- there is a less of a chance that a bug will land on a lower and then land on a top. When I’m pollinating multiple moms of the same strain I give each plant it’s own label - these labels carry on to their cure jars and seed containers which allow me to make assesments based on the finished cured buds. I can then toss the seeds from the moms I thought were the least desirable and select my favorites to continue any line.
I also carry around a water spray bottle which I use liberally around the plants before, during and after any pollination harvests\ sessions.
I have 4 more males to use before I get to the Corpse Flower males.
Gypsy Skunk (Mendo Durban P cut x UFS)
Uncle Festers Skunk
Trinity x ABC (non expressive)
HP13 x ABC (non expressive)
I have about 8 Corpse Flower males - 2 of which stand out and I will use as a single male pollination on the best ladies. And the remaining 5 will mix for an 'open pollination on the remaining ladies.
Each female gets labeled with the exact make they are hit with. And these labels carry through to the seeds and the cured bud.
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This was an awesome read so far I’ll come back and check in hope you get the swamp dug out more and figured. Also awesome hoop houses man. Those are wicked ingenious. And simply elegant. Nice grow man.
Pawsfodocaws
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Thanks for the reply and explanation. On those Corpse Flower males are you looking for a certain leaner of either the Super skunk or more with the UFS? I’m about to start in the fall to mess around with both SS and UF and try to find a nice male for crossing a bunch. Thanks and your killing it out in the swamp!
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Not looking for any specific lean - an ideal plant in my mind is loud and tasty smoke - if it will hold most of its pungency through cure, she’s a winner. I do take some notes through veg and flower but if the jar isn’t primo at the end I disregard much of that. Looking for that mouth coat - it also has to hit a bech mark in effects - if I have to have another smoke of something else soon after a test - they fall out of favour pretty quick.
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I’d like to say that this thread is a testimony to how much effort and commitment Cannabis growers actually have. Just Wow, and best of Luck ! @Soiltech
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@Hashpants you are too kind. I also have to say your outdoor plants look like they are grooving amazingly - you’re going to have quite the haul - I hope the weather and elements are where they need to be for you the rest of the season here.
I thought I would post… One for the Pink
These f2 Corpse Flower are def all over the place - a good handful are flaunting some real bright colors. No filters here.
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