Here’s the update on the ladies. Currently sitting at day 50 (21 from flip). Plan is to pollinate a branch on each of them sometime in the next 3 days (Saturday at the latest) based on available time.
Group shot (From L to R: Swiss Skunk #1, TnT Trichome, Swiss Skunk #2, Gorilla Bomb)
Swiss Skunk #1
TnT Trichome
Swiss Skunk #2
Gorilla Bomb
Well, I was taking a peek into the tent just now and decided “what the hell” and went ahead and super-cropped the Swiss Skunk #2. Bent 5-6 of the tallest branches so that they’re even with the rest of the canopy. That was by far the tallest of the group, and they were only ~4" from the LEDs.
Might have to do the same to Swiss Skunk #1, but for now I’m leaving it.
worth doing imo when you get those tops popping out, better canopy in the end too
Good point. Other Swiss Skunk has just been super cropped. A nice, mostly even canopy now.
Ladies were just watered this morning. All are looking good, and the supercropped branches are healthy and starting to turn again toward the light.
Question for the crowd: I’ve searched here and Google for the method of pollinating a single branch. General consensus is to turn off all fans, warm up pollen to room temp, bag (and mark) the branch to be pollinated, and then to use a q-tip to carefully pollinate a single bud. What tends to fluctuate is how long to then leave the bud bagged until spraying it down with water and returning to tent. I’ve seen that pollination is instant all the way to people leaving it bagged for upwards of 24 hours. What’s the answer? I was planning on leaving them sit for a few minutes and then spraying them down and going back to business as normal. Any input would be appreciated.
Pollination isn’t instant , typically it a couple hrs I usually do 24hrs if I even spray
Ok, so it’s looking like a couple of hours at the minimum. Right now I’ll plan on 2 hours. Aiming to pollinate in the next couple of hours.
thing is if rushed and you spray it down it does deactivate the pollen and say what would be a 80+% take rate could be 30% or less, id just pollinate leave it out of the way for the day then throw it back in at the end of it, as really its only a day or even 12hrs it wont care.
If I’m planning on doing all 4 plants (1 branch per plant), can’t I just turn off fans, and leave them all in the tent while the pollen takes? Or would it be better to do one plant at a time, one plant per day over the next four days?
do them all just one at a time id just pollinate in a different area which for myself thats my dinning room table.
really if you want a very low pollen transfer rate to where you dont want you just block or temporarily cover the areas of the plants you dont want pollen then pollinate the branch you want blow off any excess and return getting the next plant and repeat.
I dont even block other sections anymore as stray pollen just means a few more seeds for me though can complicate things if using more than one pollen source.
Do you bag the branch afterward, or just leave bare?
i leave bare , just shield block the rest of the plant , pollinate, blow off excess, return, and spray down the next day if desired and hook the fans back up
pollen can and does take hold easily but its no where near what people freak out about, just have to consider the airborn properties of it like pollinating where there is low to no draft currents and ones end goals
The deed is done. Lower branch on each pollinated and marked. All fans are off. Will spritz them with water in about 3 hours.
Thanks again to @DougDawson for providing the BOG Sour Bubble BX3 pollen which was used in this pollination experiment. I used barely any for a lower branch on each plant. So I tossed the bag of pollen back into the freezer. It will be an interesting experiment to see if it’s still viable during my following grows!
Good luck bud 
Here they are, happy and loving life. Each plant has a small, lower, side branch pollinated yesterday. Already seeing some of those pistils turning brown, which is a good sign. Even if I don’t get many seeds, it’ll have been a good experience trying my hand at some selective pollination.
As you can see, lots of bud sites and the canopy is more even than before due to my super cropping efforts. Should be a good yield.
One thing I’m noting is that it’s definitely crowded in there. 4 plants in 5 gallon containers is a bit much for a 2x4 tent!
Watered the girls again this weekend. Keeping them steady at 4 grams MC and 2 grams Bud Explosion. They’re taking the nutes like champs, so I’ve been contemplating slightly increasing the dosage. Does this seem like an appropriate step at this phase? Never used bloom nutes during a grow before.
Other than that, all are doing well. They also received a pretty big defoliation on Saturday. That defoliation session left my hands rather sticky as all four plants are starting to get frosty.
Just watered all four plants. Still steady at 4 grams MC and 2 grams BE, no signs of any problems.
Temp / humidity sitting at 68F and 59%.
Everything is getting real frosty in there. Can’t wait to see those buds start to fatten up in the coming weeks.
More pictures coming soon!
To celebrate my first photoperiod grow, I’m going to be giving away 5 beans each of the following strains:
Sensi Skunk #5 x Sensi Hashplant #8
GSC x Paki Purple Kush
MACminion Sunrise #2
Jack Herer x Totem
Four strains, four separate giveaways, one winner each.
Stay tuned for the first giveaway coming later today.
