if you aren’t making seeds cut male asap. It might be to late if you think they look close one may have already. I cut with a bag over the plant tied tight below the bottom. I open the bag in the shower, turn the bag inside out and I with my cloths and all take a shower.
Then put the plant back in the bag and tied it off and outside bin.
no see number 1
I would take a couple clones of each so, if you find a keeper, you can jeep the same genetics.
Just what I think and do.
1 and 2 were answered well already, needs to be in a totally different space, however, I think you should definitely try to flower out a male or two, even just cut the branches and put them in a cup of water to keep pollen!
I would Checkout @highminwin and their journal, it has alot of these questions answered in great detail, and also some great ideas for how easy it can be to further your journey into this world.
As for #3, it just depends on how much time you have and what you are looking for. I needed bud, so if you checkout my journal, I went ahead and just flowered and cut clones to fill the space later, you didn’t really tell us if you had a separate veg area from the flower area. It takes a good 10-20 days for roots…if it’s just one growing space and that’s all you got and you arent worried about filling your jars, I would grow the females until they filled most of the space(accounting for the stretch) and then begin flower. At the same time I would start more seeds and have the clones that you cut in a small dedicated space. Bonsai mothers are a great tool if limited on space. Don’t really have enough details of your setup to be totally honest.
i’m also a newbie, but i whole-heartedly agree with @PTron. grow the right number of plants for your current setup to be at a good optimal, maintainable level. but you’re in a 4x8, which is a big space. i’m only in a 3x3, with whatever other extra small spaces or boxes i can cobble together.
so for you i imagine it’s more a matter of being sure you can maintain a good vpd for what you’ve got going on. whereas for me when i had a lot of plants heading into flower (i had ten plants, mostly in 1gallons), so with my smaller space i was having to figure out how i was going to juggle all of that, and they hadn’t even hit their flower stretch yet. there was no way they could all be happy in my 3x3. ultimately i gave two females away to friends, which was cool because i got to hang out with them and chat about growing weed now and also gift them a plant; i chopped down one male early, and then my remaining three males i took out of the tent to isolate for pollen collection.
getting to your questions though…
firstly, i have to say that is a surprising number of males you’ve got on your hands! i can’t believe the ratio. but thank you for taking that statistical hit for the rest of us, so now someone somewhere out there will get to have 10 females and 2 males, lol! that’s a noble sacrifice.
question 1: i’m not an experienced enough grower to know whether pollen hitting the females who are in pre-flower will cause them to create seeds or not. my general guess would be that if the plants have been grown together and are experiencing the same light cycles, that there could be some likelihood of early male pollen being able to pollinate whatever females are around and ready at that time. obviously i imagine much more successful pollination once the plant’s sexual organs are fully matured.
if you were only dealing with one male, i wouldn’t necessary consider this a problem since anything that is seeded you would know who the father is. but since you have so many males, it’s definitely something i would keep in mind and guard against.
additionally, from what i’ve read pollen can be viable in outside environments for possibly a week or two, depending on environmental conditions. pollen is supposed to be deactivated by water and moisture, but if conditions are good, who’s to say that the pollen wouldn’t float around until it lands somewhere that it could do it’s magic.
so if you want to minimize stray/random pollination, best to separate sooner rather than later.
i was fortunate enough to post a picture of my males right around when they were popping, before i knew what to look for. some og’ers were helpful enough to tell me that i should move my males out NOW if i didn’t want seeds. this was great advice, because the very next day my boys started dropping pollen. if i hadn’t made the move, i would have had more accidental pollination.
question 2: i agree it is a fun project to do a seed run. i would say where you keep your male depends on the space that you have to work with. if you have a room 100’ away, sure, that’d be an awesome place to put your male. but you also have to be aware of your air movement and any shared air circulation. like, are the rooms connected through the ac vents? because pollen can possibly float from one room to the next that way.
alternatively, i only really have my small bedroom to work with. i can’t put my males in another room and i don’t have a bathroom i can tuck them in for 12 hours. it’s just my living situation and i have to deal with it. so i chose my best male, cut him in half and stuck him in the big cardboard box that my ac infinity tent kit came in. i put a light and a small fan in there, and covered the box up while leaving a little gap for some air flow. but that big box was hanging right next to my 3x3 tent. obviously this isn’t an ideal environment and i’ve totally got some accidental pollination happening. but i’m mostly fine with that as the major element of my grow has been accomplished, which was to pollinate a few branches from each of my ladies with some pollen. i know seeds from those branches will very likely be from the male pollen donor, and any seeds from any where else will just be part of a mystery mix i can share or give away or continue to grow myself.
hopefully as i gain more experience and can work my grow space more, i will have less accidental pollination. because i’m sure we all would love to know the exact genetics of whatever we’re getting or working with. but for now it’s totally acceptable for me since i’m still a casual, new grower.
regarding storing pollen, i would highly encourage you to dry your pollen out as much as possible. i put them in glass vials with dessicant packs inside ziplock baggies. at the end of my pollen collection, i also found that spreading my pollen out onto a sheet of paper would help dry it as well. i think the paper fibers themselves were helping to absorb any leftover moisture in the pollen. it was very helpful. i document some of this in my grow journal, as @Dr.VitaminGreen has kindly pointed out.
question 3: i would probably be crazy and do both of those things. if you end up having too much to work with, it’s never a bad thing to give plants away to your friends. perhaps they’ll be good growers or perhaps they’ll kill your babies. but if you were just going to kill it anyways, i think it’s a cool fun thing to include your friends in this awesome hobby/passion of ours. you never know, you might spark the love in another person and bam, we’re one step closer to overgrowing the world!
@highminwin
I admire the passion and optimism you bring to your own unique grow space but especially the time you took to reply to the query. Every grower has talents to offer and that is what makes these forums so fun. If I get discouraged there is always someone with an idea or tip to help me get over the moment. I am new here and still trying to make the time to search the posts and read a lot more before weighing in too much. TY all
Thanks all for the detailed responses, I mean this.
I wanted to sit down and start a grow journal for 2022. Then thought perhaps, this question isn’t the way to start a journal and now reconsidering that thought. Anyways here is some more info.
Recap:
This grow area is an outdoor bed (4’x8’) [Not sure if i made this clear]
12 plants in 2 rows the long way (regular, photoperiod)
Plants were topped and many started to show their sex (majority males)
For the females they have just shown their pre-flower calix. They are not flowering. For the males at least one looks ready to pop like tomorrow.
As this is outdoors in New England, we have a short season. So I didn’t even think about popping more seeds at this time.
Most importantly, I don’t need more flower, this is more of a trial run for the season and bed location. Certainly not a med critical grow at all, completely for the fun of growing and gaining experience.
So we don’t have the luxury of time. If we don’t clone. The alternative will be to transplant the females to better fit the area. So far the two females are right next to each other poorly utilizing the bed spacing,
Update:
I have a pretty good ideal the male i want to hold onto. It will be pulled from the garden bed and put into a pot in another area. The others chopped and composted. If this results in seeding the remaining ladies, so be it. And also informative for future grows, seed production attempts.
I am going to try and clone the females to get the numbers back up to 6-12 (again keeping limits in check for MA law).
It’s also more than just a little annoying that the most rigorous growth is coming from the Male plants. Wondering if this is from the plant genetics or environmental (placement of drip line, access to sunlight, etc.).
~MM’s
That’s just how males do. They grow so they can start to pollinate as soon as the females show pretty much.
One day in the future you won’t be able to grow outdoors in the US because there will be so much male pollen floating around. Pretty crazy to think about, im sure they already deal with that issue in the Emerald Triangle
welcome to overgrow @PTron! it really is a fantastic community for learning, sharing, and sometimes even disagreeing! 
i’ve only just started my grow journey recently, but the knowledge and more importantly, the community here is remarkable. so much better than reddit!
i see you’ve listed C99 as one of your favorite strains. i’m growing a cinderella mix from fleur du mal right now which i’ve successfully seeded with a cindy male. be sure to check up on my grow journal in a month or so when i should have my seeds shucked and ready. i should have enough to mail some out to og’ers, so if you’d like some just let me know.
@MassMedicinals i hadn’t realized your grow area was outdoors. not that i think it makes a huge difference ultimately, with regard to what your questions are about (i don’t think). but that’s good to know.
can you provide a photo of your two ladies? i imagine if they’re outdoors, unless they’re too close together, i don’t think if they’re next to each other that’ll be too much of an issue. although hey, that’s just my book learning knowledge since i haven’t actually grown outdoors myself.
i’m not sure how big they are as well, so i don’t know if transplanting them will unduly stress them out. how much time is left in your outdoor schedule?
either way, if you’re chopping most of your males, you’ll be left with two females and one male. i would feel like i’ve got so much time and not many plants to worry about, so i would sorta go a little bit bonkers with what’s left. sure, take clones of the females. i might even say pick one more male so you have two, and maybe separate those males out into different areas. or not. i had all my males pretty close together in the same room. the pollen i collected was directly from clipping the flower sacs off of my males, so i was pretty certain i was getting pollen from only that male when collecting.
i have read before that the best growing, most vigorous plants tend to be male. i’m not sure how true this is because i don’t have enough growing experience. i’ll say based on my current (and first) grow so far, i did have one male that was obviously super strong from the beginning. but then i also had a female that came back from a bad early seed-helmet surgery and has since raged to become the biggest plant in my tent. she is planted in an earthbox jr by herself, so that obviously gives her a big advantage over her siblings, which are in 3 gallon fabric pots. but still, her growth before she was put in the eb jr was noticeable, especially given her rough starting condition.
Hey all,
I’m going to put a pin in this thread. And start a grow journal and try to pull some of this content over after creating a intro post. Will hopefully incorporate photos and video soon.
Appreciate the positivity, scientific support, and anecdotal experiences.
Spoiler: it’s looking like there are around 4 females from the 12 plants.
More updates to come.
~MM’s
Ahh, so you didn’t have a good day, and now you’ve come back to play after you took your ball home and ran away yesterday?
I guess you didn’t read any of the articles I linked? Makes sense, you don’t seem like the type to read through what others post.
Bye bye now 
Yes you should worry about it for sure.
Anecdotal: I live a mile from one of the outdoor growers and yes they can get hit with pollen. I only grow indoors since they started up.
The first several post have answered your question.
I think I’ve seen fleur du mal mentioned elsewhere, maybe not specific to C99……
My sister recently told me about her first time smoking Jack Herer. I decided to devote my indoor grow to just C99 this year. I’ve gotten 5 different crosses or sources in seedlings right now and they will be going in a 4x4 tent with (2) AC infinity 6” in-line fans and my own hobbyist built LED light; 4 HLG QB120’s on the corners and 2 QB 288 RSPEC boards on heat sink and separate drivers. I’ll veg them under the 120’s and then turn on the 288’s in flower.
Personally I prefer a soaring sativa high like Thai weed that is energizing and creative. I’m still looking for something like that. I grow for the joy of it and for sharing it with others less fortunate or unable to grow their own. I have always loved growing cannabis and now that it’s legal and I’m retired, I can really devote myself to it. I’m still hoping to find something like the Thai weed I used to get in Laguna Beach CA. I’m still searching
@highminwin please tag me if/when you set up the C99 journal. I’m curious to learn more about the strain and the Baudelaire seed bank lol
fleur du mal gets a lot of love on overgrow here, and from my limited experience so far, i’d say rightfully so.
@Baudelaire, who runs fdm, is a very respectful and highly knowledgeable grower. he seems to be happy to hop into a thread when anyone has a question about his genetics and gives very detailed and informative responses.
yea sure, i’ll link my grow journal in this message since i’m growing out fleur du mal’s cinderella mix and durban mix right now. i’m in the middle of flowering and have maybe 3-5 weeks left? i’m so excited, it’ll be my first grow and my first harvest!
his seeds have been awesome to grow out. super easy, no problems germinating, they lived through my inevitable first grow mistakes and are doing so well right now. my cindy and durban females are pretty big monsters, considering my limitations, and i really can’t wait to smoke them.
here’s my grow journal…
man, you have to tag me on your c99 grow! i haven’t had a chance to smoke it yet (i’ve only had dispensary weed or black market weed and they never have anything really good, or at least not for long), but i’ve heard very good things about c99. i’m totally curious about the different sources of your c99’s.
i also prefer an uplifting, creative sativa high. i came across colorado sativas a few months back and he seemed to be majorly into sativas. his prices were also really great, so i have a bit of his selection. now i just need to have space and time to grow everything out. i have shared some of those seeds, so i’m always hoping that others will be able to get a chance to pop them before i do.
are you still in socal? i’m socal! i can’t wait to see what you do with this most favorite plant of ours, now that you’ve got all the time on your hands. am i jealous? nah, i’m excited!
okay, maybe i’m a little jealous, lol!
You don’t have to be nice to everyone.
His first comment out of the gate was directed at me, he chose to engage. We then learned that he doesn’t believe in reading, and thinks he can control the wind.
He’s not worth the time or effort.
Unfortunately, I’ve not been back since 1978. I now think it’s for the best. I used to fall asleep to the sounds of F4’s doing crashes and dashes at El Toro. It was a long long time ago……USMC C130 electrician for a very brief career.
I will try to post some updates here on the C99 grow but I’m still not sure if it’s gonna be indoors or out just yet.
I’m growing in SEMA on a dead end street right on a river. Property is very private, no worries about the law or smelly skunk weed or GDP.
This year all outdoor plants in 20 or 30 gallon fabric bags (Gorilla Glue, Stardawg, Thai and maybe some landrace stuff if any turn out special.
I’d like to send off pairs of landrace strains (M/F) to foster homes just for seeds. Have Kalamata Red, Highland Lao, and Kumaoni at 5 weeks right now. I will compensate “parents” with nice cured bud from last year (been in Grove bags since October, 2021 Chocolope, GDP, Train Wreck, Cement Shoes)
(If that offer fails I’ll be eating my words about keeping any plant with qualities you like viable……)
I’m trying hard to learn and for me that’s by knowing how little I really know. I am hoping to just look in often and keep my big mouth shut. Lol
I just want to add. Don’t put too much into unproven girls
Nothing worse than taking 15-20 weeks to grow a huge plant only to find its bunk , smells awful, wispy flowers and you don’t enjoy it all.
Or even worse clone the shit outta an unproven seed and you and all your buddies grow the super crap.
i see my posts were scrubbed. Probably for the best. I can accept that. Pollen still can’t go through a mile of trees…won’t let that myth go unchallenged.
That’s the real magic trick. Having absolute confidence in the attributes you want and knowing when to fold ‘em.
I’ve decided to set up my cloning bucket and run cuttings of the landrace seedlings at 12/12 to sex them and then make decisions.
I’m still gob smacked by the knowledge gained over the thirty years I was on the sidelines. I am learning so much and cannot express my gratitude for this freely shared knowledge.
Kudos to all
Hey All,
Quick update here is the breakdown of plant gender as it stands now:
M x M x M x M x F x F (row 1)
M x F x F x F x F? x ? (row 2)
I have a cloner rig coming today which is nice because i can possibly even out the strain count now. So the ratio which seemed heavily male now appears too be rather even split.
Just a minor note, all the feedback, comments are great and welcomed. But please sidebar any conversations to a new post if they aren’t in response to the OP. Definitely don’t mind commenting a link to a new topic for sure here, just nothing that totally moves the topic to a new one please.