Multi-Strain Seed Run

[Pennywise]

If you can get it to grow around the plant you may dodge a bullet.

 

[Old Salt]

If you can get it to grow around the plant you may dodge a bullet.

The branch is at least 3/8" (10mm) thick. It would need to be super cropped to bend it around. Things are a little tight in there. If all else fails, she'll go outside, in the hope that the fall rains will hold off until harvest.

 

[Pennywise]

Hopefully that's not the last resort.

 

[irie lion]

Looking good Salt, hoping those Candida clones make it for you!

 

[Sonman]

More than 50,000 or 1 in 20 Nova Scotians do not have a family physician. Mine is well into his seventies, and hasn't retired due to the shortage.

I heard ya, I'm in Dartmouth, my dr retired and I been trying I get to get my health sorted out also. Nice to see someone else from Nova Scotia. I'm in late but looking forward to see your seed harvest. I'm actually starting a seed run now also. Candida, Pineapple Express, cbd shark, and Omar Sharif. My first try and making my own CS.

 

[dr.h00k]

Sonman said...
I heard ya, I'm in Dartmouth, my dr retired and I been trying I get to get my health sorted out also. Nice to see someone else from Nova Scotia. I'm in late but looking forward to see your seed harvest. I'm actually starting a seed run now also. Candida, Pineapple Express, cbd shark, and Omar Sharif. My first try and making my own CS.

...Good luck with finding a Dr. ...My Dr. is on holidays, and I had to go to a walk in clinic for a pressing matter...4 hours later I was outta' there...reflects how many people are without...
...I was considering making my own CS, but opted for a retail product...500 ppm, which I diluted to roughly 70 ppm...this was applied twice a day for 1 week, then once a day for another week...My effort to reverse 3 branches was unsuccessful...
...What voltage are you using and what ppm are you shooting for...I'd be interested in your methodology, and end result...cheerz.... ...h00k......

 

[Sonman]

...What voltage are you using and what ppm are you shooting for...I'd be interested in your methodology, and end result...cheerz.... ...h00k......

I'm aiming for 40- 60. Tried using distilled water and deminarized and dident work for my first time . Seemed that it caped out and stopped making cs after about 16 ppm. I'm going to using rain water this time.using 3x 9v batteries in series , and will let it go longer. Adding in a 100 k resister this time. I think without a resister it starts to re-bind the silver due to lowering resistance in the water hence you might need the resister to keep it going slow and preventing rebinding of the silver. We will see. If all works out, I'll post results and do a full journal from start to finish. Going to try and work out the bugs first. I believe it's a 2 times daily application with 30 ppm starting 3 days before flip until you see change.. my first attempt just mutated the hell out of my plant. Think I'll apply to a bigger branch rather than only a top this round. If i fail I'll switch to what old salt is using. Next time.
Question tho.. the stuff Old Salt is using, dos it have any risks using it? Can you smoke what you apply that chemical to? I know it's is not recommended with cs.

 

[dr.h00k]

...Good question...I'm assuming it would be safe...might be prudent to avoid the treated branch?... ...I'm sure Salty will weigh in, he's quite thorough about things...I'll be trying STS in the spring as it seems to have a higher success rate, and I have seed of a discontinued strain that I would love to keep going, and maybe throw another plant in for a nice cross...cheerz......h00k......

 

[Old Salt]

Question tho.. the stuff Old Salt is using, dos it have any risks using it? Can you smoke what you apply that chemical to? I know it's is not recommended with cs.

No, the parts of the plant treated with STS cannot be consumed or smoked. If you apply it to a single branch of the plant, only that branch cannot be consumed or smoked.

 

[Old Salt]

5' Tent / Mars Hydro TSL-2000: Day 26 of Flower

Front View, Left to Right: Cream & Cheese, Candida, Sapphire Scout​

Cream & Cheese Sapphire Scout: Top View _______________________________________________________________​

Candida Sapphire Scout: Close Up _______________________________________________________________​

We're not even halfway through the flowering stage. The plants have another four to six weeks to go yet. They seem to have stopped their vertical growth. The Cream & Cheese, and Candida are filling in very nicely. The Sapphire Scout is a little behind, but then it has a week longer flowering time. Some of the calyxes of all three plants seem to be more swollen than I'm used to at this stage. I suspect they contain seed.


7' Tent / DIY Eight COB Day 8 of Flower

Left: Candida Right: Cream & Cheese​

The buds are developing nicely. The plants are continuing their vertical growth, although this has slowed greatly. The Cream & Cheese only grew three inches (7.5 cm) this week. It's grown into the light, but there was a space for it to do so. There's about six more inches (15cm) before it hits the top of the tent. I'll just leave it alone for now.


The Clones, or Rooted Cuttings if You Prefer:

Clones, or Rooted Cuttings Getting Natural Sunlight​

These girls need to be moved out of the window. There are only 14 hours and 18 minutes of daylight now. If I leave them in the windowsill much longer they'll start to flower.

Water is starting to become a problem. With the dry summer so far, the water level in our well is dropping below the foot valve with distressing regularity. I'll need to start buying it this week for my grow.

 

[The Bard]

5' Tent / Mars Hydro TSL-2000: Day 26 of Flower

Front View, Left to Right: Cream & Cheese, Candida, Sapphire Scout​

Cream & Cheese Sapphire Scout: Top View _______________________________________________________________​

Candida Sapphire Scout: Close Up _______________________________________________________________​

We're not even halfway through the flowering stage. The plants have another four to six weeks to go yet. They seem to have stopped their vertical growth. The Cream & Cheese, and Candida are filling in very nicely. The Sapphire Scout is a little behind, but then it has a week longer flowering time. Some of the calyxes of all three plants seem to be more swollen than I'm used to at this stage. I suspect they contain seed.


7' Tent / DIY Eight COB Day 8 of Flower

Left: Candida Right: Cream & Cheese​

The buds are developing nicely. The plants are continuing their vertical growth, although this has slowed greatly. The Cream & Cheese only grew three inches (7.5 cm) this week. It's grown into the light, but there was a space for it to do so. There's about six more inches (15cm) before it hits the top of the tent. I'll just leave it alone for now.


The Clones, or Rooted Cuttings if You Prefer:

Clones, or Rooted Cuttings Getting Natural Sunlight​

These girls need to be moved out of the window. There are only 14 hours and 18 minutes of daylight now. If I leave them in the windowsill much longer they'll start to flower.

Water is starting to become a problem. With the dry summer so far, the water level in our well is dropping below the foot valve with distressing regularity. I'll need to start buying it this week for my grow.

Nice update, Salt. Relieved for you that the stretch has stopped, or at least slowed down considerably. Sorry to hear that the well is running dry, though. We had a really wet spring here in Ontario, but not a lot since then. I'm on city water, but the lawn is a bit... "crusty."

Still no pollen production on my first couple of attempts. Will keep going, but not optimistic for this go 'round.

Hope you are doing well, and enjoying some nice weather down east.

 

[Old Salt]

Nice update, Salt. Relieved for you that the stretch has stopped, or at least slowed down considerably. Sorry to hear that the well is running dry, though. We had a really wet spring here in Ontario, but not a lot since then. I'm on city water, but the lawn is a bit... "crusty."

Still no pollen production on my first couple of attempts. Will keep going, but not optimistic for this go 'round.

Hope you are doing well, and enjoying some nice weather down east.

I'm seriously considering a pair of 1250l IBCs to use as cisterns for rainwater collection during the late summer / early fall.

 

[The Bard]

I'm seriously considering a pair of 1250l IBCs to use as cisterns for rainwater collection during the late summer / early fall.

Would probably be a good feeling during dry spells to know you have a "liquid stash."

 

[SQl2kGuy]

I wanted to do a seed run, but the sodium thiosulphate delivery is not listed in the postal system yet. If it shows up by the end of the month I'll start a few more strains. In the meanwhile, I'm not letting the grass grow under my feet and I'll start a grow with the strain I have the most seeds of.

Update: The Sodium ThioSulfate arrived 11 Apr 2019. My search for the Great Seed Sea is on! Two other strains have been added to this grow: Sapphire Scout by Humboldt, and Candida from Medical Marijuana Genetics. All three strains were sourced from our sponsor Seedsman.

Strain: CBD Cream & Cheese (Seedsman)
Grow Area: 2' X 4' X 7' (60 X 120 X 210cm) Tent
# of Plants: 4
Container Size: 11l / 3.8 US gal caged grow bags
Lights:

• King X6 Dimmable 1800W COB LED Grow Light (300W from wall max)
• DIY 8 COB Array (Citizen CLU048-1216 3000K)

Nutrients: GH Flora Trio and Supplements at 20% label strength
Medium: 70% coco / 30% perlite

Seeds in the Water (0.3ml CALiMAGic / Liter)
​

Hi @Old Salt ... In my continuing quest to choose either BRIX or coco next I am reading through your journal.

I noticed you have CBD Cream & Cheese (Seedsman) ... photoperiods I assume. I actually have Cream Caramel CBD and Cheese as autoflowers.

CALiMAGic added to the water ... noted. I have also tried putting in root hormones and things like Great White and Voodoo Juice ... but nothing seemed to help the roots grow faster from the seed.

You have been very helpful, so I am looking forward to reading through this.

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Well surprise, surprise. Twenty four hours after putting them between damp paper towels, ALL of these girls are showing their roots. That's the fastest I've seen in six germinations.

Germinated!​

The girls were planted in a mixture of 70% coco / 30% perlite. This has been recycled from a previous grow, so all I did was re-hydrate it with 0.3ml CALiMAGic per liter of water. A pointy stick (like a pencil) was used to make a hole for the girls. They were planted tap root down, with the seed case about 1/4" or 6mm deep. The hole was GENTLY squeezed around the girls so as not to damage the fragile tap root.

Planted!​

I've never had results like that in 24 hours ... I will try one with CalMag next for sure!

 

[SQl2kGuy]

The Plan:
This grow now has three feminized strains:
- 4 X CBD Cream & Cheese (9 weeks)
- 3 X Candida (9 weeks)
- 3 X Sapphire Scout (10 Weeks)

My goal is to produce seed for all the strains, not to cross-pollinate for new hybrids. I also want a sample of flower from each strain. To achieve this the pollen must be carefully controlled. It may not be allowed free rein through a tent. I have two 2' X 4' (60cm X 120cm) tents I can use, and the outdoors. Here is the general plan for this grow:

• The plants will all be up-potted into final 2 gallon nursery pots;
• All plants will share a tent through the vegetative stage;
• The most vigorous plant of each strain will be moved to the second tent for flowering;
  • These plants will be treated with STS to change their sex (F>M);
• Three weeks later the remaining plants will be placed under 12/12 lighting to flower;
• When the F>M plants are nearly ready to produce pollen their colas will be bagged;
  • The F>M plants will be separated, one remaining in the tent, two outdoors;
  • The pollen will be collected separately for each strain;
  • The F>M plants will be destroyed;
• The female plants will be separated by strain, one in each tent, one outdoors;
  • Two colas of each female will be pollinated with pollen from the same strain;
  • The pollinated colas will be bagged until the pistils die off;
  • The plants will be heavily sprayed with water to destroy any remaining pollen;
• The plants will be moved into one tent, or perhaps both if the room is needed; and
• Harvest of different strains, their seeded and sensimilla colas will be staggered.

Excellent write-up!

I am now thinking about clones versus seeds ... and how you can just pop a seed anytime and not need to veg a mother plant constantly.

Although before I do this, I do need to try cloning ... so I can do a SOG of Bakerstreets to increase my gardening skills. I saw a journal where 2 litre pop bottles wrapped in black tape were used to grow single colas.

This is such a fascinating hobby to grow medicine!

 

[SQl2kGuy]

Sex Reversal of Female Cannabis Plants, or One of Their Branches

I've wanted to try this for a while, but needed to get some growing experience first. Now the time has come to actually do it. I started by reading several threads here. The first I came across used colloidal silver (CS). Later I found out about silver thiosulfate (STS). Reading through several threads I found that CS was prone to failure, although many have used it successfully. STS seems to be a sure-fire method, so I chose that. Here are some links to threads I've found helpful:

• Icemud's How To Make Feminized Seeds Using Colloidal Silver by @Icemud, 2016
• How To Reverse Sex Using Silver Thiosulfate Solution by @Smokin Moose, 2007
• Colombian Gold Grow: Come Learn With Me How To Produce Your Own Seeds! by @beez0404, 2018

About Silver Thiosulfate (STS):
After deciding on STS, I did a fair bit of research, including how to make, use, and store it. This is what I've found:

Silver thiosulfate (STS) is commonly used to block the action of ethylene in plant cell cultures. Ethylene is a hormone that is present in the gaseous state. Ethylene increases during senescence (aging, flower development) and ripening, and has been shown to increase in plant cell cultures due to wounding or the presence of auxins. Silver nitrate may be used alone to block the action of ethylene but it is not transported as well as STS thus is seldom used alone.

STS is the most commonly used compound, for creating stable feminized cannabis pollen. While it is not the only method, it is arguably the most commonly used and is quite reliable. Female cannabis plants require ethylene production to form female flowers. STS suppresses ethylene production in the plants, so they will produce male flowers. As the genetics are totally female, the pollen used on female flowers will result in about 99.9% female seed.

Ethylene is a hormone produced by female plants and used to build pistilate flowers. Ionized silver inhibits ethylene production so the plant will produce staminate flowers instead. The are every bit as stable as there male counter parts. Being genetically female the pollen sacs can only produce pollen with female chromosomes. 99% of off spring will be female.

Most sources agree on the 1:5 ratio of silver nitrate to sodium thiosulfate. Some use a 1:4 ratio. Several sources state that metal implements should not be used while making STS. Some sources mention that the silver nitrate solution and STS will stain almost anything they come in contact with. I have verified this. Wear gloves and cover your work surface with wax paper. All sources agree that silver sitrate and sodium thiosulfate should be dissolved separately in distilled water. (Note: Use distilled water, or water from an RO with a de-ionizer. The TDS must be below 5 PPM. Never use tap water, as the silver nitrate and sodium thiosulfate will bond with compounds in the water rather than with each other.) Some sources use a more concentrated silver nitrate solution, but in the end the solution sprayed on the plants has identical silver content. Both the concentrated and diluted solutions should be clear. If they have turned brown, they should be discarded. Many sources recommend the addition of a surfacant to the diluted solution. Yucca extract is often used, although dish detergent is also an option.

There are a wide range of instructions for the use of STS. Some start application of STS three weeks before switching to 12/12 lighting; others start two weeks after the switch. This thread is the only one recommending a single application. Other sources recommend up to once every five days for five weeks.

The dry chemicals can be stored in a cool, dark place indefinitely, as can parts A and B before they are mixed together to form the concentrate. One source states that the concentrate can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to nine months, but will have degraded somewhat by that time. Other sources state it should be used within a month or two. Most sources agree that the solution diluted for application to the plants should be used within a week or two.

I'm about a week away from needing STS, so I've mixed up a batch...

Making STS:
Most sources dissolve 0.5gm silver nitrate and 2.5gm sodium thiosulfate in 500ml ml in separate containers. The silver nitrate solution is then mixed into the sodium thiosulfate solution while stirring rapidly to form a concentrate. The concentrate is then diluted with nine times its volume to make your working solution. This approach makes ten liters of the working solution, far more than most of us will use in our lifetimes. I strongly suspect that the reason for this approach is the tiny amount of silver nitrate used. A scale such as many of us have with 0.01 gm resolution that reads exactly 0.5 gm will have measured the silver nitrate with a 2% accuracy.

I have a scale with 0.001 gm resolution, so I chose to make a smaller amount of 200ml of the silver nitrate and sodium thiosulfate solutions. The amount of silver nitrate required drops to 0.2 gm, and the accuracy increases to 0.5%. I could drop to 100 ml or even 50 ml of the silver nitrate solution for a 1% or 2% accuracy, but those quantities are very difficult to measure out. For my purposes 0.2 gm ± 0.002 gm or a 1% accuracy is acceptable. The updated instructions are:

To make 200ml stock solutions:

For Part A, dissolve 0.2 gm silver nitrate into 200 ml distilled water;​

For Part B, dissolve 1.0 gm sodium thiosulfate in 200 ml distilled water; and​

Store Parts A & B in separate containers in a cool dark place until needed.​

These solutions should last indefinitely. If your working solution turns amber or brown as you mix it, discard your stock solutions and make new ones.

Making Part A and Part B Stock Solutions​

Note that the sodium thiosulfate crystals are quite large. I needed to break one up to get this close to the required amount. With the stock solutions on hand, it's time to make a working solution. I don't want a lot of it, just enough to reverse a branch or two on three plants. I decided that 200ml would be a reasonable amount.

To make 200ml of STS working solution:

Slowly mix 10 ml of Part A into 10 ml of while stirring rapidly;​

add 180 ml distilled water while continuing to stir the solution; and​

pour the working solution into an amber bottle.​

The working solution should be discarded when it starts to turn amber or brown.

Note: I sourced the dry chemicals through e-Bay. The silver nitrate came from Riga, Latvia, and the sodium thiosulfate came from Guangzhou, China.

I intend to try spraying some branches, and painting the solution on others to determine the best way of applying the STS working solution. This will be covered in a future post.

The journal just keeps getting better and better!

 

[SQl2kGuy]

5' Tent / Mars Hydro TSL-2000: Day 26 of Flower

Front View, Left to Right: Cream & Cheese, Candida, Sapphire Scout​

Cream & Cheese Sapphire Scout: Top View _______________________________________________________________​

Candida Sapphire Scout: Close Up _______________________________________________________________​

We're not even halfway through the flowering stage. The plants have another four to six weeks to go yet. They seem to have stopped their vertical growth. The Cream & Cheese, and Candida are filling in very nicely. The Sapphire Scout is a little behind, but then it has a week longer flowering time. Some of the calyxes of all three plants seem to be more swollen than I'm used to at this stage. I suspect they contain seed.


7' Tent / DIY Eight COB Day 8 of Flower

Left: Candida Right: Cream & Cheese​

The buds are developing nicely. The plants are continuing their vertical growth, although this has slowed greatly. The Cream & Cheese only grew three inches (7.5 cm) this week. It's grown into the light, but there was a space for it to do so. There's about six more inches (15cm) before it hits the top of the tent. I'll just leave it alone for now.


The Clones, or Rooted Cuttings if You Prefer:

Clones, or Rooted Cuttings Getting Natural Sunlight​

These girls need to be moved out of the window. There are only 14 hours and 18 minutes of daylight now. If I leave them in the windowsill much longer they'll start to flower.

Water is starting to become a problem. With the dry summer so far, the water level in our well is dropping below the foot valve with distressing regularity. I'll need to start buying it this week for my grow.

Are you able to supercrop those large colas and let them grow at a 20 degree angle to even out the canopy?

I read at RoyalQueenSeeds that colas growing sideways soak up the light ... but then I thought ... what about the underside of the cola? ...

I am so glad you pointed me in the direction of that Mars Hydro TSL 2000 ... it is doing wonders for my flowering photoperiods!!!

Journal of the Month potential here sir!!!

 

[Old Salt]

Are you able to supercrop those large colas and let them grow at a 20 degree angle to even out the canopy?

I read at RoyalQueenSeeds that colas growing sideways soak up the light ... but then I thought ... what about the underside of the cola? ...

I am so glad you pointed me in the direction of that Mars Hydro TSL 2000 ... it is doing wonders for my flowering photoperiods!!!

Journal of the Month potential here sir!!!

It's so open in the tent that the colas are not shaded, so super croping was only used to control height, not to let more light hit the colas. I double super cropped the one on the right as it was the tallest at the time. It's a little late to super crop now as they're about half way through flowering. I'll post an update tomorrow, as I needed to deal with a humidity issue today.

I'm glad you are happy with the TSL-2000. I think the TS series from Mars Hydro is the best low cost option on the market today.

 

[Old Salt]

5' Tent / Mars Hydro TSL-2000: Day 33 of Flower

I delayed this update as I had a problem in this tent. For three days one of my remote temp/humidity sensors has showing a constant 28°C (82°F) / rh 85%. Yesterday, I found one bud showing signs of mold, so I cut it, the bud above, and bud below off. I wiped the branch for the area down with isopropyl alcohol to kill any mold I missed. I turned up the fans, and started the dehumidifier in the room. The sensor on the dehumidifier showed an rh of 68%, so I took a look at the remote sensor. The batteries had died. After replacing them and letting things settle, I was at 33°C (91°F) / rh 49%. The temp is high, but this is half an hour after closing the tent up. The dehumidifier was blowing towards the tent's air intake. I've been opening the tent in the morning when I feed, and closing it in the evening when I feed to keep the temperatures under control. I re-arranged the plants in the tent so I wouldn't need to do so if they got any taller. The new arrangement allows the use of plant yoyos for more support if needed. I also turned the fans on high, for more air movement in the tent.

A day later, with the tent open and dehumidifier blowing into the tent, the temperature is 31°C (88°F) with an rh of 40%.

I thought I could put off running the dehumidifier until the last three weeks of flower for the final swelling of the buds. I was wrong.

Front View Left to Right: Cream & Cheese, Candida, Sapphire Scout

Sapphire Scout: Lower Leaves are Bigger than a Dinner Plate

Front View (Re-Arranged) Left to Right: Candida, Sapphire Scout, Cream & Cheese​

7' Tent / DIY Eight COB Day 15 of Flower

Front View Left: Candida, Right: Cream & Cheese​

I've added plant yoyos for support, as several branches bent over while moving the plants.


The Clones, or Rooted Cuttings if You Prefer:

Rooted Cuttings, Under 'Blurple' Light
​

The rooted cuttings have been moved to the basement under my old light as daylight hours are short enough to cause them to flower.